, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm grateful for the question. I think I will have to write to the Member with the specific calculation that he has asked for this afternoon. But I think that this is one of the points that would be part of the consideration of the benefits or the risks of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm very grateful for the question, and it's something that we have been able to explore in some discussions that we've had with the Scottish Government, and it was a question that also came up in our tax conference. It's something that we discussed during…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, you'll be familiar with the fact that, every year, we look afresh at Welsh rates of income tax. We decided that raising Welsh rates of income tax in this financial year was definitely not the right thing to do, bearing in mind the impact that the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I will say that we do take the concerns and the views of the industry very carefully indeed. So, this is a piece of work, obviously, as you know, that we're undertaking in partnership with Plaid Cymru as part of our co-operation agreement, and Cefin Campbell…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I want to begin, really, by recognising that point about the impact that the pandemic had on small and medium-sized enterprises, and particularly, in places, on the tourism industry, and that's why, because of the way in which we managed our budget…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The bus transition fund is due to commence on the twenty-fifth of this month as we move away from the bus emergency scheme, which was developed during the pandemic and which comes to an end on the twenty-fourth. The new fund, developed collaboratively with…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm very grateful for the question, and I will make sure that I get a copy also of the letter that you describe and have the opportunity to discuss it with my colleague. But I think the overall point is very important, and it's really about reducing the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I hold regular discussions with the Minister, which include discussions on transport. Bus support this year has already included over £4.2 million for Swansea Council on behalf of the south-west Wales region. In 2023-24, we have also provided local…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, rather than undermining joint working and regional working, I do think the CJCs rather facilitate it and they are a tool for local authorities to be using. But in respect of the specific point about aligning with city and growth deals, at the moment…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm very grateful for the question and also to Ken Skates for recognising that councils in Wales have been better protected over many years in Wales, as compared to their counterparts in England. And you can really see that I think in the response to, as Ken…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Corporate joint committees are established and have statutory duties to undertake regional transport and land use planning. CJCs also have a broad economic well-being power. Councils can choose how they will use their CJC to work together to drive economic…
, Plenary
Debate: The First Supplementary Budget 2023-24
Thank you, Llywydd, and thank you to all colleagues for their contributions in the debate this afternoon. I'll just clarify the funding that has changed in respect of the supplementary budget. We have an increase of £128 million of revenue, and, as we've…
, Plenary
Debate: The First Supplementary Budget 2023-24
Diolch, Llywydd. The first supplementary budget of 2023-24 is the first opportunity to amend budgetary plans for the current financial year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Finance Committee for its consideration of this budget and the…
, Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion on the Procurement Bill
Thank you very much to all colleagues for their comments this afternoon. I think we've had probably a wider debate than memorandum No. 6 entirely, but I think it has been useful. I would just remind colleagues that it was really the strong preference of our…
, Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion on the Procurement Bill
Diolch, Llywydd. I move the motion. Over £8 billion is being spent on public procurement each year in Wales. Improving the way we procure can drive innovation and resilience and deliver benefits across Wales by supporting our local economy and saving the…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2023-24: Evidence session
Yes. I'll write to you very shortly with our plans in terms of when we will lay the draft and final budget for this financial year, so that letter will be with you very soon.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2023-24: Evidence session
Would it be helpful if I just got a short note from the education Minister on that, because he'll be much closer to the detail?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2023-24: Evidence session
I think that the fact that we have allocated funding from reserves towards pay should give some assurance to local authorities and others about the commitment that we have. Ultimately, of course, schools are funded through local government, through the…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2023-24: Evidence session
I'm not making any funding decisions at the moment until we have some clarity from the UK Government. But looking at the level of spend and the plans, and the fact that, actually, now, the numbers of people arriving from Ukraine have really fallen away, I…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2023-24: Evidence session
So, we've allocated, as colleagues will know, £40 million towards our support for people from Ukraine. The largest bulk of that is for the initial accommodation, food, that kind of wraparound support and the welcome phase of people's arrival here, but then…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2023-24: Evidence session
Yes. So, this is the UK Government funding that has come through for the city and growth deals. So, at the point at which we receive that funding from the UK Government, it's moved into the MEG. So, in this case, actually, it's the finance and local…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2023-24: Evidence session
I'm going to turn to Sharon again for this one.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2023-24: Evidence session
Definitely.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2023-24: Evidence session
So, shall I ask Sharon to say a quick word as well—actually, it used to be over 80 per cent—just to say a little bit about how comparability factors are set at spending reviews and that kind of thing, just for the committee's interest?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government First Supplementary Budget 2023-24: Evidence session
There's definitely nothing in the supplementary budget. [Laughter.]
