, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm grateful to the Member for the question, but I would take issue with the suggestion that the funding formula in any way rewards some councils, because it's definitely the case that there's no evidence that any authority or particular geographical or…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I ensure fair funding for all local authorities in Wales by prioritising health and local government services in budget decisions, and through a transparent, equitable and jointly produced distribution formula with our local government partners.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Llywydd, I'm always delighted to recognise good work, so I would definitely join John Griffiths in extending our congratulations and our appreciation to the council, and also to the schools, the teachers, and the wider schools family, and also of course to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I would say that waste collection in Newport is a matter for Newport council. But I think that the difficult choices that are being presented to local government have to be seen very much in the context of the current situation whereby, obviously, local…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I meet regularly with council leaders, collectively and individually, to discuss a wide range of matters, including the impact of the current economic challenges on service delivery.
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on Local Tax Reform
Thank you. I'm very grateful to John Griffiths for raising these important points around the collection and recovery of council tax. We have incredibly high levels of collection of council tax in Wales, which I think is important, and it does reflect on the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on Local Tax Reform
I'm very grateful to Mike Hedges for those questions and for his ongoing interest I know spans many years in terms of improving council tax. I completely agree with him that there are some benefits, absolutely, of property tax regimes being stable…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on Local Tax Reform
I'm very grateful to Llyr Gruffydd for those questions this afternoon. Just again to pick up on that point about the importance of us all doing what we can to communicate that this is a revenue-neutral activity, I think that once you get past that with the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on Local Tax Reform
I know Sam Rowlands was asking about our review of the discounts. Just to confirm, the reforms include reviewing whether our system of discounts, disregards, exemptions and premiums could be improved in any way, in order to help achieve a fairer and more…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on Local Tax Reform
I'm very grateful to Sam Rowlands for his questions this afternoon, and for the very constructive approach that he's been taking from the start to the whole agenda of making improvements to our local taxes in order to ensure fairness in the system. I'll just…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on Local Tax Reform
I have been working to translate this broad plan into detailed action, working closely with the Plaid Cymru designated member, Cefin Campbell, on this shared priority. I have commissioned the Valuation Office Agency to undertake revaluation work, using the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Update on Local Tax Reform
Diolch, Llywydd. Today, I am updating Members on our work to reform the local taxes in Wales. Taxes are the admission charge that we pay to live in a civilised society, and the reforms to our local taxes are shaped by our tax policy principles. These are: to…
, Plenary
Debate on the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee Report—Scrutiny of the Welsh Government’s Accounts 2020-21
In Wales, the money that was taken back represented 1 per cent of our available resources. A Barnett share of the funding returned to Treasury by UK departments would have been well over £1 billion rather than the much lower £155 million. But let's remember…
, Plenary
Debate on the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee Report—Scrutiny of the Welsh Government’s Accounts 2020-21
Thank you. I welcome the committee's ongoing scrutiny of our annual accounts. It does help the Welsh Government in its efforts to continually improve the information being made available to readers of the accounts. Officials continue to work closely and…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Local government funding
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I hadn’t intended to use this debate to educate Members about the 2020-21 consolidated accounts, but I will begin with that, because we’ve had a number of contributions that have just been so factually incorrect it’s very…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Local government funding
I move.
, Plenary
& 12. Legislative Consent Motion on the Procurement Bill: Motion 1, and Legislative Consent Motion on the Procurement Bill: Motion 2
Thank you very much to colleagues for their contributions, and, again, thank you to committees for the work that they've done. We're absolutely committed to facilitating Senedd scrutiny, and, as I think has been recognsed, the scrutiny periods for the…
, Plenary
& 12. Legislative Consent Motion on the Procurement Bill: Motion 1, and Legislative Consent Motion on the Procurement Bill: Motion 2
Thank you. I move the motions. Over £8 billion is 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 taxpayer money…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Cardiff University undertook some work with us, which sought to have discussions right across the public sector where the invest-to-save programme had been used, and it's been used right across Wales in a range of ways to understand what the barriers were for…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Since its introduction in 2009, the invest-to-save programme has supported approximately 200 projects with an aggregate value in the region of £200 million. Most recently, it has provided funding for three new projects, helping us to deliver our programme for…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Welsh Government sees the most important thing that we can do in terms of helping local authorities support their communities through this difficult time as providing as much support as we possibly can through the revenue support grant. Our settlement for…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Supporting vital public services through these hard times was a key priority in the 2023-24 budget. I have provided an additional £227 million for local government, including funding for schools and social care, which sits alongside other directly funded…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Welsh Government doesn't intend to introduce any legislation of that sort, because we do believe that capping an authority's budget would be a serious imposition on the responsibilities of those locally elected members. We do provide local authorities, of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The responsibility for setting the council's annual budget and, as part of that, decisions about council tax, are matters for each local authority and its elected members.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The request for additional support, for example the additional funding that has gone through Communities for Work, was made to the Minister for Economy. So, I haven't had any particular approaches in terms of additional funding. But I do know that there was a…
