, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'd just begin by reassuring Rhun ap Iorwerth that the Minister for Economy is working very closely indeed with the council on this issue, and the taskforce also continues to be meeting regularly to establish a way forward and also to understand those wider…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Minister for Economy, working with the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, is engaging across Government and working in partnership with Anglesey council through the 2 Sisters taskforce. Our collective focus to date has been on supporting affected…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I will say that successive Welsh Governments have consistently avoided the pitfalls of PFI contracts, and as a result of our approach, liabilities relating to this type of scheme in Wales are much lower than in other parts of the UK. For example, the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, authorities are continuing to review their contracts to determine value for money, and contracting authorities that are undertaking reviews to renegotiate or to terminate a contract don't need Welsh Government approval to renegotiate or terminate that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
There are now 20 remaining historic private finance initiative contracts in Wales. In 2019, the First Minister instigated a review of PFI contracts, encouraging contracting authorities to renegotiate or terminate PFI contracts where there was a…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
These would be matters, really, for the members of the pension board and the pension fund to be considering in terms of the investments that the fund makes. But that said, I think that green pension investments can be very good investments in terms of the way…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I absolutely agree that working together to respond to the climate and nature crisis is the only way that we are really, really going to be able to make the improvements that have to be made. The whole pension system really needs to be responding to this…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
We are working closely with colleagues. The Wales pension partnership discussed decarbonising local government pensions at the Partnership Council for Wales in November. Following your meeting with the First Minister in January, the WLGA has agreed to run an…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I think it's really important that local authorities—and the public sector more widely—takes opportunities to look to attract a much wider and more diverse range of people to work in their sectors. They can do that by, for example, ensuring that the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you very much for raising this important issue this afternoon. I absolutely join you in recognising the vital role that our local government staff play in terms of serving their communities. I'm very sorry I'm not able to meet the Bridgend graduates in…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Local authorities deliver their essential services through their talented staff. While each local authority is responsible for its own recruitment, the Welsh Government continues to provide support through Academi Wales leadership programmes including the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm really keen to impress upon UK Labour the same argument that we've been making to HM Treasury in terms of the fiscal flexibilities that Wales needs. Our borrowing powers are not fit for purpose, really, in the sense that we have such a limited annual…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I would say that the Barnett formula and the fiscal framework that was agreed by the First Minister when he was in this role with the UK Government actually does provide some advantages to Wales in terms of the fact that the Barnett formula does recognise…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Welsh Government does work very, very closely with the tourism sector, and we do listen very carefully to the representations that they make on behalf of their members. I think that Sam Rowlands will recognise that we are trying to strike a balance here…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
We have looked at the case made by you and by others in respect of where a property is run by a charity, and I think that the circumstances will depend on the particular situation relating to that property. Some will already be covered by an existing…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Welsh Government has tried to set out a position where we recognise the pressures on businesses, but also believe that the owners of properties should be making a reasonable contribution to the communities in which those properties are situated. We have…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you to Russell George for raising this issue this afternoon. I am aware of the particular application to which he refers, which was called in and then subsequently refused. The reasons for that are set out in the decision letter, and, because it is open…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Local authorities are burial authorities and responsible for their own cemeteries and crematoriums. It is for local planning authorities to identify suitable sites for new crematoriums. Proposals for new crematoriums would be subject to planning and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'd like to begin, really, by joining Mark Isherwood in recognising the importance of mentoring schemes. I've been a mentor myself in one of the schemes, and I found that probably as valuable to me as to the mentee, so I would absolutely encourage all…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
A range of work is ongoing at the moment in order to try and ensure that we have a more diverse group of people putting themselves forward for election, for both town and community councils, and county and country borough councils, in future. And those…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I welcome the actions being taken across Wales to encourage individuals to put themselves forward for elected office. Diversity delivers better, more inclusive decision making. In advance of the 2027 local elections, work to encourage diversity includes the…
, Plenary
The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Wales) Regulations 2023
Thank you very much to Llyr Gruffydd for those questions this afternoon. We have considered and consulted on the appeals reform over several years. In relation to access to digital connectivity, that wasn't raised as a particular barrier to our new proposals…
, Plenary
The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Wales) Regulations 2023
Diolch. I move the motion to approve the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Wales) Regulations 2023. The regulations provide for the Valuation Office Agency's digital platform and check, challenge, appeal process to be extended to Wales…
, Plenary
Debate: The Second Supplementary Budget 2022-23
Thank you. I'm grateful to colleagues for their contributions in the debate today. Of course, the second supplementary budget is an important part of our budget process. Its approval will authorise the revised spending plans of the Welsh Government and those…
, Plenary
Debate: The Second Supplementary Budget 2022-23
Diolch. This supplementary budget presents the Welsh Government's final spending plans for the current financial year. It increases the overall Welsh fiscal revenue and capital resources by £163 million, a 0.7 per cent increase on the position set out in the…
