, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I agree that local authorities have an important role and an important potential in that particular space, which is why I know that the Minister for Climate Change is engaging with them in respect of the development of the Unnos work, and I hope that she'll…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm very grateful for that question this afternoon, and I'm really pleased with the work that the decarbonisation panel for Wales is undertaking in terms of ensuring that all local authorities have plans in place in order to help move them towards that goal…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Climate change is a cross-government priority and I work closely with the Minister for Climate Change and with my other Cabinet colleagues to support delivery of Net Zero Wales, and to support local authorities in delivering their commitments.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm grateful for that question and I've also had a really good meeting with the older people's commissioner, who talked very passionately about the potential for age-friendly communities. I can confirm that, for 2023-24, the Welsh Government via the social…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, first of all, I would just reassure you that we are acutely aware of and equally concerned about the pressures that the current energy crisis and the cost-of-living crisis are having on the sport and leisure sector. Of course, the provisional local…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The resource for core public health promotion sits with local health boards. Local authorities have responsibility for other areas of public health, such as health protection and environmental public health. Local authorities work closely with partners…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, just to return briefly to the first part of your question, I would just like to say that this is one of the reasons why the strategic impact assessments are so important, because they do look at the cumulative impact upon people of various decisions and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I think the example that you give really serves to highlight the difficult decisions that local authorities are considering at the moment, and they span a really wide range of matters that are of importance to their residents. So, decisions must be taken, of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for raising that point this afternoon. I'd begin by recognising that hybrid working and virtual working can be a really important way in which to increase diversity in democracy, as we were discussing last week, in terms of making those meetings…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I think this is an area probably where we have more common ground, because this is a piece of work that we have been undertaking with local authorities over the past few months, at their request, to explore which areas of grant funding could potentially be…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I think it is important to recognise that, overall, our settlement for local government, at a 7.9 per cent increase on this financial year, has been broadly welcomed across local government. I do think that we have provided the absolute best possible…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I would absolutely agree that one of the most important things the Welsh Government can do is to bring together parties with responsibilities for serving our citizens to ensure that our efforts are combined and that we're all focused on those things that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I'd begin by saying that we absolutely don't underestimate the challenge that our colleagues in local government are facing from the inflationary pressures that they're experiencing at the moment. Because, of course, just as the Welsh Government's…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm very grateful to Jack Sargeant for raising this this afternoon, and I do want to recognise the incredible work that Jack Sargeant is doing in terms of leading the campaign in respect of prepayment meters. Colleagues within Welsh Government are absolutely…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I hold regular meetings with local authority leaders and discuss the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, including in regard to the funding the Welsh Government is providing to enable authorities to continue their crucial support for residents.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I'd first start off, of course, by commending the work that Swansea Council is doing in terms of building council houses. They've really invested significantly in social housing and have a really strong vision for council housing across the city and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
We have a wide range of schemes available to support people who are facing fuel poverty. I mentioned, for example, the £90 million that we've allocated to run a second Welsh Government fuel support scheme in 2022-23, and that's supporting people on low…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The Welsh Government sees the elimination of fuel poverty as a distinct priority, particularly in the context of the ongoing fuel crisis. To reflect this, in our draft budget, we have allocated more than £190 million, over the next two financial years, to…
, Plenary
The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023
I'm grateful to the Chair of the committee for those comments, and, as I say, we will make those necessary changes. Just to reiterate, really, the important fact that the regulations will ensure that the figures used to calculate a household's entitlement to…
, Plenary
The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023
I welcome the opportunity to bring forward these amending regulations today. The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 amend the 2013 council tax reduction scheme regulations. The…
, Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion on the UK Infrastructure Bank Bill
I am, with apologies for the earlier confusion.
, Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion on the UK Infrastructure Bank Bill
Diolch. I'm very grateful to colleagues for their comments in the debate this afternoon, and I should respond to some of the committee's recommendations on the floor of the Senedd, because I know it was the first recommendation of the Climate Change…
, Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion on the UK Infrastructure Bank Bill
I move the motion. The UK Infrastructure Bank is a new UK Government-owned bank launched in June 2021 that will provide £22 billion of infrastructure finance through partnering arrangements with the private and the public sectors. The bank's stated objectives…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Sustainable Communities for Learning
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Sustainable Communities for Learning
Would you mind, Dirprwy Lywydd, if we do the infrastructure bank Bill first, because I had on my list for today's meeting the Landfill Disposals Tax (Tax Rates) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2022? So, we'll try and resolve that. My apologies.
