Members have mainly debated how councils are funded, including the review of the local government funding formula, council tax levels and council borrowing. They have also pressed ministers on civil service reform, the number of public bodies and regional arrangements such as corporate joint committees. The Well-being of Future Generations Act has come up in debates on its implementation and a planned review. Audit Wales evidence has also shaped scrutiny of public sector finances.
The main arguments
Funding formula: Siân Gwenllian (Plaid Cymru) said the Government is looking at the principles behind the formula. Jayne Bryant (Welsh Labour) asked whether work would continue at pace and whether the funding pot would grow. Vikki Howells (Welsh Labour) sought assurances for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf. Contributions: [1][2]
Council tax: Reform UK Members Cai Parry-Jones, Tom Montgomery and Francesca O'Brien backed a 4.99 per cent limit with a referendum above it. Mike Hedges (Welsh Labour) said rises are driven by demand and statutory duties. Darren Millar (Welsh Conservatives) also urged a cap. Contributions: [1][2][3][4][5]
Funding levels: Peter Fox (Welsh Conservatives) asked how funding would rise to meet social care pressures. First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru) pointed to years of UK cuts and the extra £112.8 million secured for councils this year. Contributions: [1][2][3]
Borrowing: Tom Montgomery (Reform UK) raised £6.4 billion of council debt and rising financing costs. Rhun ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru) said councils must borrow prudently and that the Welsh Government should have similar powers. Mike Hedges (Welsh Labour) asked about continued revenue support for borrowing. Contributions: [1][2][3]
Civil service and public bodies: Dafydd Trystan Davies (Plaid Cymru) is open to a conversation on civil service size. Shav Taj (Welsh Labour) said reform must not mean cuts. Iain McIntosh (Reform UK) criticised the creation of new public bodies. Darren Millar (Welsh Conservatives) criticised the efficiency statement. Contributions: [1][2][3][4]
Regional bodies: Huw Thomas (Welsh Labour) defended corporate joint committees and asked how democratic accountability would be kept under a new development agency. Jason O'Connell (Reform UK) called such an agency a quango. Mark Hooper (Plaid Cymru) said regional priorities are broadly right but have teething problems. Contributions: [1][2][3][4]
Well-being of Future Generations Act: Zaynub Akbar (Plaid Cymru) asked how implementation would be strengthened. Dafydd Trystan Davies (Plaid Cymru) said the Government will review the Act and that the link to ways of working is not always as strong as it could be. Contributions: [1][2][3]
Where the parties stand
Plaid Cymru
Ministers say they are reviewing the funding formula in partnership with councils, secured £112.8 million extra, and attribute pressures to UK cuts. They support council borrowing and want Welsh Government borrowing powers. They back a review of the Well-being Act. Contributions: [1][2][3][4][5]
Welsh Labour
Members ask how the formula review will affect urban and deprived councils. Mike Hedges defends council tax rises as demand driven. Huw Thomas defends corporate joint committees. Shav Taj says civil service reform should not mean cuts. Contributions: [1][2][3][4][5]
Welsh Conservatives
Members press on social care funding and call for a council tax cap. Darren Millar criticised the efficiency statement and unelected commissioners. Andrew RT Davies asked about reform of the local government map. Contributions: [1][2][3][4][5]
Reform UK
Members back a 4.99 per cent council tax limit with referendums. Tom Montgomery raised council debt. Iain McIntosh and Jason O'Connell criticise new public bodies and a development agency as extra bureaucracy. Contributions: [1][2][3][4][5][6]
Welsh Liberal Democrats
Jane Dodds cited a Welsh Local Government Association projection of a social care funding gap of over £200 million this year, and asked the Cabinet Minister how she would help the 1,275 people waiting in hospital. Contributions: [1]
Wales Green Party
Anthony Slaughter supports greater Welsh Government borrowing powers and said the Barnett formula constrains planning in line with the Well-being of Future Generations Act. Contributions: [1]
What the government is being pressed on
1Will the formula review bring a bigger funding pot, and how will urban and deprived councils fare? Siân Gwenllian said she will not force change, that some councils will gain and some lose, and that she is meeting council leaders. Rhun ap Iorwerth said a Wales Centre for Public Policy study is under way. Contributions: [1][2][3][4]
2How will funding rise to meet social care pressures on councils? Rhun ap Iorwerth pointed to UK cuts and the £113 million deal, and said future funding will be considered in-year and for 2027-28. Contributions: [1][2][3]
3Will there be a council tax cap? Darren Millar and Sam Rowlands (Welsh Conservatives) asked what rise is acceptable and urged a cap. The material provided includes no ministerial reply on a cap. Contributions: [1][2]
4How will council debt be curbed? Tom Montgomery (Reform UK) raised £6.4 billion of debt. Rhun ap Iorwerth said borrowing is a useful tool and councils are trusted to make prudent decisions. Contributions: [1][2]
5Are new duties on councils fully funded? Francesca O'Brien (Reform UK) and Huw Thomas (Welsh Labour) asked. Official Michael Kay said the partnership agreement with the Welsh Local Government Association commits to meeting new burdens through the revenue support grant. Contributions: [1][2][3]
What the public is asking for
One petition on this subject, the NHS Cymru Protection Bill, has 13 signatures and is open.
Who ministers are meeting
Ministers have met the Welsh Local Government Association most often, including its leader, spokespeople and conference. They have also met the Future Generations Commissioner and the North Wales, Mid Wales and South East Wales corporate joint committees.
In the Sixth Senedd (2021 to 2026)
From the previous Senedd's record, for issues that run across both. The rest of this analysis covers the Seventh Senedd only.
In the Sixth Senedd, the Well-being of Future Generations Act was debated mainly on whether public bodies were putting it into practice. Corporate joint committees were contested on democratic accountability. Local government settlements were debated each year against budget pressures, with the January 2026 settlement a focus.
In 2021, Joel James (Welsh Conservatives) said the Act had been poorly implemented, while Mark Isherwood (Welsh Conservatives) said words were not turning into tangible action. Jane Hutt (Welsh Labour) defended the approach. Contributions: [1][2][3]
Peredur Owen Griffiths (Plaid Cymru) argued in 2021 that the Act is aspirational without being enforceable, citing a court case dismissed in 2019. Contributions: [1]
On corporate joint committees, Sam Rowlands (Welsh Conservatives) raised democratic concerns in 2021. Llyr Gruffydd (Plaid Cymru) said in 2022 that Plaid Cymru had opposed them but wanted them held to council standards. Contributions: [1][2]
In January 2026, Peredur Owen Griffiths (Plaid Cymru) said the draft budget left councils £436 million worse off, and Jane Dodds (Welsh Liberal Democrats) called for an independent review of the funding formula. Contributions: [1][2]
Written by AI on 30 October 2026 from 230 contributions in the Senedd between 19 May 2026 and 22 October 2026, with the petitions and ministers' meetings on this brief. Each point links to the contributions it draws on; check them before quoting. How the analysis is written.
What the government has promised
The Programme for Government 2026 to 2030 belongs to the Seventh Senedd. Choose the Seventh Senedd to see how often each commitment has come up.
Renew the relationship between the Welsh Government and local authorities, ensuring that they are full partners in the design and delivery of public services.
Renew the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Welsh Government and local authorities, ensuring they are involved in the design and delivery of public services and we will support effective regional collaboration.
Review the funding formula for local government to better reflect the real cost of delivering services in different parts of Wales and introduce a funding floor to ensure that no local authority is disproportionately impacted.
Source: Welsh Government, Programme for government 2026 to 2030: New ambition for Wales, first published on 10 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Mentions are found by matching the names of plans, bodies and schemes; a mention says nothing about progress.
From the Welsh Government
The Welsh Government's latest press releases and Cabinet statements on this brief.
Each bar is the share of that party's speeches and questions in the Sixth Senedd that touched this brief, so large and small parties can be compared. The upright line marks the chamber as a whole: 1.1%.
Ministers' meetings with outside organisations and their engagements on this brief, from the register the Welsh Government publishes every three months. 6 since the 2026 election; the latest:
The Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister is holding a session on 12 December 2025 with the First Minister, Eluned Morgan MS, focusing on issues relating to “Education, young people and future generations”.
Tagged for: “well-being of future generations”Official Record
Month by month
151
10
202120222023202420252026
Contributions tagged in each month of the Sixth Senedd. No sittings were held in August 2021, August 2022, August 2023, December 2024, February 2025, March 2025, April 2025, May 2025, June 2025, July 2025, August 2025, September 2025, October 2025, November 2025 and December 2025.Show the numbers
Month
Contributions
May 2021
2
June 2021
18
July 2021
16
August 2021
No sittings
September 2021
43
October 2021
31
November 2021
54
December 2021
36
January 2022
44
February 2022
99
March 2022
59
April 2022
12
May 2022
43
June 2022
83
July 2022
94
August 2022
No sittings
September 2022
22
October 2022
54
November 2022
96
December 2022
How this brief is put together
This brief follows the Programme commitments listed above and tags the record with the phrases below. Keyword matching can miss business that discusses the issue in other words, and can tag a passing mention.
Show the phrases it uses
A contribution is tagged when its English text contains one of these phrases. Capital letters don't matter, except in abbreviations, which must match exactly. It is also tagged when the title of the agenda item or question it was part of contains one, as long as the contribution is at least 30 words long. The brief is also tagged whenever one of its themes is.
