Councils and public services

The Welsh Government's latest press releases and Cabinet statements on this brief.

1. Press release, 6 October 2026

   Welsh Government, Welsh Local Government Association and NAHT Cymru joint statement on pay, workload and ALN

   Update on constructive and collaborative engagement with school leaders’ unions and local government leaders.

Statements, debates and legislation in Plenary on this brief, newest first. Oral question sessions are counted in the contributions below.

1. 5 March 2024Debate

   The Local Government Settlement 2024-25

   Debate

   Opened by Y Dirprwy Lywydd / The Deputy Presiding Officer38 contributions

Votes are tagged from their own titles and the agenda item they were held under.

Ministers' meetings with outside organisations and their engagements on this brief, from the register the Welsh Government publishes every three months. 23 since the 2026 election; the latest:

1. 30 September 2026

   Cllr Lis Burnett, WLGA

   Meeting, Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language

2. 22 September 2026

   Welsh Local Government Association

   Meeting, Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language

3. 17 September 2026

   WLGA

   Meeting, Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning

4. 17 September 2026

   WLGA Annual Conference

   Meeting, First Minister of Wales

5. 16 September 2026

   WLGA

   Meeting, Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy

6. 14 September 2026

   North Wales CJC

   Meeting, Deputy Minister for Transport

7. 10 September 2026

   N. Wales CJC

   Meeting, Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy

8. 24 August 2026

   Mid Wales CJC

   Meeting, Deputy Minister for Transport

Source: Welsh Government, ministerial meetings and engagements. The register is published three months or more after the meetings it lists.

No written questions on this brief in the Sixth Senedd yet.

No petitions on this brief opened in the Sixth Senedd.

Committee sessions where this brief was on the agenda, newest first.

1. 27 June 2024Health and Social Care Committee

   direct payments for healthcare - evidence session with ADSS Cymru and the WLGA

   Health and Social Care (Wales) Bill

   98 contributions

2. 18 January 2024Local Government and Housing Committee

   Welsh Local Government Association

   Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25 - evidence session 1

   103 contributions

Articles by Senedd Research, the Senedd's impartial research service, on this brief, published in the Sixth Senedd.

1. Budget 2026-27: Core funding for local authorities to increase by 4.5%

   26 January 2026

   On 20 January the Welsh Government laid its Final Budget 2026-27. 7% originally proposed in November. In this article we consider the funding across local authorities, which will be debated alongside the Final Budget on Tuesday 27 January.

More from Senedd Research on this subject

Titles and summaries are Senedd Research's own, © Senedd Commission. How we match articles to briefs.

538 contributions in the Sixth Senedd, newest first.

1. Mark DrakefordLabour

   24 October 2024, Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 16

   …that we make in it. I remain of the view that we have to be sensitive to that and that's what the WLGA were saying to us, that if you force the pace too far, if you appear to be asking for things that are unreasonable, you run the risk that you will lose not just the argument about the specific, but…

   Tagged for: “WLGA”Official Record

2. Lee WatersLabour

   24 October 2024, Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 16

   …some, in what can be a sensitive cultural area. Bearing that in mind, you heard the evidence from the WLGA and the Association of Directors of Education in Wales, their concerns about the potential for tensions and conflict, if this wasn't handled properly and if the funding wasn't there. We touched…

   Tagged for: “WLGA”Official Record

3. Heledd FychanPlaid

   24 October 2024, Children, Young People, and Education Committee

   Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 16

   Thank you, just a question on late immersion. We heard evidence from the Welsh Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Education in Wales that they see a role for the Government in terms of promoting that, not only local authorities, and that they feel that there's a need to…

   Tagged for: “Welsh Local Government Association”Translated from WelshOfficial Record

4. Huw Thomas

   24 October 2024, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee

   Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with local government representatives (8)

   It's councils who've got the authority and the responsibility to act in this area. The CJC is a regional economic development body. They've got a clear role, but there are 10 leaders around that table in south-east Wales. That's not the body that's got the bandwidth to deal with the specific issue…

   Tagged for: “CJC”Official Record

5. Huw Thomas

   24 October 2024, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee

   Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with local government representatives (8)

   Can I just say about the CJC, just to explain that?

   Tagged for: “CJC”Official Record

6. Carolyn ThomasLabour

   24 October 2024, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee

   Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with local government representatives (8)

   I just need to ask this one question: to CJCs or to local government?

   Tagged for: “CJCs”Official Record

7. Huw Thomas

   24 October 2024, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee

   Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with local government representatives (8)

   …to have a financial return from cultural events and major events, but our long-standing aim as the WLGA is to achieve greater fiscal devolution so that we don't have to come to the Welsh Government to say, 'Give us more money'; we could take some control of that agenda ourselves as well.

   Tagged for: “WLGA”Official Record

8. Huw Thomas

   24 October 2024, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee

   Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with local government representatives (8)

   …is a strong argument to devolve considerable elements of public health to local government—and the WLGA has been calling for this for many years—funded appropriately, and to have a community as opposed to a clinically led focus on public health that speaks to the obesity agenda, that speaks to a…

   Tagged for: “WLGA”Official Record

9. Huw Thomas

   24 October 2024, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee

   Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with local government representatives (8)

   …leader of Cardiff Council, and I'm here as the culture, arts and leisure spokesperson on behalf of the WLGA.

   Tagged for: “WLGA”Translated from WelshOfficial Record

10. Rebecca EvansLabour

    23 October 2024, Plenary

    Short Debate: The Welsh Economy: Structural problems and putting them right

    …has established a collaborative relationship with the city and growth deals and each of the four corporate joint committees to maximise delivery. We're absolutely learning those lessons that Mike Hedges talked about in relation to the previous experience of the enterprise zones, and how they drew…

    Tagged for: “corporate joint committees”Official Record

11. Mabon ap GwynforPlaid

    22 October 2024, Plenary

    & 9. The general principles of the Health and Social Care (Wales) Bill and the financial resolution in respect of the Health and Social Care (Wales) Bill

    …of the expected annual cost to local authorities as a result of these changes and explain how their revenue support grant will be upscaled to accommodate them. Diolch.

    Tagged for: “revenue support grant”Official Record

12. Altaf HussainConservative

    22 October 2024, Plenary

    & 9. The general principles of the Health and Social Care (Wales) Bill and the financial resolution in respect of the Health and Social Care (Wales) Bill

    …would find it difficult to provide the places currently offered by the for-profit sector. In fact, the Welsh Local Government Association warned of the risk of sudden and critical shortage if current providers decided to exit the market. And sadly, that's exactly what's likely to happen. The…

    Tagged for: “Welsh Local Government Association”Official Record

13. Naomi Chiffi

    17 October 2024, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee

    Impact of funding reductions for culture and sport: Evidence session with culture bodies (6)

    …the wider artistic programme of NTW, which has very sadly had to be put on hold for now due to the arts council funding cuts. But we are hopeful for a different future. We don't know what the outcome of that will be yet, but I think that the work we've been able to do through the UK SPF has really…

    Tagged for: “council funding”Official Record

14. Mark IsherwoodConservative

    17 October 2024, Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee

    Papers to note

    …with the committee, which they're currently developing with local authority building control and the Welsh Local Government Association, as well as further details about funding for trainees and a nationwide scheme for recruiting trainees, which will be implemented alongside the workforce plan. The…

    Tagged for: “Welsh Local Government Association”Official Record

15. Jayne BryantLabour

    16 October 2024, Plenary

    Topical Questions

    …not ignoring the situation. I welcome the early opportunity for engagement on budget planning with the WLGA and councils. The WLGA will be providing a paper for the finance sub-group at that meeting on 22 October, which I mentioned, outlining the financial and service challenges facing Welsh…

    Tagged for: “WLGA”Official Record

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