, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, Welsh Government has been pleased, in recent years, to be able to provide additional funding to local government in respect of the pressures relating to teachers' pay, but actually, that way of working hasn't been a satisfactory one. And it does mean…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Yes. For 2022-23, the Isle of Anglesey will receive a 9.2 per cent increase in its core settlement allocations. This is the authority's largest increase since the start of devolution. In addition, the authority will receive its share of £1.1 billion from…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you very much for that, and also for giving me the chance, like you, to echo our thanks to RCT and other councils across Wales who worked so hard to get that funding into the bank accounts of businesses as swiftly and as smoothly as possible. I think…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Since the start of the pandemic, we've used every lever at our disposal to support Welsh businesses, providing more than £2.8 billion and safeguarding over 160,000 Welsh jobs. We will continue to support the sectors most directly impacted, including through…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I think the beginning of the question there was set on a premise that the evidence just doesn't support. So, there's no evidence to support that tourism levies are a major barrier to tourism. Why would most of northern Europe be having tourism levies if they…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Yes, definitely. So, for those authorities that do decide that they would like to raise a visitor levy, it will obviously provide them with additional revenue for their communities to invest in the conditions that make tourism a success, and I think that a…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Yes. Policy development has commenced and discussions are under way with local authorities. A consultation will take place in autumn this year, enabling all views to be considered on the operation of a visitor levy.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
That's an interesting question. It's one that I will pursue with colleagues. We have a board of Ministers who have responsibility for legislation within their portfolios who get together very frequently to discuss the progress of legislation, and I think that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Yes. So, those reviews will be the responsibility of each portfolio Minister, but I have some within my portfolio that will be relevant here. So, for example, I've just announced a review of the landfill disposals tax. That's set out in legislation, that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I'm not going to make any apology for investing in removing the defence of reasonable punishment and the work that needs to sit alongside that, and I know that—. It seems that Janet Finch-Saunders and I have different views on what is necessary…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
The cost of legislation is met from within the allocations of portfolio budgets, and Ministers take costs into account when prioritising spend for a financial year. When a Minister introduces a Bill, our planned approach for monitoring, reviewing and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I would remind Mark Isherwood that the average increase across Wales for the local government settlement next year is 9.4 per cent and Flintshire has a 9.2 per cent increase, so it's not very far off the average.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I thank Carolyn Thomas for raising that point. I think it's worth reminding ourselves why the funding floor was originally devised. It was always, really, intended to be a temporary measure to mitigate the impact of unmanageable negative changes in authority…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I ensure fair funding for all local authorities in Wales by prioritising local government and health 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
The Member would have heard me say in response to a previous question that today I have written to leaders of local authorities confirming an additional £70 million of funding for this financial year, and that was in part in response to the discussions that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
We recognise the importance of maintaining our road network, which represents a £17 billion asset. Within the climate change portfolio, we are investing £0.5 billion to maintain a safe and reliable network. Alongside this, the local government settlement…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
There's so much to respond to there. I completely share your concerns about the lack of flexibilities that the Welsh Government has. I know that this has been something that has actually received agreement across the Senedd in the past, in terms of the need…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Yes, I do. I agree fully with that. I think that every time the UK Government makes a promise to Wales and to the people of Wales that it doesn't keep, it does risk the break-up of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has to be a group of nations where we…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, there were a few things in that question. I don't think a revaluation is tweaking around the edges. You described that, even in the last revaluation, a third of properties saw an increase in their bills. That's pretty dramatic, and there would probably be…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I made a statement on 7 December, providing our early thoughts in response to the work that we commissioned over the period of the last Senedd, which was published in our summary of findings. That pulled together various potential models for the future…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Reform would be to make change, and, in the Welsh Government's context, obviously we don't want to make changes for the sake of changes, and we wouldn't want to make reforms that were regressive. So, within the context of council tax, for example, reform…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for raising the issue of the single advice fund. The policy behind that fund and the operation of it lie in the portfolio of my colleague the Minister for Social Justice, but I will make a point of having a conversation with her about that. And I…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for the question. As I responded in my answer to your colleague Luke Fletcher, we have deployed virtually all of the available funding, so there won't be opportunities to reopen budgets in that sense in the next financial year, other than in the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Local authority and family budgets are feeling the effects of energy bills at an all-time high, mounting food costs and the highest inflation rates in a decade. The UK Government must take urgent action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. The last UK…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for raising this. In many respects, what we're able to do beyond 2024-25 does depend on the funding the Welsh Government receives from the UK Government through any future comprehensive spending review. And it has been good that, in this spending…
