, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
Yes, we'd like to see support for disadvantaged areas, or a mechanism to allow that to be developed, because currently there's no mechanism to enable disadvantaged areas to compete with more prosperous ones, and the lack of any power built into the Bill there…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
Section 79 empowers the Secretary of State for BEIS to issue guidance about the practical application of the subsidy control regime and its 'principles, requirements and exemptions in different descriptions of case (including different descriptions of persons…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
This issue has been raised several times by myself and by officials. I've raised it in the meetings I've had with Minister Paul Scully, and officials have raised it regularly in their official level meetings. But the UK Government's response really is that…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
At the moment, it's very hard to make that analysis just because we have such an absence of information. Our real concern is that it will mean that investment is pulled away from those communities that need it most. You probably will have heard some of my…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
This is a real area of concern for us in the sense that there's no proposal for the Bill to include any equivalent to the regional aid guidelines or to the assisted areas map which was in place under the EU state aid regime. They were absolutely instrumental…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
Yes, so any consultation would be welcome, but it would have to be on a truly collegiate basis, with the regime developed from the ground up on an iterative basis with all of the parties involved. The UK Government has claimed that the policy development so…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
Yes. Thank you. So, UK Government has indicated that further information will be provided in secondary legislation and a suite of guidance, and we've been really keen to impress upon the UK Government the importance of developing that suite of guidance in…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
Yes, officials continue to attend the bi-weekly meetings with the UK Government. And I don't know if officials want to make any reflections on those meetings.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
Yes. So, this is another area where I and officials have been raising concerns with UK Government for some time, and this is really because agricultural subsidies are already regulated through a tried and trusted process via the World Trade Organization…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
Thank you, Chair. So, following the introduction of the Bill, I met with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Paul Scully, on 29 September, and that followed up from a meeting that I'd had…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Finance and Local Government - Subsidy Control Bill
Thank you, Chair. Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government.
, Plenary
The General Power of Competence (Commercial Purpose) (Conditions) (Wales) Regulations 2021
No, thank you.
, Plenary
The General Power of Competence (Commercial Purpose) (Conditions) (Wales) Regulations 2021
Diolch. I move the motion. Local authorities that are principal councils will be able to exercise the general power of competence from the start of November. When they are exercising that power for a commercial purpose, it is important that local authorities…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Yes, I can absolutely give that commitment to press the UK Government on this particular issue. Ahead of the spending review I’ll be writing to the Chancellor outlining our priorities for Wales in that letter, and I will be requesting that the UK Government…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
UK Government must act to tackle the long-term legacy cost to Wales of remediation, reclamation and repurposing of coal tip sites, which are a legacy of the pre-devolution mining industry. At least £600 million is needed over a decade and a half, far more…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, I very recently approved funding for a new digital delivery manager for town and community councils in Wales, and the expectation is that they will build on the good work that has already been established. Of course, we consulted on the requirement in…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
John Griffiths is right to say that relationships were excellent through the pandemic, and the new ways of working really did enable that. It's important that we build on both the relationships and the new technologies that have enabled those relationships to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Welsh Government works closely with local government in Wales through a range of formal and informal engagement mechanisms across all portfolios. Ministers work with leaders, and our officials work together, to achieve better policy development and service…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for raising that issue this afternoon. There are a number of ways in which we communicate directly with businesses. One is through Business Wales, which has an excellent database of businesses here in Wales, so we're able to get information to them…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, it's very exciting to see how interested the Conservative benches are in the UK Government's approach to non-domestic rates. I decide non-domestic rates here in Wales, and we do so based on the situation here in Wales, which is somewhat different in…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
We are developing an ambitious programme of local tax reforms that support a stronger economy, stable communities and vibrant public services. Within this, we are considering how to improve our non-domestic rates system while sustaining vital revenue for…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you for raising this question. Ultimately, of course, the setting of council tax is a matter for local authorities—or for the councils, I should say—themselves. That said, Welsh Government is keen to support people with council tax and the payment of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
I have expectations of the UK Government in terms of ensuring that they're not restraining wages in the public sector, for example, as we've seen most recently from the UK Government, so it's very difficult for me to respond to this question. I'll try and be…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Economic resilience continues to be one of the core aims of this Government, which is why we have invested over £600 million in grant funding to support businesses this year, and over £250 million has been provided to businesses in south-west Wales since…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, I was referring to our good progress in Wales in terms of our household recycling, putting us as one of the best in the world and, clearly, we want to maintain that and continue to improve our performance there. As you say, Pembrokeshire is currently…
