Rebecca Evans: Yes, that's a really important and interesting point, actually, about the independents being a very, very large group of individuals in terms of local government. So, it is more difficult, then, to have that kind of strategic approach that we, hopefully, will be taking within our parties about identifying and nurturing a more diverse group of people for the future. I'll certainly give some...
Rebecca Evans: Would you mind, Dirprwy Lywydd, if we do the intrastructure 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.
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.
Rebecca Evans: 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 are to use these funds to help tackle climate change and to drive economic growth across the UK. The bank has been established as a...
Rebecca Evans: 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, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee that I respond to their recommendations 2 and 3 during this debate this afternoon. So, I'm pleased to...
Rebecca Evans: I am, with apologies for the earlier confusion.
Rebecca Evans: 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 scheme provides direct help to households across Wales by reducing their council tax bills, and these amendments ensure entitlements are...
Rebecca Evans: 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 a reduction in its council tax bill will take account of the rises in the cost of living. I think that's really important in the context...
Rebecca Evans: 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 interventions aimed at reducing fuel poverty across Wales.
Rebecca Evans: 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 incomes with non-repayable £200 payments towards their energy bills. That scheme launched on 26 September, and now it's been extended to...
Rebecca Evans: 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 county of Swansea. So, I would certainly begin by recognising that. And, of course, if the Minister for housing was here this afternoon,...
Rebecca Evans: 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.
Rebecca Evans: 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 taking up that campaign on your behalf. So, the Minister for Social Justice is having a further meeting with energy suppliers on 23...
Rebecca Evans: 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 budget has been eroded in value, so too has local government's budget been eroded in value. But, nonetheless, we've really focused our...
Rebecca Evans: 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 matter most to people, and that's one of the reasons why, over the course of the autumn, we did have fortnightly meetings with our...
Rebecca Evans: 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 settlement that we could have. We gave to local government in excess of the funding that we received in consequential funding from measures that...
Rebecca Evans: 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 moved into the revenue support grant on a short-term or permanent basis. So, that piece of work is ongoing at the moment, but we've...
Rebecca Evans: 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 more accessible to people in full-time work, people with family commitments, caring commitments, people who are self-employed, and for...
Rebecca Evans: 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 course, through the lens of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, so, they'll be needing to consider what the decisions...
Rebecca Evans: 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, of course, upon people who have more than one protected characteristic as well. So, those types of impact assessments are really helpful...
