Rebecca Evans: I would say that we have good practice right across Wales, to be fair to all local authorities run by a variety, of course, of different parties. We do see good practice taking place across Wales, and I am really pleased that part of our co-operation agreement is about increasing the amount of spend that is spent here in Wales and kept here in Wales in that kind of foundational economy...
Rebecca Evans: Again, thank you for this question. There is a range of aspects to that question, which I'll try and cover briefly, but I'm obviously keen to have a further discussion with Members, if they are interested, on particular elements of it. So, we've done a lot of analysis across Welsh Government to understand what the impacts might be, both of sanctions, but also of the wider situation in respect...
Rebecca Evans: I'm grateful to you for raising that particular issue, and, over a period of time, I've had some very good discussions with the local government pension scheme representatives in respect of a range of issues—for example, divestment from fossil fuels, which again is a shared area of concern between Welsh Government and local government. But, specifically in relation to pensions, this is...
Rebecca Evans: I thank Peter Fox for that question and very much associate myself with the remarks at the start of his contribution in relation to the horror of the unprovoked attack and our desire to do everything that we can to support people in Ukraine, using all the levers that we have at our disposal. I just want to reassure all colleagues that there is work going on all day, every day, in relation to...
Rebecca Evans: So, the question here relates to capital funding and the capital settlement, and the speaker referred to robbing Peter to pay Paul. That makes no sense whatsoever. We have a revenue settlement from the UK Government, and we have a capital settlement from the UK Government. We've deployed both in full. We've over-programmed on capital and we plan to draw down the full borrowing. So, there's no...
Rebecca Evans: I think the Welsh Government has a really strong record of working very closely with the isle of Anglesey. Over the last five years, for example, almost half of the council's capital investment has been funded through capital grants, demonstrating I think the effective partnership working between Welsh Government and local government. And of the capital funding that we have provided in the...
Rebecca Evans: The agreed formula for distributing unhypothecated capital for local authorities takes into account factors such as population, road length, sparsity and housing stock condition. The level of capital funding we received from the UK Government was disappointing and it's not sufficient to meet our ambitions to invest in Wales’s future.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for the question. We did consult very widely in regard to these proposals, having more than 1,000 consultation responses, which obviously we considered carefully before coming to the conclusions in relation to the changes to the criteria. I will say that it is the VOA that undertakes the bulk of the work in respect of the assessments and the adherence to criteria, and we do fund the...
Rebecca Evans: The process for assessing self‑catering properties for local taxes is well established and we do not expect local authorities to need additional resources. The Valuation Office Agency conducts regular reassessments to ensure properties continue to meet the relevant criteria, and it communicates any changes to local authorities.
Rebecca Evans: I have prioritised funding for local government in my budget decisions and ensured that the core local government revenue settlement is distributed according to relative need, using a formula which takes account of a wealth of information on the demographic, physical, economic and social characteristics of authorities.
Rebecca Evans: There is a unanimous determination from across Wales to offer all support possible to refugees from Ukraine and we are exploring options to ensure support can be provided before people begin to arrive. We are seeking to engage with UK Government to understand how any proposed schemes will operate.
Rebecca Evans: The 2022-23 draft Budget published in December, allocated £15m capital and £6.3m revenue over the next three years to continue our investment in the Tech Valleys programme, which is designed to support high value, sustainable jobs, attract investment and create opportunities for the whole South Wales Valleys region.
Rebecca Evans: On 15 February the Welsh Government announced a two-year package of over £330m to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, nearly double the equivalent support available in England. These measures will see money put in people pockets and help them to pay their bills, in what are increasingly difficult circumstances.
Rebecca Evans: We will absolutely give a meaningful and positive welcome to people coming from Ukraine. Obviously, there are discussions with local government in respect of any funding required. But I will say that, just reflecting on that meeting, it really was an example of compassionate leadership in action. And that's the kind of leadership that we are all absolutely crying out for our UK Government now...
Rebecca Evans: Yes, of course.
Rebecca Evans: Diolch yn fawr. I'd like to thank all Members for their interest and their contributions to the debate today. Like Mike, who has his own local government experience, I would like to join him in really recognising the level of expertise that we do have in the Senedd. I do make a point, I hope, of making the most of that level of expertise that we have on all benches and I'm keen to continue...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch. Today, I'm presenting to the Senedd for its approval the 2022-23 local government settlement for the 22 unitary authorities in Wales. Firstly, I'd like to record my thanks to local government for both the way in which they have approached this settlement round, and for the critical work that they do day to day in our communities and for people and businesses across Wales,...
Rebecca Evans: Absolutely right, and a further example through the course of the pandemic would be the fact that we took very great care and diligence in the support we were providing to businesses and, as a result, again, you don't see these big write-offs of fraud that you see across the border. So, we take care of people's money, and I think that you can see that in the budget that we've published today....
Rebecca Evans: Diolch yn fawr. As ever, I do welcome the debate that we've had today and the comments from all Members, from all parties, because it's always illuminating if nothing else. Despite the challenging circumstances that we continue to face, we have maximised our available funding to respond to both the short-term and longer term challenges that we're facing. I think, as everybody has...
Rebecca Evans: Despite receiving no additional funding from the UK Government, through responsible budget management, we've been able to go above and beyond to nearly double the equivalent support available in England. And this includes £90 million to extend the current provision of the winter fuel support scheme for a further year to run next winter, and this means more people will receive the £200...
