Rebecca Evans: I'm really grateful to Mike Hedges for that series of questions and I know that this is an agenda that he is also very passionate about. At the start of his contribution, he gave us some really stark examples, really, as to why this work is so necessary in terms of council tax being regressive at the moment, and needing to change in order to become fairer. I think that the fact that we're at...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for those questions and for the way in which we've already started working collaboratively and jointly on what is a really important shared endeavour. All of those points that you made at the very start of your contribution, in terms of how unfair council tax currently is and how regressive it is, just really give the context of this work and why it's so important that we...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much to Sam Rowlands for his questions this afternoon and the way in which he's approached what is a really, really significant undertaking over the course of the next Senedd term. And he does recognise the importance of consultation. And today I'm announcing that, in due course, next year, I'll be undertaking a consultation, a large-scale public consultation, in the order of...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch. Our programme for government makes a clear commitment to reform council tax to make it fairer. The co-operation agreement that we've entered into with Plaid Cymru reaffirms that aim, and today I want to set out the first initial steps along that journey. As Members know, council tax plays a significant role in supporting some of our most essential public services, from educating our...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for colleagues' contributions to the debate today. Just to reiterate, really, what Llyr Gruffydd was saying there in terms of we are very much debating about how we make CJCs work today, and we're debating about putting in place the appropriate regulation, oversight and governance that you would expect of local government bodies and public bodies in Wales, rather than...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. I move the motions. In March this year, the Senedd approved the regulations establishing four new corporate joint committees, or CJCs, in Wales. The Senedd also approved a number of additional regulations that ensured CJCs would be subject to appropriate oversight, management and conduct requirements from the start. The regulations, approved in March, formed part of the first...
Rebecca Evans: Yes, I will. —as part of the 2023 revaluation.
Rebecca Evans: So, I would just conclude, Llywydd, by committing to continue to update Members on our ongoing work looking at the reforming of the non-domestic rates system here in Wales. Diolch.
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. I would just like to begin by correcting the Chair and the member of the committee. I did respond to the committee's correspondence, dated 16 November, with a letter on 20 November. We did have confirmation of receipt from the committee as well, so I'm not sure how that has not reached members of the committee.FootnoteLink But, just for clarity, I did say in writing that,...
Rebecca Evans: Diolch, Llywydd. I move the motion. I am very grateful to both the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee and the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee for considering and reporting on the memorandum. Neither committee identified an impediment to the Senedd agreeing to the legislative consent motion. I note the helpful points raised by both committees, and I've written to...
Rebecca Evans: That's a really good question, and it does give me the opportunity just to say that, obviously, CJCs will be responsible for developing regional transport plans, but these will obviously be considering issues relating to transport in and from each CJC area, and include policies for implementing the Wales transport strategy. The point about buses is really important, because, obviously, the...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for the question. I welcome the progress in each of the regions, including in south-east Wales, in establishing their corporate joint committees. I am committed to working closely with local government to support the establishment of their CJCs and the transition from the current regional arrangements.
Rebecca Evans: I think the most important thing that we can do to protect non-statutory services is to give local government the best possible settlement through the revenue support grant and through the other specific grants that the Welsh Government provides. Around 80 per cent of the RSG is non-hypothecated, so it's important that local authorities do have that freedom to invest in line with their local...
Rebecca Evans: The Welsh Government provides support to local authorities to deliver statutory and non-statutory services through the annual core settlement funding and through specific grants.
Rebecca Evans: I suggest that the Conservative Member doesn't judge this Government by his own Government's standards. We are very interested in supporting everybody who has the right to vote to get out there and do it, and they will obviously vote for who they choose. We've taken action right across Wales, including in constituencies that are currently represented by Conservative Members, to introduce new...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising this, and clearly it's an important issue that will need to be addressed as we move towards the local government elections next May. We're working closely to try and improve the uptake of postal votes, which is a simple way that people can avoid the queues, but also to try and ensure that more postal votes are done correctly the first time. So, we're looking at the...
Rebecca Evans: Returning officers and the Electoral Commission have the statutory responsibilities to ensure all elections run effectively. The Welsh Government is working with both returning officers and the commission to support the implementation of changes to the legislative framework for local elections and the delivery of our electoral innovations programme.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. I don't think that I would disagree with what you've said in terms of the severe pressure on social services, and particularly in regard to children's services. I want to reassure you that my officials are currently working with local government to identify where those pressure points are and where additional funding in this financial year can be of use, bearing in mind...
Rebecca Evans: In September, we announced £40 million of additional funding to implement the social care recovery framework. I've also announced an additional £20 million for local authorities so far this year to manage the demand for children's services, and I'm open to further allocations this financial year.
Rebecca Evans: I would just repeat what I said in answer to Sam Rowlands earlier about the importance of public accountability and the fact that a CJC will be required to encourage participation in its decision making by members of the public, ensuring that they are able to contribute to the shaping of the services, which is absolutely important, and I know that CJCs will want to do that work in any case. I...
