Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:16 pm on 12 July 2016.
Well, devolution means it’s not for a purpose intended, for a start; it’s a matter for the Assembly to decide how it spends its money. Nevertheless, the majority of authorities in England turned down the council tax freeze grant this year and they chose to increase council tax instead. Despite that fact, council tax in Wales is lower on average than it is in England, and, indeed, he will remember, because he was in the Chamber when council tax benefits were devolved, only 90 per cent of the budget followed. I did not see him advocating strongly at that time that Wales should receive its full share of money in order to deal with council tax benefits.