9. Will the First Minister make a statement on the additional capital monies the Welsh Government will receive following the announcement in the UK Government's Autumn Statement? OAQ(5)0323(FM)

Yes. Despite the £442 million additional capital, the capital budget will still be 21 per cent lower in 2019-20 than in 2009-10.

The Welsh Government has done its utmost to protect public services in the face of Tory cuts from Westminster, but continued austerity has inevitably meant that difficult choices have had to be made, and there has been a significant reduction in the budget for the community facilities and activities programme. I know that many community groups in Wales find this an invaluable source of funding and Cwmbran Centre for Young People in my constituency, which does a sterling job, has recently submitted a bid only to find that the future of the programme is in doubt. In the light of the additional capital moneys, will you discuss this with Cabinet colleagues with a view to ensuring that we can try and continue this invaluable lifeline for community groups in Wales?

Can I thank the Member, my colleague, for that question? This is one issue amongst many that we’re considering as a Government in terms of how we allocate new moneys. In terms of the community facilities programme, there has not been an evaluation yet—it’s still quite early in the life of the programme—but monitoring visits carried out to completed projects indicate that the facilities are well used and sustainable into the future. There are difficult choices as to what we do with future finances, and I think it’s probably fair to say that only the very best applications can expect to attract CFP funding in the future and we will see what can be made available during the course of discussions that we have in terms of dealing with any extra resources we get from the UK Government.

Thank you, First Minister.