Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:47 pm on 15 February 2017.
Llywydd, I entirely agree with the point that the Member is making, in that we have a shared ambition to make sure that the proposals in the White Paper are drawn to the attention of as many people as possible across Wales and that we make particular efforts to reach those people who otherwise may not find these matters drawn to their attention. I definitely expect local authorities to play their part in that. The Welsh Government will play our part. If I might say to the Member, I think political parties have a responsibility in this as well. We are all in the business of local government and trying to persuade citizens to align themselves with our policy preferences, and I hope that all political parties here, as they prepare for May’s elections, will think that the future of local government and different ways of improving that future is something that we ourselves will want to make sure we draw attention to in our communications with the electorate.