5. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the timetable for the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales's report into allowances for elected members of community and town councils in Wales? OAQ51544

The Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011, as amended, requires the independent remuneration panel to hold an eight-week consultation on its draft report and produce its final annual report by 28 February. Its determinations then take effect in the next financial year.

Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary, who responded to a letter on this question just a few days ago? Your reply perhaps slightly misses the point, as this is in regard to the timing of the independent remuneration panel for Wales's report on allowances for elected members. Local councils, of course, have to set budgets by mid January. That means either the councils have to guess what might be in the final report or have to make allowances for something that might not happen at all. Can I ask you to consider asking the panel to start their consultation earlier and to publish their annual report by the end of December each year? That would, of course, allow councils to take decisions into account during their budget process.

I am aware of the concerns that have been raised with the Member by, I think, Welshpool Town Council. I will give some consideration to the points that he raises, but I will say to him as well that there is already guidance available to town and community councils on how they manage their finances. We have a practitioner's guide, which has been published by One Voice Wales and the Society of Local Council Clerks, and it is written specifically for town and community councils. I would very gently suggest that he asks the town council in Welshpool to consider the matters covered in that guidance and I hope that will resolve the issues that they've raised with him.

Will the Cabinet Secretary join me in thanking and congratulating the dedicated town and community councillors who do so much for their fellow citizens in my constituency and in much of Wales? To give an example, Cowbridge and Barry town councils are promoting their towns to be fair-trade towns, and Barry is promoting their town to be the first real-living-wage town in Wales.

I certainly will. I think the Member provides some very great examples of the difference that town and community councils can make. I know, growing up in Tredegar myself, that Tredegar Town Council was always a force for good in the town, and today is, I think, a model of what a town council can achieve for the population it serves. The examples that the Member has given in the Vale of Glamorgan also provide other examples of how town and community councils can play an essential role in the well-being and livelihood of communities. Can I say this: we do currently have a group looking at the future role of town and community councils? What I would like to see is how we can strengthen the role of town and community councils. I think there are many concerns amongst the electorate about how our towns are developing and how change is managed in many of our small towns across the whole of Wales. I feel and I believe that town councils have a very important potential to fulfil a role within towns and communities across the country and I would certainly very much welcome any suggestions and proposals to strengthen their roles in the future.