Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:12 pm on 5 June 2018.
One of the main arguments made by your Government over the need to reform local government in the way proposed in the Green Paper is the need to ensure financial sustainability of councils for the future. Council leaders the length and breadth of Wales of all political hues have strongly questioned whether merging councils would save money. So, on the basis of that, what financial assessment has the Government undertaken in order to support the objectives of the Green Paper? How much exactly do you hope to save, and over what period of time? And what will be the initial costs of implementing this restructuring?