5. What consideration has the Cabinet Secretary given to local government in setting the budget for next year? OAQ52342

In setting the budget for next year I will give very careful consideration to the range of vitally important services, including education, housing and social care, that are provided by local government. An indicative budget has been published for 2019-20 and further details of plans for that year will be presented in the draft budget in the autumn.

Thank you for that answer. The Cabinet Secretary for public services is considering reorganising local government and the cost of the reduction from 22 to 10 principal councils has been calculated at between £200 million and £400 million. Is the Cabinet Secretary able to add that amount to the local government revenues budget to pay for reorganisation, or would reorganisation have to be paid for by service reductions?

Llywydd, the cost of reorganising local government will, I'm sure, have been thoroughly rehearsed during the consultation period on the Green Paper. That consultation period has only just come to an end, and the conclusions are still being worked through. But Mike Hedges is right to suggest, as were previous contributors this afternoon, that, as the Cabinet Secretary for finance, the financial implications of the Green Paper and the proposals that will flow from it are bound to be of direct interest to me.