Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:36 pm on 18 July 2018.
The local authorities that I've spoken to are worried that this is all very last minute, and clearly that underlines the fact that it was a bit of a rearguard action to the scrapping of the school uniforms grant. So, I too welcome this u-turn from the Government. Local authorities have told me that you published your written statement outlining the proposals for the new scheme, but there was a delay then, in terms of receiving their offer letter and being clear about the terms of reference. As a result, of course, there's been a further delay in the system for them to implement their systems locally in order to promote and put systems in place for this scheme to work. I have to ask whether you regret the way that this situation has been arrived at. Why weren't local authorities given sufficient warning and sufficient time to get ready for this? Why wasn't it, for example, properly consulted upon before the announcement was made? Why was the scheme not ready to go, instead of being clearly what it is now, a last-minute rush job?