In April, I set out in my written statement the range of future support from the Welsh Government for the armed forces community. 

The Government’s overall budget priorities, including the funding for local authorities, were set out yesterday. Whilst there is no ring-fencing of any specific part of the settlement, we and local government have prioritised funding for essential public services such as education and social care.

Local authorities are democratically accountable for their performance. Welsh Government supports self-assessment and peer review and transparency about performance to enable public bodies to drive improvement and offer citizens a clear picture of performance. Audit, inspection and regulatory bodies have a key role in monitoring the quality of public services. 

Local authorities are subject to accountability through the electorate, and the Welsh Government continues to encourage local government to conduct its business in an open and transparent manner. Our recent consultations on local government reform proposed a range of ways to further increase transparency.

Anti-social behaviour has a damaging effect on our communities. We are committed to addressing the issue through our funding of an additional 500 community support officers and implementing the recommendations of the Working Together for Safer Communities review.