1. What assessment has the First Minister made of the impact of the UK Government's budget announcement on the Welsh Government's budget? OAQ52851

The UK Government budget did nothing to repair the damage inflicted by nearly a decade of cuts to our budget.

I, like, I'm sure, many Members in this Chamber have received a great deal of correspondence from local government leaders particularly, most recently from Emlyn Dole, leader of Carmarthenshire County Council, about the pressures on local council budgets because of the consequences both of your draft budget and of the Westminster Government budget. You did, I think, commit to the councils being, I think, first in the queue should there be any additional resources for Wales from the UK budget. When are the councils likely to see the money that you've promised?

We hope to give informal indications within the next fortnight. It's not the case that every single penny of consequential will go to local government, but they are very much in our minds, and, as I said, they are first in the queue. We understand the difficulties that they face. We've had to take, of course, very difficult decisions in terms of what we have not been able to do, in order to make sure that the cut in local government funding wasn't as severe as it otherwise might have been, but those discussions are ongoing and we want to see what we can do in order to help local government, although it will still be tough. 

Well, First Minister, looking on the bright side, the UK Government's budget will see an extra £551 million coming to Wales over three years, an average uplift between 2015 and 2020 of over 4 per cent in real terms. Can I concur with the question and issue raised by Helen Mary Jones about the local authorities? We also know that around £26 million of that money from the UK budget is a result of the UK Government's extra support for businesses, reducing business rates for businesses with a rateable value of up to £50,000 by a third. We know Welsh businesses have been crying out for greater support here. Will you give a commitment to use that consequential money to further reduce the burden on Welsh businesses?

Well, let's knock down that £550 million-odd consequential that's been alleged there. I can say that more than half of the funding that was announced had already been announced. It's money that has already been spent. It's been spent on pay and pension decisions. There has been a cut of £32 million from the money originally pledged as part of the NHS seventieth anniversary celebrations. So, it means that our consequential in reality this year is somewhere in the region of £60 million in revenue and £2.6 million in capital. Well, thanks a bunch for that; that's marvellous. So, once again, a magnificent example of spin by the UK Government that's not borne out by actual figures. What I can say to him is that we are awaiting the exact details of the business rates relief fund that's proposed in England, because, so far, those details have not been made available. 

First Minister, we know that the Welsh Government has a proud record of supporting small businesses here in Wales with generally a more generous package of rate relief, and has supported more small businesses than anywhere else in the UK. I note that, in the recent UK budget, the Chancellor announced additional rate relief for small retail businesses in England, who will see their rates cut by a third for two years from April 2019. What analysis has the Welsh Government given to how it can respond to this to make sure it still offers a generous package of support that meets the needs of small businesses in my constituency of Cynon Valley and across Wales?

The Member is right to say that we are committed to supporting businesses in Wales. We have provided in the course of this year around £210 million of rates relief to support businesses and other ratepayers. Those reliefs are available to all those ratepayers who meet the criteria. We note, of course, the Chancellor's announcement. We have yet to see what that will mean in terms of a consequential. We do not know either how that system will actually work in England. When we have those details, of course, we can give the matter further consideration.