Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:42 pm on 27 March 2019.
Well, thank you for giving me a timeline, which is useful. Although I accept the point you just made, could I also point out that this is an issue that touches on the sometimes excessive pay of senior council officials on many councils in Wales—many of which are Labour controlled? Can I bring to your attention the fact that two councillors in Torfaen have resigned from the Labour group because they were highlighting possible cuts that could be made—they said—to the excessive amount that they were alleging Torfaen council was spending on corporate management. Torfaen is spending almost £3 million a year on corporate management, which is almost double what is being spent on the same thing in neighbouring Newport. Minister, is there a case that, with council services under threat from austerity, as you keep telling us, your Welsh Government should now be investigating whether councils in Wales are spending excessive amounts on the top tier of officer pay?