Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:20 pm on 18 June 2019.
I'm sure that you will share my concern, having read the report by the auditor general published recently on planning authorities in Wales, where it highlighted that planning services were given too few resources and were underperforming. It stated in the report that all of the planning services in Wales had seen their budgets halved over the past 10 years, taking into account inflation. Now, there are additional duties on these planning authorities too, as a result of the planning Act. The national development framework will be subject to consultation over the summer and that will lead to strategic development plans, which will then feed into the LDPs at that local level. So, can you tell us whether you share the concerns of the auditor general? If so, what are you doing to ensure that planning authorities have sufficient resources in order to deliver their services effectively?