Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:55 pm on 24 September 2019.
Yes. And the numbers earning over £80,000 or over £100,000 are even smaller, so there are actually not very many wealthy people in Wales in terms of those numbers.
So, we did spend a lot of time on the committee looking at the HMRC issue—a very long time—and I'd like to thank those members of the committee who did take part in it, and I was part of it as well, but it was a learning process. What we found was that not only were there some costs that we didn't anticipate, but also the period of looking at how it would work out with HMRC did show us that there could be a degree of inflexibility if, for example, we wanted to change our offer and our offer wasn't so much in line, as it is at the moment, with the English offer. And, of course, extending to education and training means that that has to be dealt with at a local level in any case. Also, we've already committed to paying foster parents and other groups, which would have to be dealt with at a local level in any case. So the decision was made, really, that it would be better to stay with the local authorities, especially as the local authorities were pleased to carry on with it. So, the decision was made, and the money that was spent in doing that wasn't wasted because it has been used in order to make a longer term decision, and the work we did with HMRC will be of great benefit longer term.
Tax-free childcare: yes, we must do all we can to advertise it, because the take-up is pitifully low.