Local Authority Staff

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:33 pm on 15 October 2019.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:33, 15 October 2019

Well, Llywydd, funding local government has been a consistent priority for this Labour Government through the whole of this Assembly term and prior to that, too. But the Member recognises, I know, that, despite the point he makes, the money we have available to us is not the result of decisions that we make, that that money has to be stretched to provide services in the health service as well as local government, to do all the other things that we try to do as a Government, and for which Members around this Assembly Chamber every week stand up and advocate more investment in priorities that are close to their heart, that matter to local communities. We strain every sinew to put the maximum amount of money that is available to us as close to the front line as we can, in order to make sure that those services are of as high a quality as we can, and that the people who are challenged with providing them, that their welfare and well-being is protected as well. The single biggest constraint on our ability to do so is the fact that the amount of money available to us has gone down year after year after year, and will be lower in the next financial year than it was 10 years ago.