In November 2018, Flintshire County Council launched its #BacktheAsk campaign, in full council, receiving full cross-party support,

'to take the fight down to the Welsh Government in Cardiff to get a fair share of national funds'.

Its leader, who happens to be a member of your party, subsequently said the council is seeking a recognition of how the formula impacts on the council's low-funded position, when compared to the majority of councils in Wales. One of the councils then received the largest cuts in Wales in 2019-20. In October, a letter came to you, and other Ministers, signed by the leader and all party leaders—all group leaders—stating,

'We still contend that as a low-funded council per capita under the local government funding formula we are more exposed than most'.

In the draft budget, you then gave them the third lowest settlement in Wales. Senior councillors in Flintshire have told me in recent weeks that they don't want to openly challenge the funding formula, on the basis that, in order to gain, other councils would have to receive less, and they wouldn't receive external support. However, how do you respond to the letter you've received from council leaders in north Wales, signed by all leaders, of all parties, stating that the benefits of your provisional settlements in the draft budget are not shared sufficiently fairly, and leave most of the councils in the north with a settlement significantly below the net cost of pressures, inflation, and demographic change?