1. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that local government reorganisation does not result in higher costs for taxpayers? OAQ55148

The Welsh Government has no plans to reorganise our 22 principal councils. Where voluntary merger proposals come forward, we will act to support them. 

I thank you for that answer, Minister. In the Welsh Labour manifesto for the 2016 Welsh Assembly elections, there was a commitment to create stronger, larger local authorities that would lead to devolution of powers from Cardiff bay. We know that your predecessor told us that councils had to change, or he would make them change. Can you please explain why your manifesto pledge was not adhered to?

I set out my plans for local government in my Plenary statement on 19 November, which introduced the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill. That statement very clearly set out that the reforms in the Bill will improve transparency, governance and performance, and also provide a framework for more consistent, effective, collaborative working that will enable local government to be more efficient and better able to deal with the pressure it faces.

In 2020-21, local authorities will receive £4.474 billion from the Welsh Government in core revenue funding to spend on delivering key services. That equates to an increase of 4.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis compared to the current year. That's the best settlement we have been able to provide for local government for many years. The Member will, therefore, be aware that we have very much kept our manifesto commitment.

Minister, funding cuts to local authorities have resulted in councils having to reconsider the way they provide services to deliver savings. In some cases, they're sharing services with neighbouring local authorities. However, councils in Wales inevitably focused on short-term measures to balance their budgets, rather than investing in longer term measures to transform services. Since they do not know what future settlements will be, what action is the Minister taking to provide local authorities with more certainty about future settlements to allow them to develop more robust medium-term financial planning and thereby help avoid the risk of local government reorganisation, resulting in higher costs for taxpayers in Wales?

I applaud Mohammad Asghar's wish and desire to give local government certainty over their funding. I really wish that the Government that he supports at the UK level also shared that desire. You'll know that we only have a single-year budget. If we'd had the comprehensive spending review that his Government had promised us, we would not be in that position. We've given local authorities the best settlement that we could in the circumstances. He will be aware, as the rest of us are, that his Government has not even brought the budget forward in the normal time constraints this year.