Part of 4. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:42 pm on 24 June 2020.
Thank you, Minister. And we've already heard from other Members about the extra pressures that local authorities are facing at the moment. They're obviously facing a large loss of income and have been now for some months, but also they're facing the additional pressures, as we move forward, of reforming town centres, et cetera, to allow for social distancing. Also, the planning system will be under strain, and there's probably quite a backlog developing in the planning system. So, all of these issues—. What support have you given to local authorities? And what discussions have you had with the WLGA to make sure that, as we come out of the pandemic, local authorities are in a position to deal with the challenges ahead and don't end up actually having more significant problems in the future than they have at the moment?