Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:21 pm on 23 June 2021.
Well, this funding formula is developed in consultation with local government to ensure that there is fair treatment of different factors, and, of course, the independent members of the distribution sub-group are there to ensure that there is no bias in favour of or against the interests of any particular authority, and they also, of course, identify technical issues. But it is the case that the formula seeks to take on board a range of things. So, you'll know from Monmouthshire that one of the reasons that Monmouthshire receives a lower settlement grant than others is due to the higher relative ability that you have to raise council tax compared to other councils, and that data used in the settlement reflects that Monmouthshire has a relatively smaller amount of deprivation than other Welsh areas, and I think that considering deprivation in areas and our need to provide services is absolutely key to the formula. But it does mean also that, in 2021-22, Monmouthshire's settlement increased by 3.9 per cent, and that was actually above the Welsh average. So, when you pull lots of factors together, you do get these different responses. But I think tackling deprivation is absolutely key and I wouldn't want any change to a formula to be moving away from that.