May I declare that I'm still a Flintshire county councillor? Thank you.

4. What are the Welsh Government's priorities for the funding of local authorities in Wales? OQ56878

I thank Carolyn Thomas for that, Llywydd. Together with our partners in the Welsh Local Government Association, our priority remains to assist councils in funding the great public services they provide, in fields such as education, social services, planning, housing and the environment.

Diolch. I thank the First Minister for the really positive relationship that has been built between Welsh Government and councils, especially during the pandemic. The relationship has ensured that local services have continued to be provided to communities throughout Wales with financial support from Welsh Government. But, as a Flintshire councillor, I have seen the impact of 10 years of austerity on local government. Despite this, of course, local authorities must continue to deliver services under increasing pressures, such as social health care, pay and the rising cost of fuel, and there are no more savings to be had. How can you ensure that the local government settlement reflects the continued pressure on local authorities? Diolch.

Well, Llywydd, I thank Carolyn Thomas for that. Having mentioned the heroic efforts of staff in our health service during the pandemic, I want to say as well that all those people who work for our local authorities—the teachers and support staff in our schools, the social workers and the care workers who look after people in their own homes, the people who have continued to collect the rubbish on our streets every single day during coronavirus—they, too, have been absolutely on the front line. And in our discussions with local government, we always try to recognise the pressures that austerity has brought and the return on the investment that we can make. 

Now, the Member will be aware that, over the last two years, we've been able to provide settlements for local government—a 4.3 per cent increase in 2019-20, a 3.8 per cent overall settlement in 2020-21—that have gone a small way to recognising the years that went before them, those long years of austerity. The Minister will meet the finance sub-group, the joint group we have with the WLGA, the Welsh Government and independent experts, to consider all the different pressures that local government face and to see how we can respond to those in the budget round. That meeting will take place on 18 October, Llywydd, and I've no doubt, having attended those meetings myself, that the needs of local authorities across Wales will be robustly put forward by Welsh local government representatives.

I'd like to declare an interest as a member of Powys County Council. 

First Minister, in my constituency, in Ystradgynlais, they are currently raising funds to try and secure the playing fields after the lease on the Welfare Ground playing fields expired. They need to find £100,000 to secure the lease. The community need to have access to recreational space to improve people's mental health and overall well-being, which is a key part of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Due to the underfunding of rural local authorities, councils like mine in Powys do not have any spare revenue or capital funding available to support fantastic projects like this one in Ystradgynlais. First Minister, following the Welsh Government's increase in budget from the UK Government, will you look to provide ring-fenced moneys to support local authorities to make sure fantastic community assets are protected for future generations to keep our communities together? Diolch, Llywydd.

Llywydd, that has never been the approach of the Welsh Government because it's never been the approach that local authorities have suggested to us. I imagine that his colleagues on Powys County Council would be outraged if the Welsh Government decided how they should spend the money that they have at their disposal. You can imagine, if we started ring-fencing from here the spending decisions of his local authority—and they would be right, because that is not the way that the system should work. The problem that Powys residents face is the impact of 10 years of austerity from his party, which year after year after year reduced the money available for local authorities. Here in Wales, local authorities have been sheltered from that storm by the decisions made here in this Senedd. Had they been exposed as their English counterparts have been to the decisions of Conservative local government Ministers, they wouldn't be raising money to defend play areas, they'd be selling them off in the way that his party has done elsewhere.

I must also declare an interest: I'm a community councillor in Penyrheol, Trecenydd and Energlyn.

I want to highlight the reduced day-care provision for disabled adults in Caerphilly County Borough. For some, hours have been reduced from 30 hours a week to just six, an 80 per cent reduction in support that has been devastatingly detrimental for disabled adults and their families. The Plaid Cymru group on the council have now called for a moratorium on these changes. A few days ago, I spoke to a father who is having to consider putting his son into residential care as he and his wife can no longer cope. Not only would this be harrowing for all concerned, but it would end up costing the local authority significantly more than if they kept the full-time day-care provision growing.

First Minister, is there guidance that your Government can issue to local authorities in order to ensure that disabled adults and their families get the support and respite they deserve, that they need, and that is right for them? Is anyone in Government monitoring whether local authorities are fulfilling their statutory obligation concerning disabled people and whether adequate funding is in place for them to do so? Diolch.

Llywydd, I've followed the recent debate about day-care services in Caerphilly and I'm quite sure that those responsible for making those difficult decisions will have been listening carefully to what the Member has said today and to the views of their local communities. The Welsh Government does indeed provide guidance on all of these matters and monitors local authority spending through a complex variety of routes, including in the social services field. In the end, these are local decisions made by those people who are closest to the communities that they serve, taking into account, as I'm sure Caerphilly council does, the views of its own local residents.