Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:16 pm on 28 September 2021.
I thank the First Minister for that answer. Town centres are, of course, the beating heart of our communities, but some recent reports, such as the Audit Wales report, 'Regenerating Town Centres in Wales', sketch out the challenges that they face. I welcome the robust comments from Welsh Government on how Ministers will address many of these issues through, for example, town centres first and the streamlining of funding processes. However, Audit Wales also noted issues around capacity at local government level. When there are already so many pressures on this tier, how is Welsh Government working with councils and the Welsh Local Government Association to ensure that they can support town centres in their areas?