Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:10 pm on 13 October 2021.
Diolch yn fawr, Gweinidog. I think it's fair to say that there was a general view that, during the pandemic, Welsh Government worked very well with local authorities and local authority leaders, with, sometimes, the new technology aiding that in making weekly meetings and very regular meetings much easier to do, and also that local authorities working with the voluntary sector were able to do so more quickly and with less bureaucracy.
I just wonder, Minister, to what extent that experience of working during the pandemic has been, and is being, evaluated, so that some of those better ways of working, more effective ways of working, might be retained where appropriate. I guess that some of them might have only been appropriate for more or less an emergency situation, as we had. But, presumably, some of them could be retained to benefit the people of Wales.
Also, to what extent is digital transformation, which again has been very important during the pandemic in terms of the delivery of services and new ways of working—? To what extent will the Welsh Government work with local authorities to make sure that those digital possibilities are fully used and utilised, again for the benefit of our communities here in Wales?