3. What financial support will the Minister provide to local authorities to enable them to deliver services over the coming winter months? OQ57372

Funding is provided through the unhypothecated local government settlement to support the delivery of services all year. This increased by 3.8 per cent this financial year. The Welsh Government is also providing funding through the local government hardship fund and has announced social care pressures funding of £42 million.

Thank you, Minister, for your response, and I also listened carefully to your responses to Peter Fox's questions in relation to social care a moment ago and, as you mentioned then, noting some of the in-year additional funding that you've already provided to councils in Wales. But I'd like to just push this a little further, if I may, this afternoon. As we've noted, one of the best ways our councils can best support our health service at this time is to ensure that we have sufficient capacity in care homes and domiciliary care to release space in hospital beds. And, of course, we've seen in previous years that you've provided funding to support this extra pressure during the winter, and that is really welcomed. But, from my own experience, the sooner a council knows what additional funding they may be receiving to help manage those winter pressures, the better. And, of course, it's not a case of winter is coming; winter is here, and we're right in the middle of it. So, in light of this, Minister, what assurances can you give to councils that they'll receive this adequate winter pressures funding soon, so that they can plan to support our health service in a timely manner over the coming months? Thank you.

Yes. I just want to reiterate the points, really, that I made in response to Peter Fox, that our officials are working really, really closely with treasurers to understand the precise sum of money that local government will need in order to undertake all of the social care work that they need to—in adult social care and children's services. And, whilst that work is going on, I'm seeking, really, to provide local government with a letter of comfort so that they can get on and spend to a certain point without having to worry about the work progressing between treasurers and officials, really. So, I'm hoping that letter can be sent more or less imminently, or certainly very soon, so that they have that level of reassurance. Because I know it is a matter of stress for local government and local government leaders, which is something I can help with, and I want to do so quickly.

Minister, I'm really pleased to see that the winter fuel support scheme is now in place, enabling Welsh councils to help those in their communities who are vulnerable to meet the cost of keeping their homes warm this winter. How else is the Welsh Government working with local authorities to support their communities over the coming period, especially in light of the Bevan Foundation's findings that nearly two in five Welsh households are unable to afford more than the basics?

Thank you for raising that, and, of course, the Bevan Foundation report was a difficult read, really, in terms of ensuring that we do understand the level of pressures that many families are facing, and these pressures are only getting more difficult with the cost of living increases, the cost of fuel and so forth, and all of the challenges that surround families during the pandemic. So, we've worked really closely with local government and I'm so grateful to them for being able to deliver our winter fuel support scheme when they're doing so much else at the same time. So, hats off to them for creating the capacity to do that.

We're looking to support families in a whole range of ways, including the additional funding we've provided through our discretionary assistance fund. So, that's a £25.4 million fund, which includes an extra £10.5 million this year, and that's there to support people who are facing financial hardship, and we've increased the number of times that people can access that fund over the course of the year. And that will be really, really important in supporting those families and individuals who have been affected by the withdrawal of the universal credit £20 uplift. So, I would just commend that fund to colleagues and invite you to find out more about that fund so that you can direct your constituents, who might be struggling, to that fund, because it's certainly there to help everybody who finds themselves in a situation of need. It's a relatively light-touch kind of fund to try and get that money to people who need it as quickly as possible.

Minister, during 10 years of Tory austerity cutting public services funding, local authorities have reorganised, restructured and made all efficiencies they could possibly make. They've become so lean that any new pressures, for example because of adverse weather, pay awards or new legislation, put them at risk of not being able to provide front-line services. Some legislation, such as taking on the responsibly of establishing advisory bodies for sustainable urban drainage or the additional learning needs legislation, was deemed cost neutral, but some councils no longer have the in-house resources or reserves following years of cuts. Would the Minister conduct a financial risk assessment and full consultation with local authorities before passing any new legislation or responsibilities? Diolch.

Thank you for the question and for setting out the challenging circumstances that local government has found itself in in Wales. Despite the good last couple of years of settlements, it doesn't really take away 10 years of austerity by any sense of the imagination. We will ensure that changes that are made through laws in Senedd Bills or secondary legislation include an assessment of the cost and savings through the explanatory memorandum and the regulatory impact assessment. In doing so, although these are the responsibilities of portfolio Ministers, they would normally be engaging with stakeholders in producing those, and of course we'll make sure that we do engage properly with local government in legislation that will impact upon them. And then, also, we're considering the costs of any new legislation that we might want to introduce as part of our budget round, and obviously that will be included in the considerations now for the next three years ahead. But, your point about ensuring that we engage with local government and equip them with the tools that they need to do the job is absolutely one that I would endorse.