8. Will the Minister make a statement on the local government settlement for Isle of Anglesey County Council for 2022-23? OQ57554

Yes. For 2022-23, the Isle of Anglesey will receive a 9.2 per cent increase in its core settlement allocations. This is the authority's largest increase since the start of devolution. In addition, the authority will receive its share of £1.1 billion from specific revenue grants.

Thank you for that response. The first thing I'll say is how pleased I am that the budgetary situation of the Isle of Anglesey County Council has settled so well under Plaid Cymru leadership in recent years, and the council tax is among the lowest in Wales. One area of risk that is a concern is teachers' salary. Now, in the past, the Government has assisted councils with those costs, but, as I understand it, the Government is now passing that risk on to local authorities, and that's among a whole host of other responsibilities that are being transferred in the settlement—homelessness; the real living wage for carers also. But this risk around teachers' salaries is a very real one. Can we have an assurance that the Government will be willing to step in to provide financial support when the final teachers' settlement is decided, if that is a threat to the other crucial services provided by councils?

Well, Welsh Government has been pleased, in recent years, to be able to provide additional funding to local government in respect of the pressures relating to teachers' pay, but actually, that way of working hasn't been a satisfactory one. And it does mean that, when you look at—. Well, what I've said a couple of times in the course of questions today is that we've allocated all of the funding available to us. So, it's not going to be possible for us to go back and find additional funding in relation to teachers' pay for next year. And I've been really, really clear on that point and other points in my letter to local government leaders that the good funding settlement of 9.4 per cent across Wales will need, now, to include teachers' pay. So, we won't be able to have the same discussions in this coming year as we've had in the last couple of years, because there won't be the funding available. And I think that the good settlement that we provided has been warmly welcomed, and we've been very upfront, now, with local authorities as to what we expect them to be able to deliver as a result.

Finally, question 9, Natasha Asghar.