The Purchase of Public Assets

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:21 pm on 9 March 2022.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 2:21, 9 March 2022

Thank you for raising this question. Obviously, I would associate myself with what the First Minister said in response to the issue yesterday. We have looked at the situation in England and I know that when the registers were introduced, there was actually quite a mixed response to the scheme when it was introduced in England. And our recently published Welsh Government community asset transfer research doesn't point to the need for a legislative solution. Instead, it recommends working with local authorities and with transferees to develop and share best practice. And that's where we're putting our focus at the moment.

I do think we have some excellent examples of schemes that have been taking place here in Wales. We've got our community asset loan fund and that's operated on our behalf by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, and that provides long-term loans to incorporated community groups that are seeking to purchase those community assets. And then also our excellent community facilities programme that provides those capital grants to community groups to purchase or improve well-used and much-needed community assets. So, I think the kind of level of support that we're providing here in Wales is impressive, particularly in terms of finance, but also the sharing of best practice and so on. And I think that most of us, if not all of us, will be very familiar with community schemes locally that have benefited from the community facilities programme that is providing grants right across Wales.