Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:46 pm on 27 April 2022.
I always like to answer a direct question with a direct answer. So, no, I do not agree with the Member on that. I am surprised that, in the week of local government elections, or just before that week of local government elections, the Conservative Member would want to raise what he describes as historic underfunding of local government in Wales, because, of course, this is nothing if it's not a remnant of the period of austerity, which we went to. It's absolutely the case that Welsh Government is only able to provide the funding to local government that we receive from the UK Government, and although we have had an improved settlement this year, we've always sought to prioritise local government within the funding that we have. But we have been through 10 years of austerity and that's being felt still by local authorities, of course it is, but also by households right across Wales, as we move into the cost-of-living crisis.