The following amendments have been selected: amendment 1 in the name of Lesley Griffiths, and amendment 2 in the name of Siân Gwenllian. If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be deselected.

Item 6 this afternoon is the Welsh Conservatives' debate on local communities, and I call on Sam Rowlands to move the motion.

Motion NDM7992 Darren Millar

To propose that the Senedd:

Believes that the Labour Welsh Government is failing local communities.

Motion moved.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. May I say that I'm absolutely delighted to be moving today's motion in the name of Darren Millar? For the last time in this term, certainly, I'd like to declare my interest as an elected member of Conwy County Borough Council, with my 14 years of being a county borough and town councillor sadly coming to an end. I'm sure we're all disappointed to hear that.

As our motion states today,

'the Labour Welsh Government is failing local communities.'

What a time to be having this important debate, with people up and down our country going to the ballot box tomorrow and with also so many who have already voted by post to decide who their next local councillor will be. I'm sure all Members from across the Chamber share the enthusiasm that I have for tomorrow's election, as it's such an important time for our communities. Councillors are so important in our cities, towns and villages, they are the true local champions who have the power and drive to deliver change in our communities when they're properly empowered to do so.

In opening today's debate, I'd like to focus on three areas in which I believe this Labour Welsh Government is failing our communities. The first area I'd like to focus on is funding. As we know, this Government in Wales has provided historic underfunding to our councils that continues to force them to raise council tax to deliver the services that are increasingly in demand. Since Labour have been in Government here in Wales, council tax has shot up across the country by nearly 200 per cent, adding £900 to the average household bill. This is why I find the Government's amendment rather intriguing, as they state the UK Government has failed to take the cost-of-living crisis seriously—the same Welsh Government that forced residents to pay higher council tax through lower funding, forcing this very tough and unpopular decision making upon our councils and councillors. It's time that local government is given the true funding that it deserves—funding that's fair across Wales. This would unleash our local champions and enable them to do an even better job than they are doing right now. 

Secondly, the Welsh Labour Government continues to neglect our local communities by simply not supporting and trusting locally elected people. As Members from across this Chamber rightfully know, devolution, of course, was introduced to bring power as close to the people as possible, and it's our local councillors who are closest to local people and local issues. Yet, with a Welsh Labour Government, it's clear that they want devolution to go no further than Cardiff Bay. And as I raised with the Minister for Finance and Local Government just last week, councils and councillors continue to be frustrated with the layers of bureaucracy and the layers of governance, boards and bodies being put in place by this Labour Government. It's seen through public services boards, regional partnership boards, regional leadership boards, corporate joint committees, all of which are watering down power and control away from locally elected people. Another example of this lack of trust for locally elected people is the post-EU funding. Time and time again, we hear from Welsh Government attacking the UK Government for giving money and funding straight to our councils. Unlike them, it's the Conservatives who trust locally elected people to make the right decisions for the communities, rather than the mothership of Cardiff Bay trying to steer what councils do time and time again. Now is the time for our councils to flourish by trusting them to do what is right for communities in Wales.

The third area, and the final area where the Labour Welsh Government continues to fail our local communities is when it comes to pride in the places that we live and work. It's vital that we empower our communities further with neighbourhood plans, allowing local people to take the lead on where new housing and services should be built and developed, along with introducing community ownership funds to help communities take control and manage their local facilities and services. It's these things that create a sense of ownership and pride in the places that we live, giving that power to very local people. 

Many of our communities are in dire need of improvement, and much of this comes down to bread-and-butter issues. We need to ensure that bins are collected on time, that potholes are filled in, dangerous pavements are repaired, and that people receive the education and social care that they deserve. And when we see what may be seen as small things dealt with, we also see businesses flourishing, with more jobs for local people, pride restored back into our towns and villages, and local people at the forefront of decision making.

In closing these opening remarks, Deputy Presiding Officer, it's been 23 years since power has been devolved to Wales, and since, under successive Labour Welsh Governments propped up by Plaid Cymru, the quality of life has barely improved for many Welsh communities. Councils deliver the crucial services that our residents rely on, yet the decades of underfunding from this Government has meant their ability to improve public services has been hampered and held back. Now is the time to support our communities and local businesses, trust local people, and work with all sectors to enhance local communities and local services. For far too long, this Government have taken Wales for granted and think that they know best rather than trust local people. It's only by voting for local Welsh Conservative champions that people can take back control of their communities' future and deliver stronger and safer communities. I call on all Members to support our motion and reject the amendments in front of us. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

I have selected the two amendments to the motion. If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be deselected. I call on the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt, to move amendment 1, tabled in the name of Lesley Griffiths.

Amendment 1—Lesley Griffiths

Delete all and replace with:

To propose that the Senedd:

Recognises the Welsh Government has acted to protect communities across Wales from the UK Government’s failure to take seriously the cost-of-living crisis and its refusal to reverse its harmful cut to universal credit. 

Amendment 1 moved.

Formally.

I call on Peredur Owen Griffiths to move amendment 2, tabled in the name of Siân Gwenllian.

Amendment 2—Siân Gwenllian

Delete all and replace with:

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Believes that the regressive policies of successive Westminster Governments—under Labour and the Conservatives—and the lack of ambition of Labour Welsh Governments have failed Welsh communities.

2. Believes that the Cooperation Agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government secures a number of transformational policies that will benefit the people and communities of Wales.

Amendment 2 moved.

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I move the amendment formally in the name of Siân Gwenllian.

Many people in communities I represent will find it a bit rich that the Tories have brought this debate here today into the Senedd. I represent many former mining villages and towns throughout South Wales East. People living in these places will remember well that it was the Tories that did their best to rip out the heart of these communities during the 1980s. In the last 12 years, austerity politics, which was backed in its early years in Westminster by a docile Labour opposition, has exacerbated generations of neglect and underfunding in communities still reeling from the closure of pits.

If the Tories want to talk about failing communities in Wales, then they should take a long, hard look at themselves in a mirror first. And what about the Labour Government here in Wales? Well, despite what some Members in the Siambr would have their constituents believe, Plaid Cymru continues to support an independent inquiry into floods that devastated communities in 2020. Llanhilleth, Ystrad Mynach and Machen were just some of the places affected in my region. A Welsh flood forum is also needed to provide a voice for the at-risk communities to provide practical support as well as advocating on their behalf. An independent inquiry and a flood forum would provide some much-needed comfort to the people who cannot sleep at night when it rains, for fear of history repeating itself.

The lack of action on air pollution by a Labour Government is not only surprising, but also represents a broken promise. It will be a relief in places like Hafodyrynys, where a street has had to be demolished due to air pollution, when the long-awaited policy will finally be delivered, thanks to a Plaid Cymru role in the co-operation agreement. This legislation is much needed due to the legacy of our industrial past, which has made many in our communities vulnerable to air pollution. It is estimated that the air we breathe can contribute to reduced life expectancy and death, causing something between 1,000 and 1,400 mortalities in Wales every year. The cost to the Welsh NHS is approximately £1 billion a year.

Finally, I want to talk about child poverty in Wales. For a third of our children to be living in poverty is a national disgrace, made worse by the fact that this awful statistic is set to get worse in the months and years to come. Successive Tory Governments in Westminster have a lot to answer for, but there is more that we can do here in Wales, much more. The lack of an anti-poverty programme in the last five years since Labour axed Communities First is disappointing. Thanks to the co-operation agreement, which has put many of Plaid Cymru's manifesto commitments on the agenda of the Government, there are some rays of sunshine amid a gloomy picture. The commitment to guarantee a free school meal for every primary school pupil in Wales will be truly transformational for thousands of families. The bold steps for tackling Wales's growing housing crisis will also address the proliferation of second homes and unaffordable housing. The co-operation agreement also confirms the UK Government's threat to Welsh nationhood with the strongest statement to date that our Senedd is here to stay. The commitment to deliver electoral reform and consequently a larger, stronger, fit-for-purpose Parliament is a direct response to the growing responsibilities held by the Senedd.

Finally, our plan to explore ways in which to achieve net zero by 2035 is a much-need boost to the climate crisis that surely represents our biggest challenge and threat for generations to come. Our communities have suffered under the regressive policies of successive Westminster Governments—yes, both Labour and Conservative ones—and Wales is currently suffering the consequences of a lack of action on key areas, such as flooding, air pollution and poverty. This lack of ambition is failing communities across Wales, and there's so much more that the Government here should be striving towards. Diolch yn fawr.

The premise of this debate today is a Conservative motion that asserts that the Conservative UK Government is failing local communities, or it should be. My communities are great communities. They've been challenged often over many decades, they've bowed sometimes, but they're never beaten, and they're full of great people. I sometimes feel that people from outside the Valleys never quite get the deep sense of belonging and rootedness that keeps us there and keeps us tight through thick and thin. And we've been through really tough times and we've come through. But the failure we see at the moment is a failure of UK Government to empathise with and understand and respond positively to the challenge of these communities.

And with respect to Conservative Members here in the Chamber today, on the benches opposite, Conservative Governments traditionally have not been the friend of my communities. We were once described as, indeed, 'the enemy within' by Margaret Thatcher. And the enemy within, of course, was not the miners alone themselves—it was their families, it was their communities, it was the people who were there. And it's forgetting, of course, that this was always, even back then, about people looking for fairness and social and economic justice. But, of course, that's ancient history, isn't it? Times have changed, things have moved on, it's another time, it's, indeed, another century.

So, let's fast forward. The faces may have changed, but the attitude, unfortunately, was revealed yesterday from the interview with Prime Minister Boris Johnson—it's the same old same old. His appearance on yesterday's GMTV, after five years' of absence, was instructive. The interviewer asked the Prime Minister a very straightforward question, on what more could be done to help Elsie, who is choosing to travel on the buses all day to keep warm because she cannot afford to heat her home and to eat as well—she has no money left. 'What more can be done?', asked the interviewer. His answer—after fumbling and stumbling to find a straight answer, he then, in a moment of supreme narcissism, took credit for introducing the bus freedom pass that Elsie can make use of. How delighted Elsie must have been that she has a Prime Minister who provides warm, free buses to look after her while her home freezes.

After this, the interviewer, shocked at this response, pushed the Prime Minister again on what else could be done for Elsie, who has exhausted all other options available to her. 'Would it be worth taking VAT off heating?', she asked, 'What about a windfall tax on the shocking profits of the fossil-fuel energy companies, who are currently using their proceeds to balance their accounts and pay dividends instead of helping Elsie?' Again, the Prime Minister performed what he might have referred to, actually, as a Chaucerian trick, what Chaucer might have referred to as the oral equivalent of flatulence. He faffed and he fluffed away, explaining there was nothing more he or his Government could do.

Elsie is now living in all of our communities. When we say there are people who are making today the choice between heating and eating, that's not a rhetorical device, it's a fact. It's now increasingly commonplace. When we say that there are people turning up in foodbanks in suits and in uniforms after work, it's not unusual, it's the new normal. The UK Conservative Government is now creating, by design or neglect, a new generation of people we've seen in our communities before under previous Conservative Governments—a generation of in-work as well as out-of-work poverty. [Interruption.] I will give way in a moment. A generation of increasing debt, and the first generation, Darren, of many whose prospects are now worse than their mothers' and their fathers' and their grandparents'. Statistically, factually, true. What's happening, Darren?

Well, if he wants to talk about prospects for people, then we need to sort out our education system in Wales, which your Government is responsible for, and is the worst, unfortunately, in the United Kingdom. In terms of what the United Kingdom is doing to help people at the current time with the cost-of-living situation in our country, we know that the national living wage has risen to a record level—a boost of £1,000 a year for the lowest paid. 

It's an intervention.

We know that universal credit taper rate—

I think the intervention—[Inaudible.]

—has been reduced, to put another £1,000 in the pockets of the lowest paid, 2 million people across the UK.

Can I ask—

Fuel duty—

Darren, can I ask you—[Inaudible.]

—has been frozen for 12 years in a row.

Darren. Darren.

Do you regret—

He's taken a minute already.

Do you regret the paltry pension increase that—

I think he's gone on a little bit now.

—the former UK Labour Government gave to our pensioners, which didn't even pay for a packet of peanuts each year?

Before you reply—

[Inaudible.]—a minute. Sorry, Deputy Llywydd.

The Member knows I will check the times, okay. Before you reply, can I remind Members that interventions are to ask questions, not to make your own speeches, okay?

I asked a question.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Our communities, Darren, have now faced a decade of austerity in the vital public realm and cuts to social security, which have eaten into public services across the UK and impoverished already poor people. From the bedroom tax to the cuts in universal credit, this current Conservative Government is as familiar to our communities as the Thatcher Government was of indifference to runaway employment and the poll tax. It's the same old Government. So, our communities now face, after this decade of austerity, a Conservative cost-of-living crisis, which is exacerbated by rising energy prices and the unwillingness of the UK Government and Prime Minister to take action, but it's made worse by Conservative decisions.

So, in bringing this to a close—after the one-minute intervention there—we have unemployment support now fallen to its lowest real-terms value in more than three decades. We have the value of pensions and benefits, Darren, with payments that have fallen to the lowest point in 50 years. We have the Joseph Rowntree Foundation saying pensioners and benefits claimants have seen the value of their payments fall in real terms in eight of the last 10 years. They say, Darren, in terms of their values—how much bread and milk you can buy in the shops—it's the biggest fall in value since 1972. The £20 a week uplift in universal credit, brought in to help recipients whose income suffered as a result of the pandemic, ended in September. People have lost more than £1,000 as a result. Even with the changes—even with the changes—to in-work benefits, such as the reduction of the taper rate and an increase in the work allowance by £500, three quarters of households on universal credit are set to receive less now than they did a year ago, and recipients who don't work at all will lose the entire COVID uplift, equal to over £1,000 a year. And now we have tax rises, national insurance rises—

I have given the Member more than enough time for the intervention. 

Indeed, I would simply say, Deputy Presiding Officer, oppose the Conservative motion, support the Government motion. The Conservatives are letting our communities down. 

Can I remind Members that I will allocate time for the interventions? So, I don't need to be reminded to do so, but I also ask Members, when they intervene, to ask questions and not make statements. Peter Fox. 

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I declare my interest also as a Monmouthshire councillor, the last one, ending, like Sam, a long career of 25 years in local authorities. [Interruption.] Yes. Dirprwy Lywydd, our motion is right on so many levels, be it regarding families and communities, the economy, the shortcomings in educational attainment, and, of course, as we all know here, some significant issues facing our Welsh NHS. If only—. Because everybody wants to talk about just now, these last few months, these last few years, but if only successive Labour Welsh Governments had done more over the past 23 years to build stronger and more resilient communities, then those communities would be in a far better position to deal with the challenges facing many today.

Likewise, if more focus had been put into strengthening our economy, through knocking down barriers to inward investment, promoting Wales globally, by seeking out more research and development, the Government could have enabled the creation of many new industries, new careers, better jobs, with huge benefits to Wales and its communities. These things create life chances for people and their families and bring hope and aspiration for future generations. But, no, not enough has been achieved under Welsh Labour. 

The number of Welsh children living in poverty, as was pointed out on the other side of the Chamber, even before the recent cost-of-living crisis, has only moderately reduced in 20 years—

Would the Member give way?

I'll just finish this point, if I may, Huw. Despite Welsh Labour saying there would be no children living in poverty—Tony Blair—by 2020. 

Would the Member acknowledge that, in the 1997 to 2010 Government, with Welsh Labour here and UK Labour at the UK Government, 1 million children were lifted out of absolute poverty—not relative poverty, absolute poverty? Independent figures will show that that was the case. The Institute for Fiscal Studies will show it. Does he agree with those figures, and what does he think made the difference? 

The focus of this debate is what Wales's Government have done over 20 years, and Wales's Government have lifted very few children out of poverty. We have the same amount in poverty now as we had 20 years ago. 

So, likewise, if more focus had been on—. Oh, I've talked about that bit. [Laughter.] These things create life chances. And I've mentioned that bit as well, but the number of Welsh children living in poverty has not reduced, and that's a sad indictment of what this Government has managed to achieve. And, yes, I acknowledge how hard it is for so many Welsh citizens right now, but what I'm saying is that more could have been done over the years. More families could have been given hope and been given the tools to achieve what they aspire to. So, yes, in these regards, Labour have failed local communities. 

Again, I have rehearsed in this Chamber that Welsh Government has let down local government, and certainly rural authorities have had to provide the many hundreds of functions and services to our citizens year in and year out. And I speak as someone who has substantial experience in this area, given I led currently Wales's only Conservative controlled council for over 13 years. Monmouthshire has been the lowest-funded council in Wales since the local authority was created, but, despite that, it provides many of the best services in Wales, including groundbreaking person-led social care models, and delivered many new primary schools, new comprehensive schools—two new ones recently, two more to come—new leisure centres. We protected our cultural services, indeed invested in the Borough Theatre in Abergavenny. And we've also been paying the real living wage for several years, when others have just talked about it. And years before COVID struck, we had already implemented agile working, focusing on our staff's work-life balance, which attracted councils from all over the UK to see how we did it. I could go on and on. And I've worked with many Ministers—indeed, our Minister here today—over the many years, and they know what Conservative-controlled Monmouthshire County Council has delivered. Ultimately, what propels Conservative-controlled councils into action is the realisation that we are answerable to the electorate, and, that in mind, we never take our residents for granted.

So, despite Monmouthshire being the lowest funded council in Wales by a huge distance, it still manages to deliver above and beyond that of many Labour-run councils. Bizarrely, Labour-controlled councils generally slash vital services—a way to make ends meet—despite even sitting on vast sums of reserves, as we heard yesterday in this Chamber. The Conservatives in Monmouthshire haven't pulled out of things like shared services, such as Gwent Music or Gwent Outdoor Education, as our neighbours have. We know the value of these things and we still stay committed to them. Where Conservative councils deliver for communities, my experience tells me that Labour councils too often fail theirs. But there's more good work to come. Under the dynamic leadership of Councillor Richard John and his able colleagues, there are new and exciting plans for Monmouthshire, offering children and young people the best possible start in life, empowering people to live independently, delivering better connected and sustainable communities. These are Councillor John's and his colleagues' bold commitments. Monmouthshire County Council is a template for others to look and to learn from.

So, Deputy Llywydd, I'm afraid the motion as stands is right that the Welsh Labour Government, and, indeed, Labour at all levels, have let communities down. Thank you.

Before I call the next speaker, I would like to welcome the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, who are in the gallery. I'm aware they're in Cardiff for their conference. So, welcome. And I am sure, other than the electioneering that I'm hearing, the issue actually of the debate is something that is very important for the communities that they represent. Mabon ap Gwynfor. 

Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Let's be honest, this isn't really a debate; this is a desperate attempt by the Members opposite to get some social media clips in preparedness for tomorrow's election, but let's plough on nevertheless. 

Wales is a community of communities. That was the decree of some of the foremost leaders of the national movement, as it has been over the past 100 years, and I and others continue to share that message today. So, I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss this issue before us today. But the truth is that it isn't the Labour Party in Wales, or indeed the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, that is letting the communities of Wales down, but rather the neo-liberal ideology that dominates their thinking—that's what lets us down. This is the ideology that led to that noted Conservative, Norman Tebbit, saying, 'Get on your bike', without any concern at all for the people in our communities. In the same way, in discussing second homes and the right to live at home campaign, members of the Conservative Party opposite have asked, 'Well, what right do people have to live in the communities where they grew up?' 

So, what is a community? According to this ideology, community doesn't mean a thing. It's a collection of buildings alone, with people coming and going. We see this increasingly today, don't we, as villages and small towns develop into no more than satellites for larger towns: commuter towns, where people sleep at night to travel back and forth to the workplace. But it's people who make a community, be that a small geographical community or a nation, or an online community. It's people and people's relationships with each other that should be at the heart of everything we discuss here: those little conversations between parents at the school gate at 3.00 in the afternoon, the children playing in the park on a sunny day, that question, 'Well, how's your mother? How's your father?' when you bump into someone when you buy bread in the shop, the celebration or the commiseration when you see the boys or girls succeeding on the playing field, the chapel or the church, the pub, the public meeting, the bingo, the concert, the ramblers group. All of this and much more is the rich social fabric of a community. But, without this, without the community school, without the local pub, without the chapel, without the hall, the playground, the park, the shop, the bus, the bingo, without all of these things, it's not a community that we have, but a mental health crisis as people live in lonely silos. This neo-liberal regime treats our communities like quarries, to be exploited in order to extract wealth and then abandoned when that wealth comes to an end.

Every element of public policy or private investment depends on the numbers of people, not their needs and requirements, and this is neo-liberalism at its core. Because, at the heart of this, the yardstick is value for money, not the quality of life, not the quality of a community's life. That's what drives society today unfortunately; that's neo-liberalism. 

There are several examples of this, but I want to refer to one specific example. Consider planning: today, a major construction company can apply to build a large estate of homes. That estate doesn't have to include a school or a surgery. The planning department can try to enforce the presence of a some park or a link road and ask for pennies to be contributed to the local school, but fundamentally a developer can have a major project with huge profits at the expense of the community.

If an application is rejected then the developer can appeal to the planning inspector. But, if the development is then allowed, where is the right of the community to appeal? There is no right of appeal for a community. This is one example of the neo-liberal system putting profit and capitalist needs ahead of community needs, and it shows that it's the current neo-liberal system that militates against communities.

That's why I ask you to vote against the motion—[Interruption.] Well, as I conclude, of course, Sam.

Diolch, Mabon. You make some really interesting points there, particularly around the community ownership and the definition around communities. So, would you agree with me on the points I raised earlier that what we're seeing at the moment is that lack of trust in terms of that community ownership, and there are some barriers in the way that do not allow a community to get a sense of ownership around some of the community assets and other things that may be available to them at the moment, and that needs to change?

Indeed, that was one of the few things that I did agree with in your contribution, Sam. The need to have that local ownership is greater than ever, and I certainly hope that we will see more of that during this Senedd, and we are already seeing cross-party support for that concept of having local ownership of community assets. Thank you very much.

My declaration is that I will be not fighting any elections after 10 years as a community and elected BCBC councillor. 

Now, let me talk about Bridgend. I'll make it simple. Bridgend used to be a vibrant town, full of life, businesses and shoppers. Many people now shop online, or they go to Cardiff or Swansea. Its decline is truly sad. Lockdown was the last straw for many struggling businesses, and for those still open, trade has not returned to its pre-COVID levels. We should be doing all we can to help our businesses thrive as we build back from the pandemic. We want them to thrive, not just survive. But the sad reality is that this Labour Government is punishing our businesses within Wales by having the highest business rates in Great Britain.

Town centres like Bridgend’s are so important to people’s social lives and their overall well-being. This is why local people should have a central role in the future of their town centre and community. The Welsh Conservatives have a clear plan to build stronger, safer communities and rejuvenate our town centres and high streets. And not only that, but we want to put power back in the hands of local people so that they can take the lead on deciding where new housing and services should be built. We want to see residents buy at-risk local facilities, such as the local pub, shop and library, which are often focal points of our communities. Local neighbourhood schemes and the community ownership fund have the ability to unlock the potential that has been clear, but is sadly being lost under Labour.

Imagine what a vibrant town could do for the health of its surrounding communities. We could take the pressure off people who are struggling to make ends meet and make Bridgend a town its inhabitants can be proud of again. For Bridgend to thrive, we need to make the town centre an attractive place to invest once again, by lowering the costs on small businesses and working with South Wales Police to reduce the anti-social behaviour that scares so many people into not going into town.

In addition to the promised council tax rises, the people in Bridgend will be asked to endure an average energy bill of nearly £700 per household. In the UK, it is estimated that 12 per cent of households are in fuel poverty as they choose between food, heating and even council tax. More needs to be done to secure energy provision for the Bridgend area. In February this year, a wind turbine collapsed at a farm that provides electricity for around 18,000 homes. Not only is this dangerous for anyone near the actual turbine, but it puts vulnerable people at risk, especially those who rely on electricity to keep vital services operational.

The UK Government has recently unveiled a scheme to breathe new life into town centres in England. The new law will force landlords to let out retail units that have been vacant for six months or more. Local authorities can stage rental auctions, allowing new businesses the opportunity to lease premises at an affordable cost and give a new business a fighting chance. Bridgend would be a prime area for such a strategy in Wales, with so many empty premises. I urge the First Minister to consider this plan and consider Bridgend for this.

The town centre is not the only area in Bridgend that is neglected. Pen-y-Fai has no walking or cycling routes. We can’t walk to Bridgend, which is only 2 miles away. Our children can’t walk to their schools, because there are no safe walking or cycling routes for them to use. What a shame. This is despite Pen-y-Fai being supported in the active travel plan. The residents of Pen-y-Fai are confined to Pen-y-Fai unless they use public transport or drive. Another: there is no pedestrian crossing near the petrol station on Tondu Road, this further isolates people as they can’t cross the road safely. Will someone need to be killed or seriously injured before any action is taken to rectify this?

The Member needs to conclude now, please.

I'll make a last point, sir.

The people of Bridgend deserve better, and we must do better to ensure they have a place they can raise a family and have a community and home fit for the twenty-first century. Thank you.

Can I declare I'm a Flintshire councillor, for the last day?

When you walk around the community I'm proud to be part of, you can see what has been achieved thanks to the policies and investment of the Welsh Labour Government working with Labour-led Flintshire council: twenty-first century schools, extended new nursery provision, investment in community buildings, new social housing, council houses growing to 500 council houses, enveloping schemes, solar panels on pensioners' bungalows reducing what they have to pay, play facilities—we've kept all the play facilities and we're reinvesting in those—cycle routes, pedestrian crossings—so, what's happening with Altaf there—and the list just goes on.

Over the last 15 years, as well as being a county councillor, I've also been on two community councils, the village hall committee, Hafan Deg committee, the church committee and the playgroup committee. I've organised festivals, carnivals, fashion shows, fundraisers and community transport, and helped renovate the village hall and several play areas. It's about people. It's about providing things for people, for the community. The community is people.

The rural development fund, which was European funding through Welsh Government and rural development agencies—I was also on one of those as well—is no longer in existence and has not been replaced with anything similar by the UK Government post Brexit, and needs re-introducing. It enabled seed funding for community events and projects, bursaries for start-up businesses—I've heard that talked about on the news recently as well, how important it was and it was really useful—community enhancements to create a sense of place, such as websites and signage, and to create communities. Quantifying the amazing outcome of these small improvements to build strong communities was always difficult, but the investment is there to see. Examples of events funded by this funding stream are: the Denbigh Plum Festival, which Gareth goes on about—I see Gareth on the screen; the Mold Food and Drink Festival and the food supplier tent at the Flint and Denbigh show.

The current Welsh Government's community facilities programme grant has helped to renovate village halls and community facilities in areas of deprivation. The latest funding round has awarded a share of £1.78 million to 24 community groups, including the Enbarr Foundation in Flintshire, towards resurrecting the old John Summers building to enable the local community to access employment opportunities. Rhyl and District RFC, Gareth, was previously given £490,000 from Welsh Government under the same scheme, which saw the club move from outside the town with limited transport routes into the centre of an area of deprivation and low-car ownership, opposite a high school and next to a cycle path, enabling easy access to local schools and residential areas. And since opening, despite the pandemic, it now employs 20 full-time staff, has 26 groups using the facilities, including choirs, exercise groups, Knit and Natter, and a weekly disco for people with disabilities. They have almost doubled the amount of people participating in rugby—

Will the Member take an intervention? I have had an intervention request from Gareth Davies. 

Yes, sure, Gareth. 

Gareth Davies. 

Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. I'm glad that you mentioned Rhyl rugby club. The success of Rhyl rugby club seems to go on and on and the community assets there are fantastic. Would you agree that funds for the town centre and Welsh Government funding into the Queen's buildings need to be accelerated in order to assist with the high street development and also to enhance the potential that Rhyl has as a town?

I was referring to the rugby club, so that's what I know about, but I do know about the Queen's buildings too. All this funding is really important, whether it's European funding, Welsh Government funding, funding from the UK Government as well. It's really important to enable facilities for our residents, so I can agree with you.

Welsh Government has also funded learning hubs. I visited Tŷ Calon in Queensferry recently, another combined sports and community facility funded by Welsh Government. It's next to the Welsh Government-funded adult disability day-care centre, Hwb Cyfle, and the pupil referral unit. It's run by various charities and organisations running community facilities and learning. And the first of its kind health and well-being centre will be built in Pen-y-groes, on the site of a former bus depot, working in partnership with Grŵp Cynefin, Gwynedd Council and the health board. It will be a modern hub offering access to health, dental, pharmacy and preventative services, social services, care for the elderly, offices, a crèche facility and an art place on the site for the local community, with funding from Welsh Government's integrated care fund funding.

Now, all this is despite the UK Government cutting public service funding, and Wales would be £3 billion better off if funding from the UK Government had risen in line with the economy. And now we have lost European funding, of which Wales was a net beneficiary. Of the replacement UK funding stream, the community renewal fund, there were 26 unsuccessful bids from Wales and hundreds from across the UK. I had a check, there were 21 pages. It's not the Welsh Government that's letting down Welsh communities; Brexit and the entirely unfit for purpose replacement funding has meant that investment opportunities for communities are dwindling—

The Member now needs to conclude.

—and it's the UK Tory Government that needs to step up and provide the funding needed as a matter of urgency for public services, not cut them. Thank you.

As everyone else has done it, I'd like to declare that I'm a councillor—only for a few more days. I'd like to start by thanking my colleague Sam Rowlands for opening this debate and all my other colleagues for their comments so far. Though we have talked about the different issues facing our communities, I want to take this opportunity to talk about the system of centralised Government planning that we have here in Wales, and how it will always fail to adequately understand the future needs and wants of local communities. So, it will always fall short in providing effectively for them. Some failures we are seeing today in our communities are caused by the fact that the Welsh Government did not foresee the changes within communities five, 10 or even 15 years ago, and so did not develop appropriate policy.

Moreover, the relatively slow process of legislating means that it takes several years before data is sufficiently collected, policy is written and then passed through the Chamber, which means that community cohesion is often lost or damaged long before steps are eventually taken. This then means that Government is always playing catch-up to restore what was lost, and people become apathetic to this system of Government. 

I believe what is really needed to help our local communities is the ability for them to more effectively decide what works best for them, and then Government to support them in a timely fashion, which allows for an agile community response to existential threats. This support could be a system of temporary legislation that is enacted in order to prevent problems from becoming worse, and that holds until more evidence is collected or a fuller legislative procedure is passed. 

Let's take Maindy velodrome as a working example. Cathays High School want to expand onto the site, and in so doing, they will destroy a local and historic community asset. The community are thus cornered by Cardiff Council, because if they do not agree to give up their much-loved velodrome, then there will be no or just limited upgrades to Cathays High School. I believe that it is wrong that a community should be put into such a position as this, because it creates long-lasting divisions, as some people will fight to save the velodrome and others will fight for the school upgrade. These divisions also become extremely personal. For example, those fighting to save the velodrome will undoubtedly and unfairly be accused of wanting to deprive children of an improved education. 

There is another issue in that local communities have no power to formally recognise and stop developments they perceive to have a negative  impact. To take another example with Cowbridge old girls' school, there's overwhelming local support to save this building. The community wants it but it doesn't tick the right boxes for Cadw. The Deputy Minister responsible believes that the local community just has to lump it and lose local heritage that is important to them. It is fundamentally wrong that this community does not have the power to save this piece of local heritage, and I believe that they should be empowered by Welsh Government to repurpose this building, and then support their project rather than simply washing their hands of it. 

We therefore need greater empowerment of local communities to save what matters to them, and to use the power of Government, local or otherwise, to enforce it. So, rather than Government telling communities what they think they want, Government has a duty of care to respond to what the community actually wants. If we are here to help local communities to stay vibrant, healthy and dynamic, they must have the ability to prevent unwanted changes being forced upon them by Government and other outside influences. Mechanisms should be in place that can be enacted quickly to protect the community when a problem is identified, and communities should not have to fight so hard to get their voices heard. 

I believe that communities across Wales have been let down by the Welsh Government because it does not empower them. Instead, it puts so many obstacles in their way that they're encouraged not to bother, or simply just give up. Sometimes, the most financially efficient way for a council is not always best for the community, and we have to accept this if we are to protect local communities for the future. Thank you. 

I call the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt. 

Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd. Can I just start by saying to Sam Rowlands, who opened the debate, and to all those who have declared that they're standing down tomorrow, congratulations on the great service that you've all done in local government as leaders and councillors? Having been a councillor myself, I'm absolutely passionate about the importance of local government and the role of local councils. But, can I say that Carolyn Thomas has to be the prize role model for being a local councillor coming from the grass roots? It's a brilliant role that you've played, and now you're here representing the whole of the North Wales region as a Senedd Member.

Can I say, Dirprwy Llywydd, that I find it difficult to comprehend how the Welsh Conservatives can table this motion at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is devastating people's lives here in Wales in the communities that we represent? People outside this Chamber—indeed, in our public gallery, I'm sure—will hear their words and wonder what alternate reality it is that they're occupying. They'll wonder why the Welsh Conservatives are so concerned with the well-being of communities across Wales. They've failed to stand up for them when it has mattered most.

The reality that they seem to occupy is not a reality where they have urged Boris Johnson to step in on the cost of living. It's not a reality where they have fiercely safeguarded the £20 uplift in universal credit. It's not a reality where they have fought tooth and nail to secure a fair financial settlement for Wales. Instead, it's a reality where their response to the cost-of-living crisis is to allow more time between MOTs. Where is their passion to protect Welsh communities? They haven't demanded the £3 billion that's owed to our Welsh budget and our communities. [Interruption.] Obviously, Deputy Llywydd, people across Wales are facing an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. The OBR said—[Interruption.]

Will the Minister give way to a Member?

Yes. [Inaudible.] Jack.

Thank you, Minister, for giving way. We've heard what you have said there about the disgraceful acts of the UK Government, but we did hear from the Conservative benches that they want strong voices to represent communities. Do you agree with me that the best way to have strong representation in your community is by voting Welsh Labour tomorrow?

And I think that you will see the outcome of that, when local democracy will prevail tomorrow. But the serious point about this debate that we are having today is the news stories, day to day, of prices soaring: food, fuel, clothes, travel costs, rent, a 54 per cent increase in the energy cap alone. It's the single largest increase in UK energy bills for more than 20 years. The average fuel bill will rise to almost £2,000 a year. What was the Tory response to this? A one-off £200 rebate that must be repaid.

Meanwhile, the Welsh Government has invested more than double what we have received in consequential funding from the UK Government. Our £51 million household support fund in December targets support at people who need it the most. The heart of this is our winter fuel support payment—a £100 cash payment. We doubled that to £200. Also, there's £1.1 million to support foodbanks, community food partnerships and community hubs.

But after Ofgem announced those increases to the energy cap, we then initiated a £330 million cost-of-living package of support, far beyond that announced by the UK Government. It included the £150 cost-of-living payment, supporting over a million households, and a further £25 million—all important for local authorities that they have that discretionary fund as well, to meet those whom they know need it most.

There's £21.4 million allocated to extend free school meals through Easter, Whitsun and summer, and, crucially important and called for in this Chamber, we're extending the discretionary assistance fund—£100 million more for that—and extending the winter fuel support scheme into next year. That all-important payment—no loans. A payment. This is £200 of money that's going into the pockets of those who need it, unlike the UK Government rebate, which has to be repaid. It's not a rebate. It's just a loan.

So, this is what it looks like for us, the Welsh Labour Government, to stand up for Welsh communities. 

Will you take an intervention?

Yes, Darren.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing that the UK Government did to support people with the cost-of-living situation. They also gave a £150 council tax discount to homes, albeit in England. You got a consequential. You could go 20 per cent further than that here in Wales because, of course, for every £1 that is spent on a devolved service in England, Wales has £1.20 to spend here. Why didn't you give a more generous council tax discount to home owners and council tax payers in Wales, who have had to deal with increases of up to 300 per cent in council tax in some local authorities since 1999, when the Labour Party has been in Government in Wales? 

Well, you forget, of course, Darren, our £244 million council tax reduction scheme. That, in itself, is helping over 270,000 households, and there are 220,000 exempted from council tax altogether, but they are still getting that £150 cost-of-living payment. That's still being paid to those households in Wales.

But it's also crucially important that we look to the other ways of standing up for local authorities: the £0.75 billion extra in the local government settlement, and funding for schools, social care, the real living wage. It's crucially important in terms of social care workers—that's the £43 million allocated to health boards to implement it—and the extraordinary contributions that they made, in terms of the extra funding allocated to social care.

But also, it is important that the community facilities programme has been mentioned as well: £42 million for close to 300 projects, from Anglesey to Monmouthshire. I am sure that that's in every one of your constituencies that you will see that. But we've also protected jobs and businesses across all of our—

I'm so sorry to make another intervention so soon, but I'd like say something about the community facilities programme. Can I commend the Welsh Government for that programme? It's seen significant investment in many community facilities in my own patch, including places of worship, which have been adapted and are now the hubs of their community, as they always have been, but now with much upgraded facilities. Can you confirm that you will continue to commit to that fund, increasing that investment over the course of this Senedd?

Our commitment was the £42 million plus, the 300 projects, throughout the pandemic, in fact, extending it to ensure that it could meet the needs of the pandemic. But it's important that we recognise that this is an issue about local communities influencing what they want, like the Al-Ikhlas cultural education centre in Cardiff—awarded £0.25 million to convert two adjacent properties into a community hub. And I've been very keen that there should be an interfaith approach in terms of reaching out to our Muslim communities, Hindu communities, Christian communities as well. And we've protected jobs and businesses across all our communities.

So, in conclusion, just in terms of all the funding that we've provided to build 20,000 low-carbon homes, £1 billion in capital for education, Flying Start—. We could go on, Deputy Llywydd, with every portfolio giving swathes of examples of how this Welsh Labour Government, with support in many areas from Plaid Cymru, is standing up for the communities we serve, and delivering on our programme for Government. So, the truth is, Deputy Llywydd, it's an audacious move indeed, even in this world of politics, for the Welsh Conservatives to table such a motion when they do such a disservice to the people who need us most. This Government will continue to deliver. We will continue to be the fiercest defenders, with our partners in local government, of those we serve. Diolch yn fawr.

I call on Mark Isherwood to reply to the debate. 

Thanks to Sam Rowlands for opening the debate. As he said, councils are so important in our cities, towns and communities, when properly empowered to be so. As he said, the Labour Welsh Government is failing communities in three key areas.

Funding: councils need fair funding across the whole of Wales, including Flintshire.  I know Carolyn Thomas has been part of campaigns locally, highlighting the failure of Labour's funding policy to properly fund the county she was a representative in. Not supporting and trusting locally elected people: we need devolution as close to the people as possible, but the Welsh Government is instead grabbing power to Cardiff Bay. And empowering local people to take the lead on where we need houses, facilities and services—where they should be developed, trusting local people.

Peredur Owen Griffiths referred to his representation of many former mining towns and villages, still reeling—and this is a bit of poetic licence here—after 25 years of continuous Labour Government in Wales. And perhaps I should declare: I myself am the great-grandson of a miner, whose son, my grandfather, was told he wasn't going down the mine; he was going to break the chains that had existed for so many generations beforehand. He referred to the lack of action by the Labour Government on flooding and air pollution, and the high levels of children in Wales living in poverty—something I've been highlighting here for 19 years, long before the Government changes intervening, following that. As he said, it's a national disgrace, as is Labour's lack of an anti-poverty strategy.

Huw Irranca-Davies says his communities are full of great people, and of course they are full of great people, but from then on we heard a deflection of responsibility and a denial of accountability by a member of the party that has been responsible for promoting prosperity and tackling poverty in Wales for 25 years, and which bequeathed austerity—

Will the Member take an intervention? Sorry, you've got a Member behind you who is asking.

I'll take one short intervention.

Thank you. It's just that my name was mentioned earlier on. Could you just repeat what you said, because I want to just clarify that, please, for the record?

You have been party to the campaigns by Flintshire county councillors, cross party, to have the Welsh Government's local government funding formula changed, so that Flintshire ceases to be one of the worst funded councils in Wales.

That's not what you said. You said I was against Welsh Labour policy. So, thank you for correcting that. That's fine.

Well, Welsh Government policy was to support that local government funding formula. [Interruption.]

We will check the Record later to make sure that clarity is made on what was said. 

Sorry, but it's with the WLGA as well. Thank you. Not Welsh Labour.

The Record will be checked later to make sure what was said.

And the party—[Interruption.] Sorry.

We have another intervention. Will you take another one, Mark?

I'm sorry?

We have another intervention. Will you take another one?

Well, we're a bit short on time.

I'll give you the time, Mark.

Very brief, if you would.

Very, very brief indeed. I'm trying to seek an answer to the question I posed before: why is it that, when there was Welsh Labour Government here and a UK Labour Government as well, we saw a million children lifted out of poverty? What is it out of that strange coalition that happened that succeeded where the UK Government has failed, both before and after that Government?

During the boom years based on unsustainable debt, poverty fell, but then it started rising again pre 2010, and by 2010—. Look at the Record of speeches I made and colleagues made in the Chamber here in 2010 highlighting that problem and calling for action to address it. You check the Record.

Can the Members on the Conservative benches please keep themselves quiet, because I'd like to hear Mark's response to the debate?

And he's defending his party, which bequeathed austerity to the incoming UK Government in 2010, austerity that would have led to far greater imposed cuts if the UK Government had not taken the action they did. There were only two EU Members—and obviously, we were in the EU then—who were in a worse position; they were Ireland and Greece. Ireland imposed bigger cuts than the UK to drive out their austerity. Greece didn't, and they had far bigger cuts imposed upon them. Which would you have preferred?

Peter Fox: our motion, he says, is right on so many levels: family, economy, education and Welsh NHS. He said if only successive Labour Welsh Governments had done more over the last 23 years to build strong, resilient communities and a strong economy, bringing hope and aspiration for future generations. He said their failure to do this could end life chances, and despite Welsh Conservative-led Monmouthshire receiving the lowest Welsh Government funding in Wales, it's provided some of the best innovation and services in Wales. He said that Labour-controlled councils generally slash vital services despite sitting on vast reserves that they carried forward year on year on year. And he said that Conservative councils deliver for communities; Labour councils in general fail them.

Mabon ap Gwynfor said Wales is a community of communities—absolutely—let down, he said, by a neoliberal ideology. I struggle to understand what that means. In other words, a far-left party, Plaid Cymru, is condemning an approach that dislikes extremes, recognises the benefits of giving voice and control to local people and community, generates enterprise that improves prosperity and funds public services, and champions evolutionary change whilst recognising that revolutionary change almost always hits the weakest the hardest.

Altaf Hussain said we should be doing all we can to help our businesses thrive as we build back from the pandemic and to give local people a central role in building stronger, safer communities.

Carolyn Thomas said when she walks around the community she belongs to, you can see what's been achieved. Well, I belong to the same community—we live very close by—and I work with many of the organisations and am the patron of some of them that she mentioned, and I applaud the brilliant people, those community fighters and entrepreneurs, who have driven so much of that change. But I also receive every day a bucketful of e-mails from people in Flintshire telling me that, despite their vulnerabilities, they've been told by Labour politicians or a Labour council what is good for them, rather than being asked what they want to achieve. [Interruption.] And, of course, I wish the casework wasn't so huge, particularly disabled people and others, and, of course, prosperity per head in Flintshire, which was on a par with the UK level in 1999, is now trailing behind.

Joel James—he said a centralised system of Government planning in Wales, or the centralised system in Wales, fails to understand the needs of local communities, with cohesion damaged as people become apathetic to this system of Government. We need greater empowerment of local communities and communities should not have to fight so hard to get their voices heard.

From Jane Hutt, the Minister, we heard a party political broadcast based once again upon a deflection—[Interruption.]—a deflection of responsibility for their atrocious, shocking failure in Welsh Government since 1999. She also once again gave us a list of how they've distributed the funding they've received from the UK Government. Launched in 2001 Communities First was the Labour Welsh Government's flagship programme to improve the living conditions and prospects of people in the most disadvantaged communities across Wales. However, the Wales audit review of Communities First stated the programme emerged from chaos, was not planned and there was an absence of basic financial and human resource planning before the programme was launched. When they scrapped it, £0.5 billion had been spent on it when it was announced the Welsh Government was phasing it out, having failed to reduce the headline rates of poverty or increase relative prosperity in Wales. As the Bevan Foundation said:

'Communities First did not reduce the headline rates of poverty in the vast majority of communities, still less in Wales as a whole.'

Well, after 23 years of a top-down, poverty-trapping, command-and-control Labour Welsh Government, a Welsh Conservative approach to enable, empower and set free our local communities is urgently needed. And this will require a revolution in policy and service delivery in Wales, enabling people and communities to identify their strengths and to tackle the root problems preventing them from reaching their potential. 

As the Carnegie Trust states, the enabling state approach is about recognising that

'government, alongside driving the performance of public services, should enable communities to do what they do best', where communities are best placed to bring a wealth of local knowledge and collective energy to the decisions that affect them.

However, as Building Communities Trust research found,

'People in Wales feel increasingly less able to influence decisions affecting their local area.'

The 2011 UK Conservative Localism Act gave new rights and powers to communities and individuals in order to decentralise power and encourage greater local innovation and flexibility. However, the Labour Welsh Government failed to introduce most of its key provisions in Wales. Well, by finally adopting the community rights agenda in Wales, we can shift power away from central Government in Cardiff towards communities, creating a society that is more engaged and responsive. It's time to break the shackles of top-down Welsh Government, time to enable our communities and time to set Wales free to travel the road to a vibrant people-powered recovery.

Since the devolution era began almost a quarter of a century ago, the Welsh Labour Government has been ever keener to destroy its critics through derision, spite and buck passing, while barely bothering to offer a serious political argument. Throughout my time here since 2003, I have listened to them boast about outputs rather than outcomes, how much is spent rather than how well, while failing to effectively monitor and evaluate their programmes and expenditure. Whenever Welsh Conservatives have proposed human rights and community rights-based motions, legislation and amendments to legislation, they have voted these down.

Mark, I have given you the additional time for the interventions. You need to conclude now, please.

The last sentence, then. Believing they cannot be removed from power, delusional Labour Welsh Government has been failing the local communities of Wales for too long.

Can I remind Members—? I'm fully aware there's an election tomorrow, as are the public, but it is fair that we want to listen to the contributors, whether they are closing the debate, opening the debate or participating in the debate. So, if all Members from all parties could ensure that they allow those Members' contributions to be heard, please, I would be grateful. 

The proposal is to agree the motion without amendment. Does any Member object? [Objection.] Yes. I will defer voting on the motion until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.