Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:41 pm on 30 November 2022.
Thank you, Presiding Officer, and good afternoon, Minister. I've got a feeling I know what the answer to my first question will be. Over the last few weeks, Minister, we've spoken a lot about the challenging fiscal environment, as well as the UK Government's response to this in its autumn statement, which, of course, provided a welcome injection of additional funding to the Welsh Government, as well as protecting the most vulnerable in society. In the local government family, however, there is worrying uncertainty and concern about future funding commitments to local authorities. Councils are calling for their share of additional moneys to help meet future budget shortfalls, much like your political colleagues in Torfaen cabinet, who last week said that they will be, quote, 'lobbying really hard' for the additional monies from UK Government to be passported to local authorities. Minister, I'm sure, within the finance forum, council leaders have shared their concerns robustly. Can I ask, then, whether they can expect additional support, moving forward, and can you provide assurances that any new Government policies or burdens levelled on councils will be fully funded?