Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 30 November 2022.

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Photo of Peter Fox Peter Fox Conservative 1:48, 30 November 2022

Thank you, Minister, but the system isn't working, because it's allowing councils to continue to rise council tax whilst at the same time growing reserves in some cases. Your predecessor Leighton Andrews saw this and produced a guide for councils in 2016 to help them understand and better scrutinise reserves and how they may be used. Minister, will you consider reviewing earmarked reserves held by some councils in the same way that councils do with their schools, to understand if earmarked reserves are genuinely being used for their intended purposes, perhaps assessing if they have been drawn down in the past five years or longer and, if not, question why? Some will have held core reserves for many, many years. Earmarked revenue reserves are the same as general reserves, they're just stored in a different place and they are available to be used in any way. So, some may say that they are for a rainy day. Well, Minister, it's pouring down, but some councils have huge umbrellas, others have tiny parasols. So, do you agree that such an analysis of held earmarked reserves should take place as soon as possible to enable you to consider a more sustainable approach to funding valuable public services across the country?