Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:59 pm on 18 January 2023.
Well, first of all, I would just reassure you that we are acutely aware of and equally concerned about the pressures that the current energy crisis and the cost-of-living crisis are having on the sport and leisure sector. Of course, the provisional local government settlement means that some local authorities have now reversed their plans to close some of their facilities, which I think is really important, demonstrating that they're prioritising those facilities with the additional funding that we've been able to provide. I know, for example, that there are areas such as swimming pools, where authorities and their swimming pool operators are concerned because they haven't been offered protection under the UK Government's new energy bills discount scheme, so we're supporting those efforts for those kinds of facilities to be categorised as intensive energy users. It's also worth recognising as well that as part of their capital funding investments, Sport Wales is looking into ways in which they can support the sector regarding green energy, and they've made links with the Welsh Government's energy service to discuss the practicalities there. So, there is obviously a financial outlook that is very challenging at the moment, but I know that authorities are trying to prioritise these non-statutory services and we've got several questions on those this afternoon as well, as part of their response to the cost-of-living crisis, and to support people.