National Assembly for Wales

Okay. Welcome, everyone, to this meeting of the Local Government and Housing Committee. The first item on our agenda today is introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest. The public items of this meeting are being broadcast live on Senedd.tv as usual, and there will be bilingual and simultaneous translation. We have procedural adaptations in place given that we are meeting remotely, but all other Standing Order requirements for committees remain in place. Are there any declarations of interest? No. We have not received any apologies and all the Members are here.

The second item is a paper to note. We have one paper to note: a letter from the Finance Committee in relation to the Welsh Government's draft budget. Are Members content to note that paper? Yes. Okay. Thank you.

Chair, can I just speak on that, please?

Carolyn. Yes, sure.

Thank you. I should declare an interest that I am a councillor, but I just wanted to mention, regarding that letter, the sustainability of public services, innovation and service transformation. I hope this committee will also look at the sustainability of public services and new budget pressures that would—. I mean, all these LCMs—well, not the LCMs—will include new budget pressures for local authorities; funding of some of the existing new legislation—well, the existing legislation that went through, such as additional learning needs and sustainable drainage systems; and we've got new legislation coming through with possibly second homes, having a register, planning enforcement, and pressures such as the care sector are growing. There's a lot that we depend on local services to deliver, so just, you know—. Could we write back to the finance—? I don't know how it works. Do we write back to the Finance Committee just to raise concerns about the sustainability of local government and local authorities, because it doesn't really capture it in this letter, or, you know, rather just note it?

I think, Carolyn, that, obviously, the Finance Committee is drawing our attention to some of the main issues that they think we should be focusing on in our scrutiny of the budget, and, as you say, amongst that is the sustainability of public services. So, I think they're on the same ground as you are, really, Carolyn, but, of course, once we get into our scrutiny of the budget, this letter will be useful to us in terms of the Finance Committee's views, and we can, I'm sure, give full consideration and full scrutiny to those sustainability issues around public services. So, we will do that in the new year. 

And then write back to the Finance Committee if there are concerns with the budget.

We'll raise it will the Ministers, but we can always liaise with the Finance Committee as we go through the process, if that's the wish of Members.

Okay. Thank you.

The purpose of this letter is really, you know, just to draw to our attention the priorities and the focus that the Finance Committee think we should have.

Okay. All right. Thank you.

Sorry, Sam. Did you want to come in there, Sam, or—?

No, that's fine, John. I was just going to support your comment in terms of—. We'll do our role of raising those points Carolyn has mentioned when we scrutinise in the new year, won't we? So, I think that's—. I'm sure the Finance Committee will take note of our comments in that meeting, I'd expect.

Yes, sure. Okay. Well, that's great.

Item 3, then, on our agenda today is a motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of the meeting. Is committee content so to do? Yes. Okay. Thank you very much. We will, then, move to private session.