How does the Welsh Government reflect demographic change, such as the increase in the proportion of the population in North Wales aged 65 and over from 18.3 per cent to 23.4 per cent between 2000 and 2020, when calculating local authorities' Revenue Support Grant/the hypothecated part of Welsh Government finance?
Within the local government settlement, the individual local authority shares of the population data which determine the relative distribution of funding across Wales are updated annually. For the 2022-23 settlement, the 2018-based 2022 population projections were used to distribute the settlement funding.
The weightings of each age cohort which distribute the funding at an all-Wales level are fixed until such a time as the formulae are re-visited and the weightings re-calibrated. In recent years, local government has favoured stability in the formula over continuous, rolling review.