- 15/02/2016
- Posted by: Mike Hedges MS
- Category: Uncategorized
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| The Local Government Formula |
| 14:55 – Mike Hedges |
| 10. Will the Minister make a statement on the impact that the Welsh local government formula has on the budget share for 2016-17? OAQ(4)0665(PS) |
| 14:55 – Leighton Andrews |
| Llywydd, each authority is responsible for setting its budget, taking account of the range of sources of funding available to it. These include its allocation through the local government settlement and sources such as grants, council tax and income from fees and charges. |
| 14:55 – Mike Hedges |
| Thank you, Minister. Whilst the formula is quite complicated, it really has three major drivers: population or relative population change, sparsity and deprivation. It has nothing in there for places like Cardiff or Swansea that provide regional centres and provide services for a much larger area in terms of art galleries, et cetera, and it certainly, perhaps, needs to do that. Of course, everybody thinks that a change to the formula will mean they’ll have more money. With the same amount of money in the system, for every winner, there’s a loser, but who actually agreed the formula? |
| 14:55 – Leighton Andrews |
| The funding formula is agreed with local government through the partnership council for Wales and its sub-groups, including the distribution sub-group and the finance sub-group. However, of course, as well as representatives of local government on those groups, there are independent members as well who have validated the elements within the formula. So, it’s been a collective agreement this year, as it always is. |
