00:00What is the Welsh Government doing to protect local authorities from funding cuts?
00:08As a Government, we have protected front-line public services as far as possible.
00:13Local authorities have a settlement of £5.72 billion this year, an increase of 3.3% on
00:21a like-for-like basis, compared to 2023-24.
00:29The Liberal Democrats that are running Powys County Council this year put council tax
00:33up by 7.5% and are forecasting putting it up next year by 5%.
00:39This has all come to light at a time when the numbers of senior managers in Powys County
00:42Council over 70,000 a year has doubled.
00:46While they've doubled that number, they've decided to cut community cardboard services,
00:50take away leisure services in towns, and also revert some of our roads back to chip-ins
00:54all to save money.
00:56Government Secretary, what can you do to ensure that the Liberal Democrats in Powys
01:00County Council spend the money more wisely and protect front-line services from funding
01:06cuts?
01:07Because if something isn't done to protect Powys County Council from the Liberal Democrats,
01:11all we're going to have is senior managers and no front-line staff to deliver the services
01:15that we all need.
01:16Diolch, James, I see what you're trying to do there, but thank you for that.
01:26Thank you for the question.
01:28The core funding, as you know, is unhypothecated, it's for local authorities to determine the
01:33allocation of funding for its services.
01:36Local authorities have prioritised social care and education for many years, and this
01:42has, you know, inevitably meant that other services have borne greater pressure for savings
01:47and efficiencies.
01:50I look forward to visiting Powys County Borough Council shortly, and hopefully see them soon,
01:58but I look forward to working with them, as I will with other local authorities within
02:07Wales.
02:09Carolyn Thomas.
02:10Following over a decade of authority...
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