Clause 42 - Local government finance reports: Wales
Local Government Bill
11:00 am
Mr Don Touhig (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Welsh Office; Islwyn, Labour/Co-operative)
Clause 42, which introduces schedule 2, is an important part of the provision in relation to Wales. The Welsh Assembly gave a commitment, in its policy statement on local government freedom and responsibility, to look at ways of continuously improving the publication timetable of local government finance reports. As a former councillor and chairman of a finance committee in my county, I certainly appreciate that.
One of the ways of achieving that policy objective is to provide an option for the Welsh Assembly to produce one report for police authorities and one report for other authorities and bodies. That is because waiting for information about police funding to become available from the Home Office often delays the publication of all authority reports until the end of January. In my experience, that has certainly been the case. That option will meet the Assembly's policy
objective and provide greater certainty and stability for police authorities in Wales.
The hon. Gentleman asked several questions about the provision. In particular, he asked how the budget would be paid for. Of course, the Government provide a block grant to the Assembly, which covers all its expenditure, and, under its own arrangements, the Assembly determines what its budget will be. Each year, the Assembly Finance Minister presents a budget to the Assembly, which is debated and approved by the Assembly in a two-stage process—a preliminary presentation and a final budget—so the whole process is transparent. As in other parts of the country, negotiations take place between local government associations and the Assembly Administration about what support for local authorities should be provided.
On the question of appeals against decisions of the Assembly regarding allocations to local authorities or the police, discussions tend to be ongoing. When I was sitting on the other side, as a local council finance chairman, I was often unhappy with the settlements that were agreed, especially when the hon. Gentleman's party was in power and when one particular Secretary of State held office. We tried to reach agreement, but ultimate responsibility then lay with the Government—it now rests with the Assembly—to determine local government expenditure. There is no formal structure of appeal against decisions of the Assembly.