Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

In 2024, we will be celebrating ‘Wales in India’. The programme is currently being developed but will focus on developing trade and investment links, soft power and NHS health links.

The Welsh Government supported Councils in many ways during the Covid pandemic including by introducing regulations temporarily permitting the holding of digital council meetings. 

Subsequently, at the request of councils, the Government consulted upon measures to make hybrid meetings permanent. The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 therefore included provisions which preserved and built on the temporary measures put in place during the pandemic. This has given councils the flexibility to respond to local circumstances in how they run their meetings and improve public access.

I continue to receive positive views about how remote working has offered more flexible options for elected members in full-time employment, with young families and caring responsibilities, including during the recent Local Government and Housing Committee’s inquiry into diversity in local government. 

While there have been discussions within local government about the merits of all 22 local authorities using a single set of systems across Wales,  local government did not express a preference for that approach. There is therefore no approved or agreed list of hybrid meeting providers, each local authority chooses the provider that works best with its internal IT systems and IT governance procedures.  Statutory guidance was developed in collaboration with local government to support multi-location meetings. 

In terms of financial support, in December 2020 a fund of £500,000 was established to assist local authorities with implementing the public participation and local democracy related provisions of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. The bids received from local authorities were varied but many were focused on actions to support hybrid meetings and broadcasting. Ultimately more  than £850,000 was provided in the 2020-21 financial year to principal councils, much of which was to support multi-location meetings and for broadcasting. 

The Welsh Government supported Councils in many ways during the Covid pandemic including by introducing regulations temporarily permitting the holding of digital council meetings. 

Subsequently, at the request of councils, the Government consulted upon measures to make hybrid meetings permanent. The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 therefore included provisions which preserved and built on the temporary measures put in place during the pandemic. This has given councils the flexibility to respond to local circumstances in how they run their meetings and improve public access.

I continue to receive positive views about how remote working has offered more flexible options for elected members in full-time employment, with young families and caring responsibilities, including during the recent Local Government and Housing Committee’s inquiry into diversity in local government. 

While there have been discussions within local government about the merits of all 22 local authorities using a single set of systems across Wales,  local government did not express a preference for that approach. There is therefore no approved or agreed list of hybrid meeting providers, each local authority chooses the provider that works best with its internal IT systems and IT governance procedures.  Statutory guidance was developed in collaboration with local government to support multi-location meetings. 

In terms of financial support, in December 2020 a fund of £500,000 was established to assist local authorities with implementing the public participation and local democracy related provisions of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. The bids received from local authorities were varied but many were focused on actions to support hybrid meetings and broadcasting. Ultimately more  than £850,000 was provided in the 2020-21 financial year to principal councils, much of which was to support multi-location meetings and for broadcasting. 

The Welsh Government supported Councils in many ways during the Covid pandemic including by introducing regulations temporarily permitting the holding of digital council meetings. 

Subsequently, at the request of councils, the Government consulted upon measures to make hybrid meetings permanent. The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 therefore included provisions which preserved and built on the temporary measures put in place during the pandemic. This has given councils the flexibility to respond to local circumstances in how they run their meetings and improve public access.

I continue to receive positive views about how remote working has offered more flexible options for elected members in full-time employment, with young families and caring responsibilities, including during the recent Local Government and Housing Committee’s inquiry into diversity in local government. 

While there have been discussions within local government about the merits of all 22 local authorities using a single set of systems across Wales,  local government did not express a preference for that approach. There is therefore no approved or agreed list of hybrid meeting providers, each local authority chooses the provider that works best with its internal IT systems and IT governance procedures.  Statutory guidance was developed in collaboration with local government to support multi-location meetings. 

In terms of financial support, in December 2020 a fund of £500,000 was established to assist local authorities with implementing the public participation and local democracy related provisions of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. The bids received from local authorities were varied but many were focused on actions to support hybrid meetings and broadcasting. Ultimately more  than £850,000 was provided in the 2020-21 financial year to principal councils, much of which was to support multi-location meetings and for broadcasting. 

Whilst we are always open to considering opportunities to host events, Wales does not have a facility capable of hosting an indoor athletic event of this scale.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the breakdown requested as it would be incredibly resource intensive and involve disproportionate cost.

The Wallich made reference to “anecdotal evidence” that people are being made homelessness as landlords leave the sector and are evicting tenants due to the Renting Homes Act legislation being introduced on 1st December 2022.

Data from Rent Smart Wales comparing the number of registered properties in Wales in September 2022 compared to September 2023 shows an increase of 4,587 properties.

Over this same period Rent Smart Wales data also shows that the number of registered landlords has also increased by 1,864, and now stand at 102,138.

In their evidence to the Local Government and Housing Committee’s inquiry into the Private Rented sector the Wallich state that “properties are typically rented out at way above Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, meaning that they are simply unaffordable for people on low incomes or in receipt of basic housing benefits”.

The Wallich also states that they “are fully supportive of the aims of the Renting Homes Act, as it represents a major rebalancing of rights and responsibilities in favour of tenants. The extension of security of tenure to up to six months for a no-fault eviction notice, and new requirements to make properties fit for human habitation, are essential safeguards, and something that all good landlords should welcome”.

I will publish the successful applicants at the conclusion of the second stage of the process. We would not publish the list of applicants in a competitive process so as not to prejudice the outcome.

I am committed to raising aspirations and supporting the ambitions of all our learners. The new Curriculum for Wales is at the heart of our ambitions for improving the education system in Wales, and I very much welcome the overriding message from Estyn that increasingly schools and settings are successfully embracing the Curriculum for Wales. I am particularly encouraged that more and more schools are co-operating well with others in local clusters, and further afield, to share effective practice in teaching and learning and address the requirements of curriculum and ALN reform.

The National Professional Learning Entitlement plays a key role in our journey to ensuring that all practitioners across the whole of Wales have access to consistent and high-quality professional learning throughout their career to enable them to deliver high quality teaching and learning. We have agreed an additional national professional learning inset day for three academic years until August 2025. Alongside the annual £12 million professional learning grant to schools, this contributes to the time and space practitioners need to develop their practice.

Estyn has helpfully set out some further areas where things are working well and some aspects to focus on. These align with our understanding of how this significant change programme is moving forward – and how schools and settings should be supported this year. Our aim is to develop a self-improving culture which requires all partners in the education system to support each other to enable improvement.