Diolch, Cadeirydd. Absolutely, and I'd like to say today I fully acknowledge all the pressures that local authorities are under, and have been under, over a number of years, despite the level of support the Welsh Government has been able to give. I've met with local authority leaders already, in a group and some individually, and it's clear to me the severity of the situation. We have been in a long period of austerity and increasing demand on major services. We've had the pandemic, and we've had this extraordinary inflationary period. So, there is little doubt the pressure that we and local authorities are under.
I just want to say that by acknowledging the impact that that period has had on local authorities, and those local authority leaders and representatives and officers. It's meant a huge amount of hard work and dedication from those councillors and officers, and also about the resilience of the sector. We pay tribute to it in the Senedd very regularly—lots of Members do, standing up, quite rightly—but I think it's really important that we continue to acknowledge that, because it is incredible work that they are doing.
The effects of the challenges have obviously been incredibly difficult as well. Councillors are having to make incredibly difficult decisions, services have had to be changed, some have faced reductions, councillors have had to prioritise. Elected members and officers have been under a significant amount of pressure for a long time. So, I think it's really important to acknowledge that pressure, because we all hear it from our representatives, and we all know as well—. And I know Members here who've been in local authorities before.
But, since being in post, I have met, as I said, with lots of local authority leaders, individually and in the group, and there is an amazing amount of really good work that's going on. They've been innovative, they have delivered services, with others, they've engaged within their communities to find new ways of working. So, I don't want to underplay the difficulties that they face, but I do think it's important to recognise the strength of local authorities as well, because they are doing some incredibly good things. So, it's just important to recognise that.
In terms of the financial position, I know that they are considering both their in-year position and their budget planning for the future. They're balancing those key areas of social services and education with other important areas, like leisure, culture and the economy, and we know that we're facing an increasing demand for services. So, they will be planning on a range of budget scenarios, and these will be beginning to be updated, as they, and we, get greater clarity from the UK Government later this month.