Written question WQ92436

The Welsh Government does not monitor the financial position of individual local authority or regional social services. Core funding for local government is un-hypothecated and although social care and education have been prioritised for many years, each authority will determine how they allocate and use this funding as part of their budget-setting processes to meet the needs of their local populations.

The 2024-25 financial settlement will see local authorities receive £5.72bn via the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) and non-domestic rates (NDR) to deliver core services. This equates to a national increase of 3.3% or £184m from 2023-24 with no authority receiving an increase below 2.3%. In total, local authorities in Gwent received an extra £36.2m in 2024-25, an increase of 3.4%; Newport Council received an additional £14.4m or 5%, which was the largest increase in Wales.

I am proud of our continued close working relationship with local government and the Welsh Local Government Association in the face of continued pressures facing the sector. The final Budget for 2024-25 included a further £25 to restore the social care workforce grant to £45m, reflecting the importance we place on protecting core frontline public services as far as possible.