Concise Minutes - Local Government and Housing Committee

Meeting Venue:

Comm

Meeting date: Wednesday, 15 January 2025

Meeting time: 09. - 12.31
This meeting can be viewed
on Senedd TV at:
http://senedd.tv/en/14798

Hybrid

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Attendance

Category	Names
Members of the Senedd:	Peter Fox MS Carolyn Thomas MS (In place of Lesley Griffiths MS) Siân Gwenllian MS Laura Anne Jones MS Lee Waters MS
Witnesses:	Jayne Bryant MS, Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government Judith Cole, Welsh Government Stuart Fitzgerald, Welsh Government Reg Kilpatrick, Welsh Government Jamie Powell, Welsh Government Emma Williams, Welsh Government
Committee Staff:	Manon George (Clerk) Catherine Hunt (Second Clerk) Evan Jones (Deputy Clerk) Osian Bowyer (Researcher) Gwennan Hardy (Researcher)

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1 Introductions, apologies,substitutions and declarations of interest

1.1     The Chair welcomed Members to the meeting of the Local Government and Housing Committee

1.2     Apologies were given by Laura Anne Jones MS and Lesley Griffiths MS. Carolyn Thomas MS substituted for Lesley Griffiths MS.

1.3     Lee Waters MS recused himself from items 2 and 7, in light of his work with the Welsh Government’s affordable housing taskforce.

1.4     Carolyn Thomas declared an interest as she is currently leading the ‘Its for Them’ project on biodiversity on behalf of the Welsh Government.

</AI1>

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2 Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government (Housing)

2.1     The Chair received evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government.

2.2     The Cabinet Secretary agreed to provide a note to  clarify budget allocations for  the Warm Homes Programme, including how allocations are spread across different Budget Expenditure Lines.

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3 Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government (Local Government)

3.1     The Committee received evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government.

3.2     The Cabinet Secretary agreed to share examples of videos explaining how the Welsh Government work with local governments, specifically a group chaired by the WLGA who focus on decarbonisation of local government estates

3.3     The Cabinet Secretary agreed to provide the committee with a note about BREEAM standards and targets in relation to how these targets have increased alongside new funding requirements

3.4     The Cabinet Secretary agreed to share a note on how the Welsh Government, WLGA and Audit Wales are working on a protocol on financial resilience in relation to section 114.

3.5     The Cabinet Secretary agreed to provide the committee with a note setting out examples of how the Welsh Government is engaging with local authorities.

3.6     The Cabinet Secretary agreed to provide a note to the committee about capital funding for local governments. How the Welsh Government were able to increase funding to allow local authorities to respond the Government’s joint prioritisation of decarbonisation through the Low-Carbon heat grant - £30 million. Providing examples of how this funding can be used for stand-alone projects as part of wider capital programmes .

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4 Papers to note

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4.1 Letter from Cymorth Cymru in relation to the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26

4.1     The Committee noted the letter.

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4.2 Letter from Llamau in relation to the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26

4.2     The Committee noted the letter.

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4.3 Letter from the Chair of the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee in relation to the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26

4.3     The Committee noted the letter.

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4.4 Welsh Government response to the Social Housing Supply report

4.4     The Committee noted the letter.

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5 Motion under Standing Order 17.42 (ix) to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of this meeting and for the meetings on 30 January and 5 February

5.1     The motion was agreed.

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6 Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Consideration of evidence (Local Government)

6.1     The Committee considered the evidence received.

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7 Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Consideration of evidence (Housing)

7.1     The Committee considered the evidence received.

</AI11>

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