Welsh Conservatives’ debate on council tax and local government spending

15:03
Janet Finch-Saunders
I am indeed very pleased today to put forward the Welsh Conservative motion, a very clear motion that calls for our plans to give council tax payers an improved understanding of how their actual council tax money is spent.
We do this alongside calling for the Welsh Government to work more closely with councils to improve the accountability of council tax spend, and we call on the Welsh Government to improve transparency in local government in general terms across Wales.
At a time when there is much talk about reorganisation and the forthcoming map that the Minister is bringing forward ‘soon’, I would suggest to the Minister that now is a very good time in which he could put forward his suggestions and work with us in order to provide a clear strategic aim of good leadership and guidance to our authorities, ensuring that the Welsh pound and, indeed, the local government settlement are used wisely and that householders genuinely feel more connected with the process.
Under Labour, since 1997, the people of Wales have suffered from crippling rises in their council tax bills. The reality is when Labour came to power in 1997, the average band D council tax was £495. Now, in 2015-16, it is £1,328. This is an increase of 168 per cent. Welsh Conservative policy to freeze council tax would’ve provided our hard-working taxpayers in the average band D council tax households in Wales with £201.31 more money in their pockets.
Whilst noting the amendment that 14 per cent of council tax spend is only sourced from council tax, the fact does remain that council tax in Wales is now becoming a huge burden on our hard-working families and our pensioners. Now, despite funding coming across to Wales from the UK Government for three years, which would’ve allowed a freeze on council tax—something that’s been enjoyed over the border in England, over the border in Scotland—Labour held—
15:05
The Presiding Officer
Will you take an intervention? Mick Antoniw.

15:05
Mick Antoniw
Do you agree, though, that council tax is still significantly lower in Wales than in England, and Welsh council tax payers, as a result of having a Labour Government here, have more money in their pocket than they would if they were living in England?
15:05
Janet Finch-Saunders
If you’d have asked me that question in 1997, I would’ve agreed with you. Roll forward to 2015 and a 5 per cent almost year on year on year increase is fast bringing up the levels with England. Labour held this funding back—as I say, spending that actually helped people in other parts of the United Kingdom to actually see their council tax frozen—and what did you spend it on? An ineffectual stimulus package. Welsh Conservatives believe that you have let down a large proportion of our Welsh residents in Wales.
Significant levels of council tax go uncollected, and it is a scandal that, as bills continue to rise in Wales, with over £83 million of council tax going unpaid across the nation, this is money that is owed to the Government, and should be used to keep bills down for law-abiding residents and those who do not shy away from their own financial challenges. The Welsh Government has not introduced any initiative to support our local authorities in the collection of these moneys.
Now, Welsh Labour should look to give people a say in how their money is spent. The Localism Act in England—
Rhodri Glyn Thomas rose—
15:07
Janet Finch-Saunders
Go on, I will give way.
15:07
Rhodri Glyn Thomas
I don’t think it’s my role to support the Labour Government here, but you will recall—[Interruption.]
15:07
The Presiding Officer
Order, order.
15:07
Rhodri Glyn Thomas
[Continues.]—that council tax benefits were devolved with a 10 per cent shortfall, and the Labour Government, due to pressure from Plaid Cymru and myself, I hasten to say, did actually step into the breach to ensure that money was available to pay that difference.
15:07
Janet Finch-Saunders
We would’ve liked the same pressure, actually, from you to support our calls for a council tax freeze. Only the Welsh Conservatives are actually committed to supporting our council tax payers in Wales.
The Localism Act in England ensures that councils cannot increase their council tax by more than 2 per cent without a community referendum. The average increase for council tax in England next year is 0.6 per cent, yet we know that, in Wales, you’re looking at 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent already being added. Now then, under Plaid Cymru, and propped up by Welsh Labour, in my own authority of Conway, I understand that next year’s budget has already been forecast with a predicted 5 per cent increase—and that’s before we’ve even had any hint of any settlement. So, we do have a problem in local government in Wales. Welsh Conservatives are, and will remain, committed to freezing council tax, putting money back into the pockets of our residents.
Now, having put out a council tax survey recently and reading the many responses received, council tax increases remain a significant concern, with many council tax payers quite rightly wanting to know how their money is spent and on what. It revealed a worrying level of distress amongst the public as regards the transparency of council tax spending. Whilst 33 per cent of respondents had a little idea of how their money was spent, 63 per cent were not confident where the money goes and how it is spent. The people of Wales deserve greater efficiency, enhanced transparency, democratic accountability and robust financial probity, and we would address the differing standards of transparency across the 22 local authorities.
Now, my own authority, in Conway, to their credit, do provide a table to detail the spending of council tax allocation. Swansea make available a very detailed guide, setting out information on the authority’s reserves and the budget of community and town councils. However, much of this information is only available online, and is often very difficult to find.
More information provided in council tax bills will certainly go a long way to restore the trust of our taxpayers once again. So, we call on the Welsh Government today to work with our authorities to improve communication and the engagement of the community in council tax spend and their chosen priorities. I have to pay tribute once again to Conservative-led Monmouthshire council, who every year—every year—hold three sessions a day, every day for a week, one week a year. They enter into full dialogue with their residents as to how they want to see their council tax spent and what the priorities should be, and I think that’s a really good model for other local authorities to follow. Bridgend council has explicitly stated that Welsh Government cuts have had an adverse effect on constituents’ council tax payments. In addition to money raised by council tax, there must be transparency over every aspect of local authority spending.
Lessons, of course, can be learned, not surprisingly, from our Conservative colleagues in Westminster. In 2014, the Conservative-led UK Government introduced the local government transparency code, making it a legal requirement for authorities to publish data specified in the code. The UK Government funded projects such as Lambeth in Numbers, used to demonstrate how better access to information can help people understand and solve problems in their area, and Openly Local, a project that makes use of more than 140 individual authorities’ own data. During this current digital revolution, we are now seeing many silver surfers intent on knowing how public money is spent, and across Wales there have been some pretty poor examples of when an authorities feels it can simply just hide away from the public gaze when reckless or departmental overspends are highlighted internally.
Now, I am not alone in having grave concerns as regards the behaviour of some authorities who appear to use, overuse and actually abuse Schedule 12A, Part 4 of the Local Government Act 1972 in order to exclude the press and public, often when contentious issues would leave that authority feeling rather red-faced, whilst facing external democratic scrutiny. This Act is used, and it is to the detriment of our tax-paying public, who have a right to know when authorities get it wrong and have a right to know if there is a blatant mismanagement as to the use of council tax moneys and others. There are, of course, rare occasions, as intended by the Act, when a cabinet or council meeting may well have justifiable reasons for kicking out the press and public during commercially sensitive deliberations. However, when one looks at the regularity now in Wales with which this exemption is now applied, it is becoming almost the norm for deliberations to be made well away from any public scrutiny. It is little wonder, therefore, that at election times the electorate are none too aware of whether their own councillor may be worthy of their support once again.
In 2013-14, Wrexham held at least part of every single cabinet meeting behind closed doors. In comparison, in the same year, Conservative-led Monmouth only went into private session just the once. Recently, the Wales Audit Office criticised Newport, saying that key decisions were being made outside of formal public meetings. It is clear that some councils are normalising this culture of exclusivity and secrecy, and that is simply alienating members of the public from issues that directly affect them.
The Minister will no doubt respond shortly to these criticisms by saying that, in March 2013, the Welsh Government provided £1.25 million to local authorities in order to broadcast and live-stream council meetings online, a brilliant initiative. However, only half of the authorities are using this money for that purpose, and of those that do, they’re simply cherry-picking what they stream, often leaving out scrutiny and audit committees. Now, rather than isolating themselves, councils should be actively making steps towards increasing their own levels of transparency and civic engagement. Elected representatives have, after all, a duty to be accountable to the public they serve. Now, as the Minister for local government, I believe that you have that duty also, as the one ultimately presiding over our local government portfolio. I move our motion.