Local Government (Wales) Bill [Lords] (Hansard, 16 June 1994)

§ Mr. Dafydd Wigley (Caernarfon)

I was somewhat put out last night on two accounts. First, I was put out by the way in which the debate was brought to a conclusion without any consultation with Members of Plaid Cymru, when we were fairly close to the end of a short debate, which we are now continuing, and which will no doubt take longer than it would have taken last night. I was even more put out by the response that I received from the Minister to the substance of the debate. The guts of the new clause was the question of how we make more resources available to local government and how we enable local government to have greater flexibility and discretion in the use of those resources, rather than its having to follow the diktats laid down by the Welsh Office and by central Government in London.

Goodness only knows, given the social and environmental conditions and the challenges of education and creating jobs in all our communities in Wales—especially in the run-down, old industrial areas, be it the slate quarrying areas in my constituency or the old coal mining and steel making areas—local government needs resources. It certainly needs more than it is getting and it also needs a greater discretion and flexibility to use resources to meet requirements in the various areas.

The Minister gave the impression that the council tax system is working perfectly. I do not doubt that it works better than the poll tax—it would be difficult not to be better. However, he must be aware, as I am, of countless constituents who feel that they have been the recipients of very rough justice under the banding system. He must also be aware of the strong feeling about the business rate. For many small businesses, that sort of overhead, in addition to the cost of water—which itself is often a heavy burden —could pull them down. There is a need to consider a more flexible system so that those who have difficulty paying could have lower bills while those who are doing well take on a little more of the burden. There is also the question of local government's use of the capital resources gained from selling council houses. There is a need to build new property for the thousands of people in Wales who are on housing waiting lists. All those matters need to be reviewed.

769 What disappoints me in particular is that the Government do not acknowledge the need to consider finance together with functions and structure. In the 1970s reorganisation—that was, after all, the baby of a Conservative Government—the opportunity was lost to look at finance, functions and structure together. That mistake is now being made again and I very much regret it.

I appreciate that we will not get much further on these issues this afternoon and that there is a wish to make progress on the Bill. However, I want to put to the Minister the fact that we must soon review the way in which the finances of local government work. There is also a need to give local government greater freedom and responsibility. By doing so, we will have a more meaningful form of democracy in local government in Wales.