A Plaid Cymru Senedd Member called on the First Minister this week to explain her declaration that “austerity is over.”

Peredur Owen Griffiths used First Ministers’ Question to ask the Labour Leader to mention her bold prediction to her council colleagues currently making huge cuts.

During the plenary session, the Senedd Members for the South Wales East region said: “'Austerity is over'—those were your words in Plenary a couple of weeks ago. It left many of us speechless, but I'm sure that is nothing compared to the reaction it provoked among colleagues in local government.

“Take, for example, the Labour-controlled Caerphilly County Borough Council, where the decision to mothball the local authority's beloved Tudor mansion, Llancaiach Fawr, has been taken.

“They even contemplated shutting down the meals on wheels service, which caters for some of the most vulnerable residents in the county borough, until the outcry grew too loud.

“In the meantime, separate proposals to slash school transport and library provision have been announced. These are some of the difficult and austerity-driven decisions that are being made.

“So, if austerity is over, First Minister, when will my constituents start to see it and feel it? When can we expect local government to have the cash it needs to bring local austerity to an end? Just saying it doesn't magically make it happen.”

In reply, the First Minister said: “It does take a while to come through the system.”

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