Preseli Pembrokeshire AM Paul Davies has criticised the Local Government Minister, Carl Sargeant and the Welsh Labour Government, for ensuring that 330,000 council tax benefit claimants across Wales will face doubts over their payments. Assembly Members were given just thirty minutes to scrutinise a document that is over 300 pages long and contains 175,000 words. As a result, AMs declined to temporarily set aside rules so new regulations could be rushed through.

Mr Davies said, "I'm disappointed that once again the Welsh Labour Government is trying to escape proper scrutiny, following the devolution of responsibility for council tax benefits. This is the most widely claimed means-tested benefit or tax credit in Wales and as such it must be scrutinised carefully – not rushed through in the last plenary meeting of the year. Other parts of the United Kingdom have managed to put their schemes in place and yet here in Wales, the Welsh Labour Government seems incapable of doing the same.

How can anyone reasonably expect a document that is over 300 pages long to be properly scrutinised in just thirty minutes? Would anyone sign a credit agreement or mortgage deal with just this amount of time to look it over? Sadly, the Minister's incompetence on this issue will now mean that thousands of households across Pembrokeshire will face real uncertainties over their payments. I am particularly keen to properly scrutinise these regulations and make sure all households in Pembrokeshire are protected."