Thank you to Nick Ramsay for at least trying to justify the budget, but in our opinion, Wales is losing out as a result of the announcement of a budget that was designed to grow the economy of the south-east of England at the expense of every other part of the United Kingdom.

It’s a budget of austerity in every way. Not only were we promised more financial austerity from the Chancellor; we were also reminded of the poverty of ambition of the Conservatives, and their lack of compassion when it’s a matter of dealing with the most vulnerable in our society. Very few subjects have emphasised this better in recent months than universal credit.

Perhaps we need to give a cautious welcome to the Chancellor’s confirmation that a package of £1.5 billion would be released to get to grips with the numerous problems that have arisen as a result of the introduction of this very deficient scheme. But, perhaps that was an admission that the system is breaking down, truth be told.

At last, after thousands of individuals and families have suffered unnecessarily, the Westminster Government will be getting rid of that seven-day waiting period. Despite that, the budget hasn’t gone far enough for the people of Wales with regard to welfare reform. Thanks to the IFS report on child poverty, we know that in Wales we’ll be amongst the areas that will be suffering most as a result of welfare reform. Already I see far too many people being forced to turn to food banks and facing being evicted from their homes as a result of the mess that the Conservatives are making of welfare payments. When it’s a matter of safeguarding some of our most vulnerable in society, the writing is on the wall.

It’s time to devolve the administration of some elements of the welfare system to Wales if we are to safeguard our citizens from the activities of the Conservatives at their worst. This would enable the Welsh Government to vary the frequency of payments, to put an end to the waiting times and sanctions, and to ensure that individuals and not households receive payments. This is already happening in Scotland. There, the SNP Government has changed the frequency of payment from monthly payments to every fortnight; the housing element is paid directly to landlords; and Ministers have to provide support for people who have the right to receive it.

Of course, it all comes down to money and many have alleged in this Chamber that Wales can’t afford to take the reins of an element of the welfare system, but there is a valuable lesson to learn from Scotland. The funding to administer those elements that were in the hands of Westminster previously transferred directly to Scotland as part of the block grant, so there wasn’t an additional cost. So, I call on the Welsh Government to negotiate a similar settlement so that we can administer some elements of universal credit and the welfare system ourselves. Then, we can safeguard the citizens of Wales from the cruel policies of the Conservatives in Westminster. It’s time to demand the devolution of flexibility of payment and the housing element of universal credit, with the objective of ensuring a fiscal framework that can facilitate the devolution of those elements.

This is a golden opportunity to prove the value of devolution as a tool that works for the benefit of the people of Wales. We’ll show that there is a more just way, a more equal way and kinder way of governing. We’ll show a willingness to implement elements of the welfare system ourselves, to show that there is a better way of doing things for the benefit of our most vulnerable people in society.