Before I conclude, I would like to turn to one of the points raised by the Chair of the Finance Committee in his contribution. The actions of the Government don’t always accord with its rhetoric of wanting to run the health service in a strategic and sustainable manner. We are spending a large proportion of the national budget on health services for a very good reason, and very often it’s at the expense of local government. The Wales Governance Centre has estimated that the proportion of Welsh Government revenue funding received by the health service could go up to 56 per cent of the budget if Ministers find the funding required to deal with the increase in demand. We must therefore tackle the structural problems that exist within the health service, such as lack of workforce planning.

But to conclude, Llywydd, my perception is that we must work in earnest to find new ways of raising our own funds within Wales. This nation has recommenced the journey of being a fiscal entity, but there is some distance to travel yet. We must now safeguard our citizens, but also achieve the potential of our nation.