I'm very pleased to speak in this debate on the draft budget for 2018-19. It does mark a new era for this Assembly in terms of our powers and responsibilities with the new fiscal framework, and it's good to see this include the outcome of the reform of the Barnett formula as it applies to Wales at long last, resulting in an additional £69 million over this draft budget period. And the Cabinet Secretary has embraced these new fiscal responsibilities with characteristic skill, but I'm chiefly supportive because of the robust approach he's taken to ensure that Welsh Labour commitments are prioritised in this budget. This approach is underpinned by his commitment to promote social justice, tackle inequality and support our public services against a backdrop of austerity and cuts.

He's been vocal and consistent in his opposition to austerity, but in this respect he's not alone. Last year, economists from the International Monetary Fund warned that austerity policies can do more harm than good and warned that increased inequality hurts the level and sustainability of growth—and how right they were, with the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast downgrading growth over the coming years. 

The negative fiscal impact of austerity is clear. Our Welsh Government budget has been cut by 7 per cent over the past decade. Despite this, our Cabinet Secretary has crafted a budget that secures the Welsh Labour manifesto commitments on health, housing, social care and education, and negotiated a two-year budget agreement with Plaid Cymru, with economic and social benefits for Wales. 

The scrutiny of this draft budget has been subject to an enhanced budgetary process, resulting in a report from the Finance Committee, of which I'm glad now to be a member, which is both fair and firm, and it's good to see many shared priorities emerging that accord with the Welsh Government's draft budget. In this context, I want to focus on two areas of shared priorities, social care and housing. 

I was surprised there was no reference to social care in the UK budget, although it featured as a key issue in their March statement when the UK Government actually passed the buck to local government in England to up council tax to meet the deepening gaps in social care. In contrast, the Welsh Labour Government has been consistent in its support for social care over the past eight years of austerity and reducing budgets. Recent figures published by the UK Government show spending on health and social services in Wales is 8 per cent higher than in England and growing faster than in any other part of the UK in 2016-17. And, in the draft budget we're debating, social care will receive an extra £42 million in 2018-19, rising to £73 million in 2019-20. That's welcome, but I'm aware of two areas of policy development that are relevant: firstly, the opportunity to integrate health and social care and follow through the findings of the parliamentary review on health and social care due to be published in the new year. The Health and Social Care Committee makes this a key recommendation in the draft budget report, calling for fully costed plans to take forward transformational change in health and social care.