It was brilliantly epitomised by the leader of Cardiff council, Huw Thomas, when he said:

'We would have concerns about any process of reorganisation or of renationalisation which distracted us from our delivery agenda.'

Time and time again, we have seen bullish and defiant responses from you, Cabinet Secretary, in scrutiny here and during a meeting with the WLGA, in stating that opposition to your proposals made good television but not good politics. Do you not realise that you are playing with the hearts and minds of the very people who deliver such vital services to our most vulnerable, to our children and all of our residents on a daily basis, 24 hours, 365?

There is no doubt that all of us within this Chamber are seeking to improve our public service delivery across Wales, with many believing, though, that this is a bigger mandate than local government alone. If we go back to the Williams commission's original report, solid recommendations for public service reform were there in their entirety. The Green Paper mentions the delivery of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 through local government reform, but this cannot be done alone. Speak to any experienced and honest broker working within the public sector across the length and breadth of Wales, and they will tell you: Wales does not need another set of local government proposals. What Wales fundamentally needs, however, is a thorough review of our whole public services sector. We know that to fulfil our obligations under the Well-being of Future Generations Act, we must ensure better working between local authorities, health, social services, education and housing. Cabinet Secretary, why are you not being more radical here? Why are you not seeking a wholescale reform of public services in Wales? Why are you not opening this up to a much wider debate? How will you bring this to your Cabinet Secretary colleagues around the table to ensure that this is actually taken forward in a uniform and joined-up manner?

Time is running out, Cabinet Secretary, for this Government—your Welsh Labour Government—to futureproof our public services across Wales. You are in a privileged position, with the population of Wales depending on this Welsh Government to get it right this time. You have the levers, you have the power and you have the resources to achieve a fundamental ambition—a fundamental reform of our public services across Wales, working with them, not against them, and working throughout all of these sectors, as I have mentioned. You cannot do this alone—you cannot take local government reform forward alone. It has to be far more strategically planned than this.

I've got to be honest with you. It's not a phrase I like, but these are fag-packet proposals—written-on-the-back-of-a-fag-packet proposals—that you are intending to put forward. It's a fundamental betrayal of all of those who work in our public services across Wales. They're all hungry, they're all anxious and they're all keen to work with you to actually see a radical reform of our public services going forward, and that will sustain us for years to come. I would say these proposals are a lazy ambition once again, and I sincerely urge you now to go back to the drawing board, speak to your colleagues in Welsh Government, and please bring back some strategically well-planned, costed proposals for a total and radical public service reform. With a model worthy of any Government in Wales, maybe then, and only then, we will get behind you on such a mission.