I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement today. This is the eighth budget, consecutively, that's been made in this place in the face of the austerity policies of the Westminster Government, and it's important that we bear that in mind as we start the scrutiny process. Society and people are suffering greatly because of the totally unnecessary and hard-hearted decisions taken by the Tories in Westminster to continue with cuts to public expenditure, despite all evidence showing clearly that the policy is failing, even measuring it against its own stomach-churning philosophy. The economy is not growing at the same rate as other economies because we are not investing. We are just seeing cuts upon cuts for ideological reasons, rather than a policy based on common-sense economics, and the situation is only going to get worse. Even Nick Ramsay has talked about the storms and uncertainty to come, and, of course, that has been clear since the vote to leave the European Union in 2016. Of course, the opposition in Westminster doesn't have the necessary solutions either. We are not going to create a socialist utopia on these islands by leaving the single market and the customs union. Of course, what we need to do as a nation is use the tools that we have and to insist that we have more economic tools at our disposal in order to grow our own economy and, ultimately, Llywydd, to build an independent nation in order to put an end to Tory control of our nation once and for all.

So, that's the background to this budget. Of course, this is the second year of the budgetary agreement, worth almost £0.25 billion over two years, between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government, and we are very pleased to see that some of these steps are giving a boost to important sectors already. For the very first time, medical students will be able to apply to study part of their degree in north Wales—that's £7 million in revenue. This will be a boost to Welsh students who want to qualify there and will be an important step in improving the situation in terms of a shortage of doctors, which is leading to long waiting times and an absence of local services, and is placing strain on the NHS workforce that has to fill those gaps.

I was pleased to see the Brexit portal being launched last week—after some delay, I have to note. This will be a valuable resource for Welsh businesses to help them to prepare for the UK's exit from the European Union. Other areas that benefit from the agreement include mental health, which, of course, is a Plaid Cymru priority—£40 million over two years—higher and further education, £40 million; the Welsh language, £10 million; and the arts sector, £4.4 million. In terms of capital expenditure, work is proceeding on the integrated health centre in Cardigan, and I look forward to visiting the site when the Plaid Cymru conference is held in that town this weekend. Also, work is being done to improve the route between north and south, and feasibility studies are being held on other projects, and those are in the pipeline, as was noted by the Cabinet Secretary earlier this afternoon.

Of course, on these benches, we don't agree with everything in the budget, which, of course, is why we will abstain on the vote. The truth is that we need far-reaching measures in order to tackle the economic slumber that our nation has been in for decades, rather than papering over the cracks. We are in favour of establishing an infrastructure commission with the powers to raise significant funds in order to invest in our infrastructure to encourage growth and create jobs. I'm pleased to be able to welcome the announcement today that the early intervention, prevention and support grant is to be safeguarded, as well as an assurance that steps are being taken to prevent specific sectors from losing out. Plaid Cymru is pleased that we safeguarded the Supporting People as part of this. But I have to say that I was disappointed to hear that you are proceeding with changes to the free school lunches for children programme. I accept that a higher number will qualify, but it's a cause of great concern that some families do face losing the right to free school meals. May I ask the Government to look again at this issue and to change its proposals, particularly if there is good news to come from the UK Government budget in the near future?

I would like to conclude by asking a few questions of the Cabinet Secretary. First of all, I congratulate the Welsh Revenue Authority for their success in raising more funds in terms of landfill disposal tax than the forecasts had predicted. May I ask the Cabinet Secretary what steps the Welsh Government will take to ensure that this funding does remain in Wales and that the Treasury doesn't try to claw it back to London? An important part of responsibility for taxation is that the Government gets the benefit of its success, so it would be a disgrace if the UK Treasury were to try to punish Wales for its own success. This is not their money, after all.

Secondly, can the Cabinet Secretary give us some details on the Welsh Government's plans in terms of investing the funds it receives in terms of financial transactions? Have you considered whether this funding, which needs to be invested in initiatives that provide an advance on investment, could be used in order to proceed with a Swansea bay tidal lagoon and similar projects, for example? I'm also pleased to see now that the Welsh Government has increased salaries for doctors and nurses—something that Plaid Cymru has been calling for for some time—but, could the Cabinet Secretary tell me whether there are any plans to raise the salaries of other workers in the public sector? Constituents have been in touch with me—and other Members, I'm sure—to say that the situation in the FE sector is critical, following a decade of below-inflation salary rises, and that this is having an impact on the standard of living of individuals working in that sector.

There's also great concern about the impact that any cuts to local government may have on non-statutory services. These services include leisure centres and community clubs that play an important role in keeping people healthy and preventing health problems. How will cuts like this accord with the Government's own objectives in terms of preventative steps before people become ill? We are spending more and more on treating illness, but less and less on preventing these problems from arising in the first place. I'd like to hear the Cabinet Secretary's comments on those issues.

To conclude, I welcome the intention to withdraw care leavers from the council tax system until they reach 25 years of age the length and breadth of Wales. Will there need to be some statutory or legal changes in order to achieve this, or is this something that can be done relatively swiftly? I also welcome the statement on the taxation charitable status of private schools and hospitals. Again, will there need to be any changes in the law to ensure that that policy is delivered, or does the Cabinet Secretary see this as something that can be implemented relatively swiftly? Thank you.