Leader of the house, the environment Minister is not the only one to contribute to the red-on-red fire. The Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning recently said, and I quote,

'we must put our hands up and admit that one area where we have failed to make the impact that we...should have, is the economy'.

Well, I couldn't have said it better myself, Minister. The Welsh Government has failed our economy, and local government is one of its key pillars. It employs over 10 per cent of the Welsh workforce, spends £3.5 billion on goods and services, and promotes economic growth in all regions of the nation, yet successive Welsh Labour settlements consistently hammer the parts of Wales that are often most reliant on the local authority economy. The Welsh Government's consistent neglect of large swathes of Wales has ultimately resulted in regional inequality and a stagnant Welsh economy. Leader of the house, will you now listen to your own colleagues and call on the First Minister to rethink this local government funding settlement so that we have one that is capable of driving forward the prosperity of our nation instead of one that will only entrench regional inequality and council favouritism here in Wales?