Now, part of the problem, of course, is that successive Welsh Government Ministers have failed to see their relationship with local government as a partnership. Instead, they've taken a very belligerent approach, particularly with reference to reorganisation. Indeed, some people have suggested across Wales that the withholding of funding for local councils is a deliberate attempt by the Welsh Government to undermine local authority finances, making them unsustainable, and to put forced council mergers back onto the agenda here in Wales. The current Cabinet Secretary, of course, inadvertently exposed his contempt for Welsh local authorities when he compared council leaders just a few weeks ago, when they requested more money for local government, to the starving Oliver Twist, asking for more gruel. It was no surprise to hear a chorus of condemnation and calls for the resignation of the Cabinet Secretary on the back of those comments, because, of course, he was compared quite rightly to Mr Bumble, the cruel beadle of the Dickensian workhouse. Now, it's this distinct lack of respect, I think, that threatens the delivery of the local authority services through the compact that the Welsh Government has with local government. I think it would be incumbent upon you today, in your response to this debate and motion, Cabinet Secretary, to apologise for those comments that you made about local authorities asking for the resources that they need to deliver services.

This year's draft settlement was further evidence that councils are being underfunded, and that the funding formula is outdated and no longer fit for purpose. The case for reform in terms of the funding formula has become more and more compelling in recent years. The current funding formula has been there for 17 years. It's based on many different elements and indicators, including how much council tax the Welsh Government considers each local authority should be able to charge, and population data that is based on the 1991 census—1991, even though we have census information that is bang up to date, and estimates of the population that are much more recent. Under the funding formula, the gap between the best and worst-funded local authorities widens each and every year, and it currently stands at £600 per head. That's tens of millions of pounds of underfunding for largely rural local authorities where, due to geography, delivering services is often much more expensive. The leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council has quite rightly hit out at the underfunding of schools in poorly funded authorities, and I think—and I'm sure that others in this Chamber will think—that every child in this country deserves the chance to achieve their full potential. But how is it fair if we have a postcode lottery in terms of school spending, because of the arrangements for the distribution of cash from this Government? There's no level playing field for children here in Wales. Just last week, the leader of Pembrokeshire County Council, whose residents face an eye-watering 12.5 per cent increase in their council tax this year, called for the funding formula to be reviewed.

While the Welsh Government has tweaked around the edges of the funding formula—adding a little bit of sparsity funding, making arrangements, putting a funding floor in place—the reality is that these are not solving the problem in a wholesale way. That's why the Welsh Local Government Association has described the funding formula as, and I quote, being held together by duct tape and sticking plasters. So, an increasing number of councils have passed motions across Wales this year, calling for better funding and a new funding formula. Many of those councils have Labour representatives on them who have supported those calls and supported those votes. So, we know that there are very low levels of confidence in the formula. It's led to considerable variation in the level of reserves held by Welsh local authorities as well. So, we know, for example, that the well-funded, Labour-run Rhondda Cynon Taf council is sitting pretty on £152 million-worth of reserves, almost eight times the level of reserves in Conservative-run Monmouthshire, almost seven times the level of reserves in Conwy—[Interruption.] I'll happily take an intervention.