Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. It is a privilege to lead the debate on the final budget today, and I pay tribute to and thank my predecessor, Mark Drakeford, for his work on the budget over the last year.

I also thank the Finance Committee for its work in scrutinising the budget and I have responded formally and positively to the recommendations put forward by the committee. I look forward to working with the Finance Committee and with the future generations commissioner, as we develop the budget for 2020-21 and move into a comprehensive spending review.

The context of this budget will be familiar. The budget was crafted in the long shadow cast by nine years of austerity; a political choice by a Conservative UK Government that has caused damage and harm to the fabric of our public services. Wales has £850 million less to spend, in real terms, on public services in 2019-20 than in 2010-11, as a result of UK Government cuts. If spending on public services had kept pace with gross domestic product growth since 2010-11, we would have £4 billion more in 2019-20—that's 20 per cent up on our current budget.

When the draft budget was published in October, the Prime Minister was promising that austerity was over and that a Brexit deal was in reach. Yet, only today, Parliament holds its meaningful vote and the prospect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal is very real. In the UK autumn budget, there was little evidence that austerity was over. Of the additional funding that we received, the majority of the already announced consequential funding was for the NHS. Our capital budget in Wales will increase by just £2.6 million in 2019-20. As a result of austerity, funding per person for day-to-day devolved public services in 2019-20 will be 7 per cent lower in real terms than it was in 2010-11.

In spite of these challenges, we continue to deliver in difficult times. We continue to prioritise investment in the Welsh NHS, education and social care. We are investing in our schools and colleges, creating the health service of the future, building an economy with real social purpose. 

When we published the draft budget, we recognised it represented a challenging settlement for local government. We worked hard and quickly to announce in November an additional package of funding for local authorities worth £141.5 million over three years, including extra funding for education, children's social services and a £100 million increase in capital funding. And we will debate the final local government settlement later today.

The final budget delivers on our commitments. It includes a further £26 million to increase support for high street retailers and other businesses to help them pay their rates bills. Local authorities will receive an extra £7 million to meet our flagship commitment to raise the capital limit to £50,000 two years early. From April, people will be able to keep more of their hard-earned savings before they have to pay for residential care.

I'm also pleased to confirm an extra £6.8 million to support our commitment to create 100,000 all-age apprenticeships over the course of this Assembly. The final budget contains some specific allocations to helping tackle child poverty, above and beyond what was announced in the draft budget. A further £1.6 million will be available in 2019-20 for the pupil development grant access scheme to ensure that parents can meet the everyday costs associated with sending their children to school and wider activities. And, an extra £0.4 million will be used to extend the Fun and Food programme, providing children with a meal and learning opportunities during the school summer holidays.

There are some smaller allocations in this final budget that I would like to put on record this afternoon: an extra £0.5 million to enhance support for music activities for young people; an extra £0.9 million to further reduce food waste, building on the £15 million announced in the draft budget; and an extra £0.8 million revenue and £3 million capital for Natural Resources Wales.

This budget also marks the second year of the two-year budget agreement with Plaid Cymru. I thank Plaid's finance spokesperson, Rhun ap Iorwerth, for the early engagement that we've had about finance matters. In line with our agreement, we have provided additional capital funding to refurbish the Urdd camps at Llangrannog and Glan-llyn. We're also providing £10 million in 2019-20 to take forward the results of the feasibility studies into a national museum and art gallery. 

We continue to develop plans to use financial transaction capital funding, including measures to stimulate our housing and property market. We will provide financial transaction funding this financial year to set up a £40 million Wales self-build fund. The scheme will start in earnest in 2019-20. Further details on our plans will be provided in the second supplementary budget.

This is a budget developed against the uncertainty of Brexit. The chaotic shambles around the Prime Minister's deal has moved us towards the possibility of no deal and the risk of significant disruption, risking jobs and livelihoods. If we leave the European Union on 29 March without a deal, the UK Government must provide us with the resources we will need to respond to this catastrophic scenario.

We have been working hard to prepare for Brexit and to ensure Wales's public services, institutions, businesses and partners are ready for all outcomes. To do this, we're investing up to £50 million in a dedicated EU transition fund. Today, I can announce the next pipeline of projects from this fund to provide support to our key sectors, partners and communities. Projects include funding for the Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru to support our social care sector from the impact of Brexit. We will also provide funding for police partnership resilience, to enable Wales's police services to support Brexit preparations. We will expand preparations for successor arrangements to EU structural funds, building on work to support implementation of a post-EU regional investment model for Wales. We're also in discussions with the WLGA about Brexit support for local government, with further details to follow.

We do not have a budget beyond 2021, and face a comprehensive spending review this year. The Chancellor has also been clear that if the economic or fiscal outlook changes materially as a result of Brexit, the spring statement could be updated to a full fiscal event. I am realistic that we may have to amend our budget plans, and if this is the case I will of course keep Members fully updated. This year marks another milestone in our devolution journey. For the first time, this budget includes revenues raised from Welsh rates of income tax. From April, more than £2 billion of the Welsh budget will come from taxes raised in Wales, strengthening our accountability to the people of Wales. Today, the National Assembly has made a decision about the Welsh rates of income tax. In line with our manifesto commitment, we have agreed not to increase the rates of income tax this year. 

Deputy Presiding Officer, this budget seeks to provide and protect the vital public services people in Wales rely on. It does this by carefully managing our resources and pursuing the progressive policies and priorities that define this Welsh Government. I commend the final budget to the National Assembly.