I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to speak in this debate today. Of course, I'm extremely proud to represent my home town and Alyn and Deeside, and the constituents quite rightly deserve and expect the high-quality public services and delivery by the local council, and, in that case, that is Flintshire County Council. Now, I certainly don't envy the Government in having to draw up the budgets in the face of UK Government austerity, which continues to make it difficult for local councils to deliver the services that they are used to. I was particularly shocked when the First Minister highlighted, back when he had responsibility for finance, that there is £800 million less to spend on public services in 2019-20 than there was in 2010-11. I've had many honest conversations with local councillors from Flintshire across all parties, and Members will of course know I was vocal in my concerns last year. 

Just last Friday, I was talking to local representatives again about some of their concerns. Local residents and councillors often tell me about their feeling of the north-south divide, so, again, I am pleased that the new First Minister has made a recent announcement of the appointment of a Minister with responsibility for north Wales, and I think that is a positive step forward for residents across all of north Wales. 

Llywydd, if the Brexit negotiations have taught us anything, politics is about listening and working together. So, yes, I am pleased that there is an uplift in the original settlement provided to Flintshire, and I also welcome how we've been able to reduce the reduction in the revenue support grant from -1 per cent to -0.3 per cent, and specific funding announcements for social care have also been welcomed locally.

I welcome, of course, the other measures as part of a package of an extra £141.5 million in revenue and capital for local government over the next three years, but I would like to just make a couple of points that I've made before about council tax and how we can make things easier for the people who I speak to who struggle to make their payments on a monthly basis. The Wales Centre for Public Policy report interestingly highlighted the opportunities to make council tax more progressive, and I would like to see the government in the near future looking at how we can possibly reform council tax. 

I also believe there needs to be a serious conversation in the future about two points in particular: firstly, the way in which local councils are funded, as well as the shift from central funding to local taxation; and finally, the future of consequential funding and the importance of ending austerity for good. I, too, received a letter from the leader of Flintshire County Council last night, and I would welcome a meeting with the Minister for finance and the Minister for local government at the earliest opportunity to discuss the issues raised in that letter and also around the consequential funding, as I had planned prior to the latest reshuffle.

I want to close my contribution today, Llywydd, by paying tribute to all the councillors and the council staff who work hard, day in, day out, to provide everyday services to the people of Wales. They often get the brunt of criticism, but we should never forget that they are the front line of delivery. And I also want to reaffirm in this Chamber today my commitment to my local council that I will always stand up for my local area and the councillors and the council staff that provide those services that people really rely on. Diolch yn fawr iawn.