I therefore would have expected and hoped to have seen that immediate action, given the declaration of a climate emergency, but that isn’t an opportunity that’s been taken by Government to date, and it is something that I deeply regret.

The First Minister has stated that environmental issues were a factor in the decision not to proceed with the black route proposals for the M4. I think that was coincidence more than an actual response to the declaration of a climate emergency. But what isn’t contained within the supplementary budget strikes me as being most interesting—and that’s true of my fellow members of the Finance Committee too. As a result of the decision not to proceed with the black route, perhaps there aren’t financial commitments that we would need to hear from the Welsh Government, but surely it’s reasonable at this point to expect to see, in the supplementary budget, a signal of how the Government will respond in terms of budgeting and what its approach will be to borrowing levels and the funding that will be required in due time to repay that borrowing. So, again, it’s what’s absent from the budget that’s most interesting.

In terms of Brexit, I welcome the £85 million that has been ring-fenced for Brexit preparations. As we heard from the Chair of the Finance Committee, I, too, am concerned that there is a lack of clarity as to what exactly the Government’s strategy is in spending those funds, although a number of headlines have been outlined. But, again, we must address what happens at a UK level at this point, and this threat of a ‘no deal’ Brexit is something that we do have to consider because it will have serious financial implications. Certainly, in future budgets and future supplementary budgets, we will certainly have to address this because of the hole we find ourselves in in terms of Brexit.

Another comment on the actions of the UK Government: we should be very concerned about the £36 million shortfall that has been identified in terms of public sector pensions. I am very concerned that this is setting a pattern, and I am very supportive and will be very supportive of any firm steps we see taken by the Welsh Government to respond, perhaps jointly with other devolved assemblies and parliaments, to ensure that this pattern isn’t established by the UK Government, which, to all intents and purposes, has treated our national Parliament as a Government department in Whitehall in this regard.

So, to conclude, we will abstain on this supplementary budget, and that reflects the fact that the supplementary budget is part of a two-year agreement. It is a Labour Government budget, and we will hold the Labour Government to account on that budget. But we do believe that, through our agreement and the additional funds for the foundational economy, for nursery education, for mental health, for the young farmers grant, for end-of-life care, for investment in the arts and heritage and in sport and tourism, and so on and so forth, that we have been able to make a difference on behalf of the people of Wales from the opposition benches here in the Assembly, and we look forward, naturally, to making a far greater difference in Government here.