Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I must say, this has been a somewhat disappointing statement, Minister. We all know that the UK Government’s austerity policy has been a disaster for Wales—it’s been a disaster for public spending—and we all know that it’s had a human impact on people across this country as well, and people that the Minister and I both represent. However, what we do not know, and, unhappily, we still do not know, is what Welsh Government is going to be doing about this. What is the response of Government? We expect more from Government, and I think we've every right to expect more from Government than simply making faces at the opposition here, the Government in Westminster, and speeches condemning the Tories. Certainly, people in my constituency want to know why are we electing people to come here. We want more than speeches; we want more than resolutions.

I recognise the numbers that she has alluded to this afternoon in terms of Brexit, but that, of course, reinforces the demand and the requirement for action and an approach from Government that goes beyond rhetoric. We know nothing about the evolving tax base. We know nothing about how the Welsh Government is approaching a potential erosion of that tax base. We know nothing about an approach to taxation policy. We know nothing about the Welsh Government’s approach to borrowing. And we know nothing about how the Welsh Government expects to use the Welsh reserve. Public spending now lies here as well as in Westminster, and, as somebody who has campaigned for devolution all his adult life and has campaigned for responsibility to be held in this place and not simply the other end of the M4, it's profoundly disappointing when the Government's response to these challenges is simply to blame someone else somewhere else. We have to take responsibility for these issues here as well. 

Minister, we heard from the First Minister in an earlier statement this afternoon that he does not intend to press ahead with our manifesto commitment on local government reform. So, left with the Redwood model, a pre-devolutionary governance in a country that's changed beyond all recognition, we now have the prospect of spending more administering a system of governance that didn't work when we had more funding available to us during the Blair Governments in London. And this demands more from the Welsh Government. I will want the Welsh Government to seriously consider how, then, in this context, are we going to protect core services. Are we going to say—I use this as an example, Minister—that we're going to fund schools directly, that we will directly fund schools from Welsh Government, or that we will fund schools through the consortia? Because it frightens me that we have a radical reforming agenda for education, but we don't have the funds available to pay teachers or teachers' assistants or support staff within schools in order to deliver the basics.

So, I don't think it's enough in the future to simply blame the Conservative Government in Westminster. I accept completely the arguments over austerity, of course I do; I've made similar speeches to the Minister in the past. But I will say to the Minister that, for the future, when she comes back from her budget tour over the summer, I think this Chamber will expect far more from her than simply an attack on a failing Conservative Government.