7. Debate: The Final Budget 2020-2021

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:02 pm on 3 March 2020.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 5:02, 3 March 2020

Diolch, Llywydd. I welcome the opportunity to have this debate this afternoon, and I do thank Members for their contributions. As I outlined in my opening statement, this is a budget that has taken place amidst uncertainty and evolving circumstances and, of course, we expect those to continue beyond the Chancellor's UK budget on 11 March. It's only right that I put on record my thanks to our Welsh Government officials, both within Welsh Treasury and my finance officials, but also finance officials working right across departments in Government who have done sterling work in very difficult circumstances this year. I'm incredibly grateful to them. 

It is my intention to make a statement as early as possible following the budget on the implications for us here in Wales. In my opening remarks, I did take the opportunity to highlight where I would seek to make additional funding, should it become available, or at least should our funding not be reduced as a result of the UK budget. Nick Ramsay referred in his comments to the fact that I was listening during the budget process. Well, I can guarantee that I have been listening, and these are the reasons why those are the areas that I have highlighted for additional funding.

So, flooding clearly has to be a priority. UK Government has said that additional funding will be passported to Wales, and we're certainly keen to use additional funding to support those communities that have been so badly hit. And as we've heard a number of times over the last week or so, we don't yet know the scale of the damage and the quantum of the funding that will be needed in order to deal with the flooding, but certainly that will be a priority looking to the next year. And homelessness and the housing support grant—