Caerphilly council were somewhat stressed by the delay caused in the budget by the general election, and nonetheless went ahead with a consultation. Actually, the consultation took place during the general election. I'm still wondering whether that was entirely wise to consult on a budget you didn't know during a general election. But the good news is that, as a result of the Welsh Government's budget, the projected savings that were required have dropped from £8.5 million to £3 million. It shows that a responsible budget is perfectly possible and has had a positive effect on Caerphilly County Borough Council as a result of the Welsh Government's action.

You mentioned austerity, and every time you do Janet Finch-Saunders—not every time, she didn't do it just then—but when you do mention austerity, Janet Finch-Saunders has a tendency to shout and complain, but the fact is that this budget today is still a budget in an austerity era and has its roots in the fact that the worst possible time to cut in the way that they did was in 2010—Cameron and Osborne—when they did it in the depths of a recession. It was the worst possible time to begin an austerity programme, and therefore we will take many years to recover from that, because of the consequences of those choices that were made then. That is why there are difficulties with the budget, because of an economic choice that was made in 2010 and is still being felt today.

But we are seeing small steps back in the journey. I still think we're seeing austerity; I don't think we've seen an end to austerity by any shape or means. But what we are seeing, through the Welsh Government's budget, is small steps forward, and in real terms, Caerphilly council will now be £11.1 million better off in the next financial year compared to this one, because of this good settlement. And some of the things that were advertised as possible cuts had these difficult times continued, and were publicised during the general election campaign, now don't have to go ahead—things like, because of this Welsh Government, Caerphilly council won't be forced to cut school budgets; won't be forced to remove school crossing patrols; won't be forced to reduce CCTV cameras; won't increase school meal prices; and won't have to reduce the highways maintenance budget. And I'm pleased to say that any decision to close recycling centres in my constituency will now not go ahead. Also, in addition to that, Caerphilly council's council tax, compared to the two neighbouring authorities—Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr, both independently controlled—is significantly less. In fact, people in band B in Caerphilly pay £400 less each year than in those neighbouring authorities, and Caerphilly is in the lowest quartile for council tax rates in Wales. That is because of the local government Minister's actions and the finance Minister's actions over the last few months.

However, we have to recognise that the flooding that took place has also imposed an unexpected and intolerable financial burden on Caerphilly County Borough Council, with some of the repairs that will be needed in the future. The extra financial support from the Welsh Government has been very welcome. In addition to the £500 per person that the local authority has given, the Welsh Government has also given £500 per person, plus £500 for those who are not insured. That is everyone who's been affected by flooding will have between £1,000 and £1,500 if their property was affected, as a result, again, of the actions of the Government and of the council.

The impact of the floods, though, on the infrastructure of the county borough is currently calculated at around £4 million, and this is expected to double over the next few weeks as the full storm damage is determined. And further necessary infrastructure improvements that were made increasingly urgent by the floods have been identified at a total cost in Caerphilly of £75 million to £85 million—that's particularly connecting roads in the northern Valleys in Dawn Bowden's constituency. The local authority also requires financial assistance to make safe some of the 234 coal tips that exist in the borough. It can carry out work on the 104 that it owns, but there are also 130 in private ownership that we've got concerns about. So, to that end, I co-signed a letter with Rhianon Passmore, Dawn Bowden and the three Members of Parliament, to the Secretary of State for Wales, the First Minister and the Prime Minister, calling for the maximum level of assistance possible to assist both with those infrastructure repairs and also making the coal tips safe. I'm confident that the Welsh Government will do what it can; we're yet to hear anything meaningful from the UK Government, and that is a concern.

So, on the whole, I think this is the best budget that could possibly have been produced for local government, and it has seen security in local government in Wales that has not been seen in England, and that is because of this Welsh Government and, therefore, I commend this debate today.