I wish I could speak Welsh and use the translation as well, but perhaps I'll get there one day. Minister, thank you for setting out the Government's priorities going forward, and I welcome also your desire for new ideas, so I won't let you down and I will lead you through some of my thinking.

I'm sure many of the people of Wales will have been listening to your speech with particular interest because this year's budget priorities will be, arguably, the most important in a generation. Welsh Conservatives have been clear that the overarching priority for any Government must be to ensure our communities and services bounce back from COVID-19. From the outset, the UK Conservative Government has been firmly driving its robust initiatives to protect jobs, businesses and livelihoods from the devastating impact of the pandemic. 

Slowly but surely, we are re-emerging from the worst stages of the pandemic, and that is why the Welsh Government cannot waste any time in paving the way for us to build back better, fairer and greener. The pandemic has highlighted that Wales was in decline even before COVID-19 struck. We have one in five people stuck on a waiting list, the slowest growing economy in the UK and the lowest wages in Britain. Two decades of Welsh Labour rule has held back Wales's true potential—two decades where aspiration has been stifled, two decades where too many young people have been left behind, and two decades where hopes and dreams have been dashed. You had the opportunity with this year's financial priorities to set right many historic wrongs, and I hope perhaps we will see some of those wrongs put right at some point. But, sadly, Minister, once again, I believe that the Government has missed the mark and the opportunity today to share more. The people of Wales needed to see a long-term blueprint for a job-led recovery to turbo-charge the Welsh economy and level up the entire country. Wales is a country of immense talent, and we want to help unleash it.

As the party of aspiration and opportunity for all, the Welsh Conservatives have an ambitious investment plan to secure Wales's future. Our bold plan for the economy would include building 100,000 new houses in the next decade to help kick-start the Welsh economy, as well as generating 65,000 new jobs. We would invest in modern infrastructure for Wales, not slash it away. We would ensure no taxes for the duration of the Senedd term, and abolish business rates for small businesses altogether. Raising taxes at this precise moment would be catastrophic, and I hope, Minister, you will rule out today introducing new taxes.

Over the last 16 months, we've also seen how our front-line health and care professionals have endured so much in keeping us safe; we now owe it to them to ensure that they have the best facilities and sufficient resources to do their jobs. That is why a key priority has to be to develop a clear plan to enable the Welsh NHS to clear the waiting list backlog that has deteriorated during the pandemic, as well as seeing more funding to address the many specific areas, such as mental health, and the ever-increasing demand on social care.

As a past long-standing council leader, I have mentioned in this Chamber how I have seen the growing disparity between funding and reserves of various councils, and have argued that the current system is out of date and requires review, and that councils need a multi-year settlement—and I was pleased to hear what you said in that regard—to ensure that they can continue to deliver first-class services. To ensure a sustainable future for local authorities, Welsh Conservatives would also reform the local government funding formula to ensure fair funding across Wales, particularly to our rural councils, and help prevent excessive council tax rises.

And one of the saddest facts to date is that a generation of young people have been let down. We can't afford this to be repeated again. That is why our plan for change would also ensure all schools would be the very best they can by ending the underfunding of young people's education—something that has gone on for far too long. This is in addition to recruiting 5,000 more teachers to help young people to catch up on lost learning and boost school performances.

What I've just laid out should be the Welsh Government's priorities for moving Wales forward. We don't need any more excuses for any further calls for more powers, which will do nothing to solve the inherent problems facing the people of Wales. What we are calling for today is entirely possible, but it's up to Welsh Labour Ministers, who control the purse strings, whether they wish to put right those many historic wrongs. It is a fact that you still have an eye-watering amount of unallocated money, as I mentioned in the earlier debate. Now is the time, if you are going to use that money, to do so. So, Minister, for the sake of Wales's future, will you heed our calls and use the unallocated money, as well as introducing our forward-thinking ideas, as you've welcomed, to allow us to build a stronger, fairer and greener Wales?