Aside from business support, we also need to look at ways of supporting our local and national economies, and I think that this budget could have done far more in this regard. Our town centres will be provided with an extra £100 million capital over the budget period, but I question whether this fund will be enough to finally start reversing the long-term decline of the high street and to help them adapt to changing consumer habits that have been exacerbated over the pandemic. I also could not find much mention of how Welsh Government will invest in Welsh producers and manufacturers to export more of their goods and services abroad and to help enhance the 'Made in Wales' brand. I would appreciate some more information on this, if possible, Minister.

Then there's the increase in funding for the NHS. From what I'm aware, close to £900 million of the total funding is to be allocated in the 2022-23 financial year. Whilst much needed, and we welcome that, this would leave just £400 million to be allocated over the remaining two years, meaning health boards may be tempted to hold back some of the original funding to fill any anticipated shortfalls in future budgets. Minister, could I ask how decisions on how to allocate this funding were made, and whether you can provide hospitals and health boards with the funding certainty they need in the medium to long term? I'm also disappointed to note that the introduction of the regional surgical hubs to tackle the NHS waiting list backlog, as previously called for by the Conservatives, was not part of the budget. Would you consider working with us, Minister, to look into how we can speed up access to treatment, using some of your unallocated funding to introduce a £30 million GP access plan so more patients can see their GP and help to reduce the strain on hospitals? 

Now, despite the positive settlement for councils, this has to be viewed within the wider context. This accommodates the continued impacts that will no longer be met by the COVID hardship fund, significant pressures faced across social care, Welsh Government policy costs and inflationary pressures. Much of this additional funding will already be swallowed up, leaving little room for councils to manoeuvre. Councils also need greater clarity on specific grant funding streams for next year to help with financial planning, as well as clarity on additional grant funding that they could expect to see coming before the end of March. Minister, would you be able to give more clarity in that regard?

I've also heard of some concerns that the current public highways refurbishment grant may be removed, leaving councils concerned as to how they will pay for the upkeep of already creaking road networks. I acknowledge your Government's position on new road building, but the fact is that we still need roads and they still need to be maintained by councils. Could you clarify this situation, Minister, and state whether it is your intention to provide additional funds for road maintenance, as the Government has previously done?

Moreover, continuing pressure will mean that councils will still have to rely on hard-working taxpayers to supplement their budgets through council tax. Given the financial pressures facing families, which we talked about earlier today, will the Government consider providing additional funding to councils—I mean above and beyond what has been announced—to enable councils to freeze council tax for two years and relieve pressure on families? You have the ability to do this, if you wish.

Schools, too, have been hard hit during the pandemic and continued disruption risks further hindering our young people. I note that the budget allocates a further £320 million for education recovery and reform, which is to be welcomed. However, this funding is again spread over the next three financial years, so I wonder whether funding will be spread too thinly and so fall short in helping schools and young people to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

Furthermore, I note that the budget includes an additional £64.5 million up to 2024-25 to support schools on a variety of things, such as additional learning needs, supporting the continuation of the recruit, recover and raise standards programme, and supporting learner well-being. I think it would be useful to have a breakdown of the specific allocations within this funding package, as well as to understand whether any additional funding is to be made available to schools to support the recruitment of permanent teaching staff once the RRRS programme comes to an end. It's clear that to help raise standards and support learners to catch up with their learning, we need to reverse the decline in the number of teachers in Wales. To reiterate this point, according to the most recent Education Workforce Council statistics, the number of teachers registered in Wales has declined by 10.3 per cent between 2011 and 2021, and this, quite clearly, is not sustainable.

Finally, climate change represents a significant challenge as we move through this decade and beyond. According to recent estimates from the UK Committee on Climate Change, around £4.2 billion of investment is needed during the second carbon budget between 2021 and 2025, yet your budget only is allocating £1.8 billion of capital and £160 million of revenue in green investment over the next three years. Minister, are you confident that this level of investment will deliver the changes we need to transform Wales into a low-carbon society? And I think we need more clarity around the elements linked to flood defences. Because we’re heading to that time of year where who knows what could happen, and I think there is a lack of clarity on what you want to do around flooding, and we know what we need to see happen.

In summary, Deputy Llywydd, I think there are things that we can welcome in this budget. The additional funding provided by the UK Government really does highlight the importance of being part of a strong union. But we really need this budget to deliver on what it is setting out to achieve—a stronger, fairer and greener Wales. This is something that previous Governments, Welsh Governments, have often missed the mark on. It is up to this Government to show that it can deliver real change for the people of Wales, and to build a more prosperous, aspirational nation. And if you can’t do that, there‘s certainly a party in this Senedd that can. Thank you, Deputy Llywydd.