We also know, of course—and it's nothing new—that if Welsh budgets had kept pace with inflation, then, as the Minister regularly reminds us, there would be an additional £3 billion in the budget that we're discussing today. But, no. So, let not the Conservatives come here and tell us how lucky we are. The truth is that it's quite the opposite.

Indeed, by the end of the third year, in looking at what is before us this afternoon, the revenue budget will be just 0.5 per cent larger over three years. That's growth of 0.5 per cent over three years. And the capital budget, that investment in infrastructure that is needed to spark our economy and create jobs here in Wales, will fall by 11 per cent. That is the reality of the budget we're facing today, so I don't want to hear any more of that nonsense, with all due respect.

In terms of the Conservative amendment, well, what a lazy amendment that is. It is overly general; it's a plague on all your houses, in effect. Are you saying that all elements of the budget fail to meet the needs of the people of Wales? It's not perfect, and I am concerned—I share concerns—about the local government settlement, for example, not necessarily for next year, but certainly in years 2 and 3, when the funding will fall even further behind levels of inflation.

I'm also concerned that there is more that could and should be done to safeguard the people of Wales in light of the cost-of-living crisis, and some of my colleagues on the Plaid Cymru benches will expand on that later on in this debate.

But there are elements to be welcomed, too, which certainly meet the needs of the people of Wales in my view, particularly the elements of this budget, as we heard from the Minister, implementing the co-operation agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Government. So, rather than complaining at the periphery, as the Conservatives are doing, Plaid Cymru have rolled up their sleeves, sat down with the Government and discussed what we can do to tackle these problems. Rather than defending cuts in universal credit, Plaid Cymru in this agreement is delivering on free school meals for children in Wales. Rather than lining the pockets of wealthy friends with suspect PPE contracts, as the Conservatives have done, in the co-operation agreement, Plaid Cymru is delivering more care, free of charge, to the children and parents of Wales.

And there are 44 other policies that are to be implemented in that co-operation agreement, and I look forward to seeing this budget ensuring that we can make progress with those. So, unlike what we've seen from the Conservatives and the Westminster Government these days, Plaid Cymru is espousing responsible, constructive politics, which prioritises the needs of the people of Wales. That is reflected to a great extent in the allocations within this budget.

It's not perfect, I agree. It's not the budget that Plaid Cymru would have laid in its entirety, and that is why we won't be voting in favour of the budget. But it is a step in the right direction, and at least starts the work of building the Wales that we want to see.

I'll move on now to contribute to the debate on behalf of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee. Of course, this is the first draft budget of the sixth Senedd. It comes on the heels of COP26 and precedes COP15, where new global biodiversity targets are expected to be agreed. There is growing pressure on Governments across the world to match their warm words on climate change and nature recovery with action and investment. And the sixth Senedd coincides with a critical period in the fight against climate change and nature decline. And actions taken by the Welsh Government over the next five years will be crucial in determining whether Wales can meet its carbon budget for 2021-25, and make sufficient progress towards becoming a net-zero nation by 2050, or, hopefully, sooner.

Much of the Welsh Government’s narrative around the draft budget relates to the need to deliver an urgent and radical response, to use the Government’s own words, to the climate change emergency, and the draft budget provides an opportunity for the Welsh Government to demonstrate its commitment to doing just that through its spending decisions. And there are some encouraging signs: increased investment in decarbonising housing, forestry, the circular economy, renewable energy and flooding. But the real test, of course, is whether this will be enough to deliver the change at the scale and pace required.

Decarbonising transport is one of the main challenges facing the Welsh Government, and the latest transport strategy, quite rightly, sets stretching targets, including for 50 per cent of buses to be zero emission by 2028. But funding to support local bus service decarbonisation will not follow until 2023-24. The question is: why? Why is that the case? And we’ve asked the Minister for an explanation. Alongside the target for the bus fleet, the Welsh Government has a target that all taxis or private hire vehicles will be zero emission by 2028. Well, this sector, with individuals being self-employed and on low earnings, will need adequate support to transition to electric vehicles. In our report, therefore, we call on the Welsh Government to set out a route-map for achieving the 2028 targets, including details of estimated financial cost and how it will be met. And we look forward to receiving the response.

Finally on transport, we’re concerned about the growing backlog of outstanding local highways maintenance, at a cost of an estimated £1 billion. The state of our roads not only has an impact on transport but on other things too, because of the wider problems that disrepair can cause, such as culverts that aren’t maintained and then lead to flooding. And the Deputy Minister has told us that funding will be redirected as a result of the roads review, but the concern is that that won’t even scratch the surface. But time will tell.

Moving on to the nature emergency, the Welsh Government in the fifth Senedd failed to deliver for nature. It missed both national and international commitments and targets. While the latest science suggests that it’s not too late to pull nature back from the brink, transformative change is needed—not next year, not in five years’ time, but now. And the draft budget suggests an increase in direct spending on biodiversity, which is to be welcomed. However, the Welsh Government needs to be clearer about the total amount of funding it’s providing for nature recovery and how it’s assessing and monitoring the impact of this on fighting on biodiversity loss.

And to conclude, Natural Resources Wales has a pivotal role to play in protecting and enhancing the Welsh natural environment and supporting the Welsh Government in delivering its ambition. And the message from stakeholders is coming through loud and clear that NRW is struggling to perform its role properly because of a lack of capacity and resources. The Minister has told us that work is under way to review NRW funding, and we welcome that very much as a committee, but we must use this opportunity to reverse the historic trend of cuts in NRW's funding. We must agree on a settlement therefore—