Diolch, acting Presiding Officer. I'd like to firstly declare that I'm still a councillor in Monmouthshire County Council. May I start by thanking Darren Millar and the Welsh Conservatives for bringing forward this debate today? And thank you, Minister, and I thank everybody for their contributions this afternoon.

Acting Presiding Officer, having sat in many Senedds and Assemblies like myself, you will know too that what we've heard today is nothing new. We have heard pleas over and over from Members across Wales, time and time again, as Carolyn Thomas and Janet Finch-Saunders have said, and as Sam Rowlands said, that that formula is inherently out of date and fundamentally unfair. Yet nothing has changed.

It is a shame, and it's a particular shame as we have a sixth Senedd that supposedly prides itself on fairness, social justice and equality, a Senedd that proclaims it wants to look after every person in need in Wales. Yet we have a Welsh Labour Government determined not to change a formula that determines local government funding that means that some most in need will be disadvantaged.

There is a massive difference between doing the right thing and doing the right thing for your party. It is disappointing to witness the look-after-your-own attitudes that we have seen in this Chamber today. Minister, Labour's standpoint is clearly a politically motivated decision to keep a formula that means that some of the struggling low-income families in Wales out there could be potentially left without the services or support that they need, or have to deal with council tax rises because they happen to live in a rural area, where they work, that is deemed affluent.

It is lucky, as Peter Fox has highlighted, that we have councils in these hard-hit areas, like in his own constituency of Monmouthshire County Council, who are consistently at the bottom of the table when these funds are distributed, that are so good at managing money and so innovative in coming up with schemes for their residents that mean that much needed support for their most vulnerable and the less-well-off doesn't have to suffer because of the extraordinarily unfair deal that they receive from this Welsh Government.

It is not right, as Janet Finch-Saunders and Gareth have both said, that councils in rural areas in north Wales, those that have significant ageing populations or with severe pockets of deprivation in rural areas, have to consider raising council tax as the only way to save their vital services for their residents. It is not right, as Janet Finch-Saunders said, that we are putting our most vulnerable at risk.

As Sam Rowlands, Mike Hedges and Llyr Gruffydd say, many of our councils have been exemplary. The way that our councils have reacted to the pandemic just shows how valuable they are, and I extend my thanks to them also. It was impressive to see how councils were able to reorganise, adapt to where their constituents most needed them; how they became a blanket for the most vulnerable in this national crisis; how councils react to flooding. Whatever is thrown at them, as Mike Hedges said, they are always on the front line, delivering to our constituents. We need our councils, all councils, across the whole of Wales, regardless of which party runs them. They play a vital role in delivering our Senedd's and your Government's aims.

As Peter Fox says, if we continue to underfund them, whilst continually putting more pressure on them, then we may even see some councils fall. This comes from someone who has been a council leader for 13 years, who has seen first-hand how a slight percentage change in the funding formula affects the day-to-day running of a council and how it delivers its vital services, and the difficult position that constantly underfunding a council can put it in.

The unfairness, as Gareth Davies says, cannot continue. We have a formula that uses out-of-date data, as Sam Rowlands has pointed out time and time again in this debate. As Llyr Gruffydd said, there are winners and losers in any formula, but we need to find a formula that is fair, the fairest possible formula that we can have. He also raises important things that we need to take into account in any review of using census data or a funding floor.

For two decades now, since the formula was established, rurality has been overlooked. As the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Members have said today in this debate, rurality needs to be factored in. Its vast areas demand more money. Put very simply, Minister, like Peter Fox said, the cost of collecting rubbish from 100 terraced houses compared to 100 spaced-out farms is going to be hugely different in terms of time and fuel costs. The Welsh Government's funding formula for local government doesn't take this into account; it is fundamentally flawed and fails to recognise the challenges of delivering services in rural areas.

Rural councils simply cannot deliver some of the efficiencies that can be driven in small, geographical areas in the way that cities and Valleys councils can. Newport now has one household waste and recycling centre; English-medium post-16 education in Torfaen is delivered from a single campus, the Torfaen learning zone. That's brilliant, but these are two examples of efficiencies that cannot be achieved in a sparsely populated rural area where you need smaller, accessible schools and services within reasonable travel distances.

We have an ageing population. As Gareth said, we are on the brink of facing a crisis in our councils due to the enormous extra pressures that an ageing population brings, particularly in our health and social care budgets in councils. As Sam Rowlands said, it is a problem and a financial pressure that is only going to get worse.

We've heard from the Minister today about how councils like Monmouthshire have had the best settlement yet. Although in part this is true and very welcome, as we've said, it is not entirely true, is it? If this Welsh Government were to continue giving money in that fashion year on year in the same way, it would certainly be something to celebrate, but it's not, is it? It is a good amount, Minister, in this first headline-grabbing 'there's an election coming' year, but what about the years to follow? It's funding, particularly post pandemic, that will be going down. Funding, particularly post pandemic, and particularly when we're facing a cost-of-living crisis, needs to go up year on year to at least fall in line with rises in inflation. That's the reality. So, there is a bit of smoke and mirrors going on here today, if you're honest, Minister.

As Sam Rowlands and all our Conservative Members have said here today, we welcome the money, but it's not the answer and it's certainly not all you claim it to be. As Peter said, his constituency of Monmouthshire is the lowest funded council in Wales, receiving just £1,176 per head of population, yet some neighbouring urban councils receive as much as £1,881 per head. Even the second and third lowest councils, the Vale of Glamorgan and Flintshire—£1,372 and £1,476 respectively—receive significantly more than Monmouthshire. As my colleague Peter says, if Monmouthshire was funded at the Welsh average, the council would receive an extra £40 million every year to put into front-line services. The gap between the best and worst councils in Wales has simply got too wide, and it does impact on the running of the council and the success of bids, as Carolyn Thomas says. Even this year, with Monmouthshire receiving the largest percentage increase of 11.2 per cent, following years of underfunding, the gap between Monmouthshire and other councils continues to widen. This is completely unsustainable and speaks volumes about the attitudes of this Welsh Government towards rural Wales.

Cross-party leaders in the WLGA have all relayed their major concerns on the unfair formula, with the obvious exception of some, as it's like turkeys voting for Christmas. We urgently need an independent external review of funding for local government to ensure that it delivers fair funding for all parts of Wales. [Interruption.] Monmouthshire as well, yes. After two decades of a funding formula for local government that has punished north Wales—as Janet, Gareth, Sam and Carolyn has said—has punished rural areas, doesn't take into account an ageing population or pockets of deprivation in rural areas, it is now time, time to have a Senedd that's true to its word of making Wales an equal Wales, to have a Government that will establish an independent review, or something in line with what you're doing with council tax, and seek to change the unfair, out-of-date funding formula and the way that local government is funded for good.

Thank you, again, everybody, for your contributions and to Plaid Cymru for your support. I hope that Members across this Chamber today will vote for our motion and do what is right for all of Wales, not just for your party.