10. Pa asesiad y mae'r Gweinidog wedi'i wneud o'r effaith y caiff datganiad cyllidol Llywodraeth y DU ar Gymru? OQ58452

The tax changes announced in the fiscal statement favour the rich and will worsen inequality. The statement provides no additional help to fund public services at a time when costs are rising sharply.

I thank you for that answer, Minister. I had to call it a fiscal statement because that’s what the UK Government have called it, rather than a mini budget, seemingly in order to prevent scrutiny from the Office for Budget Responsibility. But it was a budget, and it is anything but responsible. By unleashing the economically illiterate splurge of tax cuts for the rich, unlimited bankers’ bonuses and protection for the unearned profits of big energy, the Tories—and I hear them over there defending it—are gambling with all our futures. It’s reckless, and it’s unfair. There was a time they used to hide the unfairness; they’re not doing that any more, of course. Your department will be busy working through the figures, I know, but do you agree with me that the Chancellor’s decision not to uprate funding for public services, which are already severely stretched by inflation, is deeply irresponsible and immoral? And that being the case, beyond what we are already doing here in Wales to protect people from that immorality, what more can you do to safeguard those services for the people of Wales?

I’m very grateful for that question. I can hear the Conservatives chuntering away behind me; I do admire the way in which the leader of the opposition is doubling down in his support for the UK Government, even though the markets—and everybody—are obviously making a response to it that is very different to that of the leader of the Conservatives. I have to say, I heard him saying that the OBR is only legally required to do two forecasts a year, but the OBR has offered to do a forecast; it said it would do it at any point after the introduction of the new Prime Minister, but they decided not to take up that offer. And we know why: because they knew what it would show. The fact that they haven’t done any distributional impact assessment of their work shows that they’re too embarrassed to show what the impact would be.

But of course, Wales has done that work. Wales Fiscal Analysis found that that 90 per cent of the gains made on Friday go to the top 50 per cent of the income distribution here in Wales, and 40 per cent of those gains go to the top 10 per cent, in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. It’s an absolutely disgusting budget and I’m amazed that there is a single Conservative who continues to support it.

I thank the Minister.

I’m afraid we’re going to have to take a short technical break. It isn’t because the Minister for rural affairs spilled water all over her technical appliances, but it is because of a problem we’re having with microphones this afternoon. It’ll be a short suspension of the meeting, and we’ll reconvene as quickly as possible.

Plenary was suspended at 14:19.

The Senedd reconvened at 14:32, with the Llywydd in the Chair.