Like many adverse childhood experiences, poverty impacts a young person in many ways, from their health and cognitive development to social and educational outcomes. The consequences of this can stay with a person all their lives. That's why it's so unforgivable that most vulnerable families have had to bear the brunt of Tory austerity measures over the last 12 years. The introduction of universal credit has left millions of people worse off, and we've also seen the devastating impacts of the bedroom tax, the two-child limit, and the frozen local housing allowance. These can no longer be dismissed as tough but necessary decisions. The Tory party continues to make political choices to protect the very rich, whilst one in three children across the UK are living in poverty.

We've also seen a race to the bottom with employment standards under their watch. Well-below-inflation wage increases and zero-hours contracts have caused in-work poverty rates to increase. The Welsh Labour Government has done what it can to mitigate the impact of these policies. Our party believes in universality, that nobody should be left behind, and that's why Wales is leading the way with universal free school meals, free childcare from two years of age, free school breakfasts, free prescriptions, the pupil deprivation grant scheme, and the council tax reduction scheme. These policies put money back into people's pockets, and, believe me, this is needed now more than ever. Investing in early years and education remains one of the most powerful levers to tackle inequality, embed prevention, and invest in our future generations. 

The Welsh Government budget contains an additional £320 million up to 2024-25 to continue its long-term programme of educational reform and ensure educational inequalities narrow and standards rise. This includes an additional £30 million for childcare and early-years provision, £40 million for Flying Start and Families First, and £90 million for free school meals, £64.5 million for wider schools and curriculum reform, and £63.5 million investment in post-16 provision. I welcome this dedication to investing in education and our younger people, but we must accept that the Welsh Government is limited in what it can do while the UK Government continues to underfund public services.

Wales has a more elderly population, greater rurality, poor transport connectivity, and a larger reliance on public service funding, with a third of people being employed in public services. Many of these, such as nursing and social care, impact more on women, who still today are often the main carer for children. Wales needs to be better funded. This was known when we were a part of Europe, as we were net beneficiaries. Wales received £245 million more from the European Union than what it paid in, and the overall benefit to Wales was around £79 per head in 2014. Since then, this funding has not been replaced. We need a fit-for-purpose, cradle-to-grave welfare system that ensures that no-one falls into the grips of poverty, and until the UK Government makes a u-turn on its path to austerity, this cannot be achieved. Thank you.