First of all, the committee felt that there was a lack of clarity and candour regarding the Welsh Government's plans, particularly in terms of identifying where decisions have been made in the draft budget to halt, postpone or reduce funding. As a result, we have made a raft of recommendations calling for greater clarity in the information provided alongside the draft budget. This includes calling on the Minister to provide a full assessment of the impact that high inflation will have on its funding position and capital programme and for changes to be made to the way information is presented, so that the draft budget provides an assessment of the impact of spending decisions across portfolios.

Furthermore, I would like to note, on behalf of all committees, that, although we always welcome both oral and written evidence provided by the Welsh Government on the draft budget, we believe that more can be done to ensure that committees are provided with such evidence in good time. That is why I will shortly be consulting with Senedd committees on their experiences of scrutinising this year's draft budget and asking for practical ways in which improvements can be made to the next budget round.

Turning now to our views on the Welsh Government's use of fiscal levers, although we understand the Minister's decision not to raise taxes, the committee is surprised that the Welsh Government had not carried out detailed work on the behavioural impact of varying Welsh rates of income tax across all bands. This strongly suggests that the Minister has not given serious consideration to changing the rates during this budget round, which we found disappointing, and ask for this to be properly considered in the future. We heard evidence that the Welsh Government's fiscal tools need updating. In particular, we support the Minister's continued efforts in pressing the UK Government to increase the Welsh Government's overall and annual limits for borrowing and reserves at least in line with inflation. We also heard that the nature of our tax-raising powers is more limited than those enjoyed by our Scottish cousins. Although we acknowledge that doing so is far from straightforward, we would like the Minister to undertake foundational work into the benefits and risks of devolving powers to modify Welsh rates of income tax bands and thresholds.

A key aspect of this draft budget is the support provided to help with rising costs of living. On accessing benefits, the committee has long advocated a 'no wrong door' approach. As the demand for such support, sadly, increases, we believe more can be done to ensure that accessing such support is as easy and straightforward as possible. That is why we would like to see the Welsh Government fast-track the introduction of a unified benefits system, a Welsh benefits charter, to make it easier and simpler. We also believe that the current financial support schemes need tweaking, particularly in relation to eligibility thresholds, to ensure that they remain at suitable levels and are not excluding those at the margins of support. The committee has also made concrete recommendations to improve what is already on offer. This includes encouraging the expansion of the free childcare model, considering an increase in the value of the educational maintenance allowance, which has not been increased since the mid 2000s, and prioritising the development of a replacement Warm Homes programme as a matter of urgency to prevent fuel poverty.

Llywydd, all of us in this Chamber are fully aware of the pressures that public services are under. The additional funding provided by Welsh Government through this draft budget to support such services is a welcome move, and we are particularly interested in the innovative methods being explored to increase the money available, including the introduction of a social care levy to fund the rising cost of social care provision. However, the Senedd needs to know whether this funding allocated for next year is delivering tangible improvements. We therefore want the Welsh Government to explain the outcomes it expects to be delivered by NHS organisations and social care providers. In addition, although the Welsh Government has outlined priority areas for the NHS, it has been less forthcoming in outlining the areas it expects to deprioritise. As one stakeholder told us, 'If everything’s a priority, then nothing is a priority.' Such efforts to identify spending priorities are futile if the Minister cannot also explain which areas are less of a priority and will receive less funding as a result.

During our stakeholder event at Llanhilleth Miners Institute last June, representatives from the health and social care sectors told us that workforce planning is crucial to ensure that services remain resilient and fit for purpose—a theme echoed during our evidence sessions. Although we welcome the overdue publication last week of the Welsh Government’s national workforce implementation plan, we would like this to be extended across the Welsh public sector to provide long-term stability for services as well as support and direction. We cannot expect services to improve if we don’t look after those working so hard to keep them afloat.