Conversations around tax are always difficult. I don't think that any of us in this Chamber would deny that. But it is a conversation that we have to have nonetheless. There's certainly a conversation to be had around the effectiveness of taxes, such as: what are we trying to do? To what level do we want to redistribute wealth?

But it is important for us also to remember that tax isn't the be-all and end-all of effective policy delivery. It certainly plays its part, and in the current devolved context is one of the few fiscal levers at Welsh Government's disposal. Now, effective policy delivery is dependent flexible fiscal levers that are truly responsive to the communities on which the policy outcomes impact. The inflexibility of the block grant model, for example, has created a discrepancy between the scope of policy design and that of policy delivery in Wales, which compromises far-reaching and long-term strategies for dealing with issues in our society, especially in terms of capital investment in infrastructure. The example of HS2, whereby Wales was deprived of Barnett consequential funding, even though not one inch of the track is being laid in Wales, underlines the inequities of the block grant model. The experience of the pandemic also exposed this discrepancy—for example, the UK Government refusing to extend furlough to accommodate Wales's firebreak lockdown in November 2021 despite the fact, of course, that Welsh Government's decision was fully consistent with its devolved competence over health policy.

In fact, the pandemic showed us all the need for greater fiscal powers here in Wales, particularly when it comes to Welsh Government's ability to borrow. I was and still am an avid reader of the reports published by Wales Fiscal Analysis, and during the pandemic the work they undertook in scrutinising the budget in relation to COVID-19 money was invaluable and set out clearly the restrictions on Welsh Government fiscally. We all remember the criticism that was made of Welsh Government in this Chamber for holding back spending the full amount of what was coming down from UK Government. There was, of course, significant unallocated spend within the budget. The Tories were the biggest critics, but it was precisely the inability of Welsh Government to flex any meaningful fiscal power that forced the Government into that position. Then, of course, there's the loss of the Welsh Government's access to EU funding, and the shortcomings of replacement funding from the UK Government. 'Not a penny less', we were told. Really, they should have just been upfront and told us to forget about the penny altogether. 

Now, to conclude, Llywydd, enhancing the Senedd's power over devolved taxes does not only make sense from a practical perspective, but it would also increase the accountability of the Welsh Government for its own policy decisions, something that I'm sure every Member in this Chamber would agree is an imperative if we are to have a well-functioning democracy in Wales. Devolution was about bringing power closer to people in Wales. Devolution of taxes was to bring responsibility for raising the funds, rather than just spending, closer to the people. There's still, of course, some way to go before we can do anything meaningful to actually raise said funds.