The next item is item 4, the debate on the final budget for 2023-24. I once again call on the Minister for finance to move the motion. Rebecca Evans.

Motion NDM8213 Lesley Griffiths

To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 20.25, approves the Annual Budget for the financial year 2023-24 laid in the Table Office by the First Minister on 28 February 2023.

Motion moved.

Diolch, Llywydd. I am pleased to open the debate on our 2023-24 final budget. As I outlined when publishing our draft budget, this is undoubtedly a budget made in hard times for hard times. It reflects the constraints of our funding settlement, but despite this, we remain ambitious for Wales. Despite the challenges that we've faced, this budget has been forged with a spirit of collaboration and transparency, putting the people and communities of Wales first. In that spirit I want to start by thanking all of those who’ve contributed to this budget. This budget would not have been possible without the participation and co-operation of colleagues within my own party. I also want to thank Siân Gwenllian, the lead designated Member for the co-operation agreement’s budgetary arrangements, for our ongoing engagement and the productive working relationship that we have. I’d also like to thank Jane Dodds for our constructive discussions, particularly in relation to rural dentistry, and the way in which these have shaped the plans that we’re voting on today.

It's also important to recognise that this is a budget that builds on the foundations that we outlined last year as part of our three-year spending review. Our 2022-23 budget provided a substantial three-year budget package up to 2024-25 using every lever to strengthen public services, tackle climate change, tackle the nature emergency and support businesses and people in Wales. As we reflect, this has been a year where we have seen, and continue to see, the ongoing impacts of inflation. We have seen three Prime Ministers, three Chancellors and the shocking mismanagement of public finances by the UK Government. The funding provided by the autumn statement fell far short of the interventions needed to meet the challenges that we face. We have now seen these impacts spelled out through the 2023-24 budget process.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) took the Chair.

Despite this context, I remain proud that our approach remains grounded in ensuring that every pound invested makes the greatest positive impact. We have delivered a budget that recognises the need to balance the short-term impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, whilst also doing all that we can to drive forward the longer term change and deliver on our programme for government ambitions. This is a budget that has protected front-line public services and our ambitions for the future, continued to provide help to those most affected by the cost-of-living crisis and supported our economy through recessionary times. Through taking fundamental action to reprioritise our budgets, alongside the limited funding from the UK Government, we have allocated £165 million for the NHS, with £70 million to deliver the real living wage for social care; £227 million for local government, ensuring that no local authority will receive less than a 6.5 per cent increase in core funding; a direct investment of £319 million for non-domestic rates relief; and, in response to the cost-of-living crisis, investment in our basic income pilot and the discretionary assistance fund.

Building on the actions within our draft budget, I was pleased to announce an additional £164 million of financial transactions capital funding, of £84 million in 2023-24 and £80 million in 2024-25, within this final budget. This includes £63 million to help to extend Help to Buy—Wales until March 2025, supporting people to realise their dream of home ownership. Building on the package of measures within the co-operation agreement, I was pleased to agree, with Plaid Cymru, substantive action to improve the availability and affordability of housing in local communities for those on local incomes, as well as in response to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. This includes £40 million to assist those in mortgage difficulty at an early stage to enable them to stay in their homes, as well as £59 million supporting the delivery of new low-carbon social housing. My colleague the climate change Minister will undertake further work with Plaid Cymru to further develop these proposals. Combined, these allocations will continue to support the delivery of our priorities contained within our 10-year Wales infrastructure investment strategy, building on our existing £1.8 billion portfolio of financial transactions capital investments. 

Turning to scrutiny, I want to thank all Members for their constructive engagement throughout our scrutiny process. My Cabinet colleagues and I will be pleased to agree with the vast majority of our respective committees' recommendations. As we have collectively recognised, the context in which we are delivering this budget has meant that we have not been able to respond to all of the areas that have been identified. 

Looking ahead to the UK Government's spring statement on 15 March, we recognise that the key levers to respond to the numerous challenges that we face, such as powers over the tax and welfare systems, are reserved powers and lie with the UK Government to utilise. I will, of course, continue to call on the UK Government to do more on the impacts of inflation on Welsh budgets, the pressure on the NHS and the challenges of social care, ensuring that there is fair funding and investment in Wales. In particular, on the issue of pay, we maintain our calls on the UK Government to provide funding to enable us to ensure all our public sector workers are fairly rewarded for the important work that they do.

We have demonstrated that, in Wales, unlike in Westminster, we are prepared to work in social partnership with our trade union partners and do all that we can within our existing settlement. The health service in Wales is under extreme pressure, and the UK Government must use its spring budget to invest in the NHS to ensure that services can respond to the significant pressures following the COVID pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, and deliver wider reform.

I have written to the Chancellor, highlighting the wealth of opportunity in Wales for UK Government investment to support enterprise and productivity, including rail, renewable energy and research and development. It's vital that the UK Government invests in green energy and decarbonisation to improve our energy security for the future and to contribute to meeting our net-zero targets. I also continue to press the UK Government to review its categorisation of the £100 billion investment in HS2 as an England-and-Wales project. This decision severely restricts our ability to invest in rail in Wales, and our position is one that, I believe, has strong cross-party support, both in the Senedd and the UK Parliament.

In closing, despite the challenges we face, I am confident that this budget continues to maximise our available funding. It's a budget that maintains our commitment to prioritise the most vulnerable and public services, whilst continuing to create a fairer, stronger, greener Wales for all.

I call on the Chair of the Finance Committee, Peredur Owen Griffiths.

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I am pleased to contribute to this debate on the Welsh Government’s final budget in my role as Chair of the Finance Committee. The committee’s report on the draft budget included 28 recommendations, and I'm pleased that the Minister has been able to accept the majority of them.

Nevertheless, I would like to express some disappointment at the start of my contribution today that very limited changes have been made between the draft and final budgets. Our committee, as well as a number of other committees, made concrete recommendations in a number of key strategic areas and so, it’s a shame that the Government has missed an opportunity to respond positively to these before today’s debate. As a result, my contribution today will be relatively short, given that there’s not much extra to comment on from the draft budget.

Turning first to specific recommendations, we called for the Minister to carry out detailed work to model the behavioural impact of varying Welsh rates of income tax across all bands ahead of future budget rounds. Whilst we are pleased that the Minister has accepted this recommendation, we are less clear on the actual steps that the Minister will take in this area. This was a key recommendation for us, and we expect to see further clarity provided in next year’s budget documentation to demonstrate that serious consideration has been given to changing the rates. I must say that this seems to be a general theme in the response provided by the Minister. That is, although a number of the recommendations have been accepted or accepted in principle, there is a lack of information on the specific actions that will be taken to address them.

As Members will know, we criticised the draft budget for lack of clarity, and I’m afraid that the Government’s response, whilst going some of that way, does not go far enough to allay all those fears or concerns. We value the Minister’s willingness to appear before the committee and to engage with us on key issues, but we need to have a constructive and forthright exchange if we are to get to the heart of the matter. We as a committee can confirm that we are willing to do this, and I hope that the Minister will echo that commitment.

I would now like to focus on other areas. Allocations for financial transactions capital were not included in the draft budget for the second year running. I thank the Minister for her recent letter setting out an update on the allocations prior to the debate. Whilst we note the constraints and complexities of how ring-fenced financial transactions can be used, last year, we were told that the lack of allocations included in the draft budget would not set a precedent. I acknowledge the Minister’s commitment to take steps to ensure that this is not the case for the next financial year, and we hope to see the full allocation at the draft budget stage. 

I turn now to some of our detailed recommendations, which deserve to be mentioned again in the context of today’s debate. On support for the cost of living, a key aspect of our budget scrutiny was the support provided to help with the rising costs of living. We are pleased that the Minister has accepted our recommendation to prioritise the streamlining of financial assistance schemes, under the proposed Welsh benefits charter. It is good to hear that a draft charter has been co-produced with stakeholders, and we look forward to this charter being published by the end of the year. 

It was also encouraging to hear that the Welsh Government is committed to working towards a Welsh benefits system that has a single point of contact where an individual only has to tell their story once. We have been long advocates of a ‘no wrong door’ approach and it's pleasing that progress is being made in this area.

Turning to education maintenance allowance, however, it is difficult to understand why the Government has not been able to increase the value of the education maintenance allowance, which has remained unchanged since the mid 2000s. The Welsh Government claims that one of its three priorities for this budget is to help those most affected by the cost-of-living crisis. Yet, we found that more could be done to support children and young people, who are disproportionately affected by this crisis. The Welsh Government has accepted a recommendation from the children and young people committee’s report to commission an independent review of EMA, stating that the findings will inform any changes to the scheme. However, we urge the Government to prioritise any further funding received in year from the UK Government to support our most vulnerable learners by raising the value of the EMA and to mitigate the risk of them leaving education in pursuit of employment.

Finally, I would like to thank the Minister for her ongoing commitment to reviewing the budget process protocol, which sets out an understanding between the Senedd and the Welsh Government on budget scrutiny arrangements. The trend in recent years for the delay in publication of the Welsh Government’s draft budget in light of the timing of UK fiscal events has resulted in a truncated scrutiny process with less time available for committees to engage with stakeholders and look in detail at the budgetary proposals that have been put forward. I am therefore grateful to the Minister for considering changes to the protocol and for agreeing to appear before the Finance Committee prior to the publication of future draft budgets, should timescales be delayed again.

As noted in our report, I will also shortly be writing to other committee Chairs to consult on the level and quality of the budget documentation accompanying the draft budget, including the timeliness of the responses provided by the Government, with a view to seeking improvements for future years. We look forward to working with the Minister on these and other issues, and I hope that our constructive conversations will continue to ensure that any changes can be implemented in good time for the 2024-25 budget round. Thank you very much.

Can I start by thanking the Minister for her statement again? As a past council leader, I know that many of the decisions that have been made by the Minister would not have been easy. However, too much of this budget simply misses the mark. While Labour Ministers have claimed to be prioritising the key issues for the people of Wales, the truth is that this is far from the case. Rather than focusing on the priorities of the hard-working people of Wales, Labour Ministers have become increasingly more distracted by new powers and pet projects on which they have been wasting time and money over many years. What is unique to Wales is the growing crisis in our Welsh NHS, missing aspiration in our schools, and Wales’s decades-long housing crisis—all a direct result of 25 years of poor policy making by Labour.

In this budget, we should have seen more money being directed towards cost-of-living challenges, towards  our healthcare services, towards our schools and towards further support for business. But, under Labour control, our health service is seeing a real-terms cut of £228 million. This cut is despite the fact that the Welsh Government received an additional £305 million for the Welsh NHS and adult social care for 2023-24. The education and Welsh language budget has also seen a real-terms cut of £343.5 million and a cut of £43 million in cash terms, again, despite an additional £115 million consequential from the UK Government.

It’s clear that Labour haven’t got to grips with education in Wales. A quarter of a century of their rule sees the Welsh education system underperforming against other UK countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average. It’s clear that, while teachers are striking as a result of chronic underfunding and understaffing, Labour Ministers are cutting the education budget. And not a lot changes. For over the last 10 years, Labour have underfunded our doctors, nurses and health professionals by £400 million, redirecting money that was meant to improve people’s healthcare outcomes to fund those pet projects and failed business ventures like Cardiff Airport.

Will you take an intervention, Peter?

We must not forget that, for every £1 spent on the health service in England, Labour received £1.20 for Wales. And the same for education: £1 in England, £1.20 in Wales. Yet, we know that, in Wales, even before the pandemic, the Labour Government was only spending £1.05 on both of those. This begs the question: where has this money gone? Why is it not being used to deliver the healthcare and educational outcomes that the people of Wales so desperately deserve? And why are Labour and Plaid so transfixed on wasting over £100 million on more politicians here? [Interruption.] Oh, sorry.

[Inaudible.]—Peter. Could Members stop having a discussion across the Chamber so that we can hear the speaker, please?

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. And—

Just stop reading and get rid of the paper. Just say what—[Inaudible.]

Hefin, let the Member speak, please.

Why are Labour and Plaid so transfixed with wasting over £100 million on new politicians in this place, rather than addressing the real struggles that the many people of Wales are facing?

Things need to be different. Rather than more of the same tax and spend policies that we see from Labour, the Welsh Conservatives have a plan to focus on the people's immediate priorities. We have already outlined our plan to clear NHS backlogs with care hotels, clearing the bed blocking, opening up our hospitals and ending the disgrace of queues of ambulances outside Welsh A&E. We would establish surgical hubs across Wales to end Labour's embarrassing NHS waiting time record. Not only do the people of Wales want to see Labour's NHS crisis tackled but they want to see more help with the cost-of-living challenges. That's why we wanted to freeze council tax for people across Wales, but do it by unlocking some of the huge reserves that are held by some councils across Wales.

We also know that we need to see growth in our economy and support for businesses. We've listened to businesses. We've got a plan to allow microbusinesses to flourish, creating jobs for local people, restoring the aspiration to Wales; not only that, but we want to help futureproof these businesses, helping businesses to do their bit to support the environment, unleashing a green revolution in Wales. 

We want to address Labour's housing crisis in Wales by expanding the Help to Buy scheme, ensuring that it will encompass empty homes for renovation. This would restore another 20,000 homes into housing opportunities. Yes, I've noted the time, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I apologise. 

So, to conclude, Dirprwy Lywydd, I know that the Welsh Government, like all Governments, is facing substantial challenges in the immediate term, but that is no excuse for inaction. We don't want more of the same stale economic policies that we have come to expect from both Plaid and Labour, we need to be looking for dynamic and innovative ways to push Wales forward, ensuring that our families and business can deal with the rising costs—

Thank you, Peter. 

I've nearly finished. The rising cost of living—

No. I have 14 Members wishing to speak. I need to use the time effectively. You need to conclude now, please.

I could have finished then, Chair. So, with all of the things I've shared there, I'm afraid that this group will not be supporting this budget today for all of those reasons. 

That's hardly breaking news, Dirprwy Lywydd, but there we are. [Laughter.] Thank you for your valued contribution—appreciated, as always.

I have to say that the Welsh Government's budget for 2023-24 is a reflection, let's be honest, of perhaps the most challenging set of financial circumstances that we've ever experienced in the devolution era. The pressures of the post-COVID recovery, soaring inflation and, of course, the impact of the war in Ukraine, amongst other things, have all been exacerbated by the extreme folly of an out of touch and out of control Tory Government. Following a disastrous dalliance with the fantasy economics of unfunded tax cuts, the Tories are now resorting to yet another wave of austerity measures in a desperate attempt to salvage their electoral credibility.

Now, the bleak financial forecast that has been laid before us today is therefore, first and foremost, a damning indictment of this UK Government, whose catastrophic mismanagement of the UK economy has dragged Wales headlong into this quagmire. And as always, of course, as has always been the case under Tory-driven austerity, it's the poorest and the most vulnerable sections of society that are having to shoulder the heaviest burden as a result of public spending cuts and underinvestment. So, we do have sympathy with the Welsh Government having to factor in a £1.4 billion hit to their real-terms spending power over the next two years, however—that's what you're waiting for, isn't it? However, while we may agree with the Welsh Government on the causes of the current financial malaise, our diagnosis of how to address these problems obviously will differ. 

Now, the constraints under which this budget was developed conclusively demonstrates that Wales is poorly served, I believe, by the current block grant model of devolved funding, which accounts for over 80 per cent of Welsh Government's day-to-day spending power. Despite the extensive range of policy areas that are now devolved to Wales, the delivery is still primarily dependent on UK Government spending decisions over which we have, effectively, no say. Though the nature of the block grant model does inherently restrict the Welsh Government's room for manoeuvre, that doesn't absolve the Welsh Government of criticism of many of the decisions that you have made in relation to this budget. We, as many others, I'm sure, have still serious concerns about, for example, the lack of any increase in funding for the housing support grant. That's particularly worrying, because we know what the implications will be. The decision not to implement the Welsh fuel support scheme for next winter will be alarming for many households who depended on that support over the past few months. The last-minute u-turn that we've heard already mentioned today on funding for the bus emergency scheme does cause considerable concern amongst bus operators, yes, but for the long-term viability of bus routes across Wales, particularly in rural areas, and particularly in light of the roads review. But, of course, this is what politics is all about, and our pragmatic approach, through the co-operation agreement, will deliver at least some of our manifesto commitments. It'll go at least some of the way to alleviate some of the challenges facing the people of Wales today.

So, I'm glad that we have been able to protect funding for the co-operation agreement, in fact adding certain elements to that where we feel that is necessary, and also exerting our influence over other areas of mutual interest, particularly relating to the cost-of-living crisis and the wider pressures on public services, with an emphasis on the preventative agenda. Now, this is something that's been spoken about for a long, long time, where we're seeing an evolving in that direction, and, for me, we need to accelerate that, because it is that longer-term investment that will actually reap benefits further down the line. 

Now, of course, I couldn't let this moment pass without saying those three words—free school meals. Seventy million pounds will be committed next year to make sure that our children have nourishing meals in schools, and we're glad that that programme is moving in the right direction, and, obviously, we want to extend it as far as we can. Free childcare—we know of the £100 million committed there, and an uplift of another £10 million secured in our agreement. 

And then, in terms of influencing the wider sphere of the budget, on housing—and we've seen, haven't we, the shocking figures on repossessions in Wales—£40 million over two years to assist those in mortgage difficulty at an early stage, to enable them to stay in their homes. And also on housing—£59 million over two years to support the delivery of new, low-carbon social housing. I could go on, but I see that I have very little time left. 

But Plaid Cymru would be the first to recognise that there is more to do, and that is why we recognise that, if there is any further consequential coming to Wales, then we want to know, or we want everybody to know, that we have agreed prioritised areas. And the First Minister mentioned public sector pay as one key area that we still need to address, and we would be the first to admit that. But we also want to see extending the bus emergency scheme. We also want to see extending free school meals to secondary school, and we also want to see an increase in the education maintenance allowance. 

So, this budget isn't perfect. Our influence doesn't extend to every part of this budget. But, through the co-operation agreement, and the few additional areas where we have managed to leverage greater investment, we are confident that this will at least go some of the way to challenge some of the long-standing issues and problems that the people of Wales are facing at this difficult time. 

I intend to make several comments on the budget, but, first, I want to address the process. We are setting the budget for all devolved services in Wales. We continue to repeat we are a Parliament. Yet we timetable only one hour for the final debate on the budget, after half an hour to decide income tax rates. Put into context that Swansea council spent over four and a half hours setting their council tax and spending proposals for 2023-24, which is, historically, a short meeting; I've attended a council meeting that lasted over six hours setting the budget. 

The budget does go through scrutiny by the Finance Committee, but the final decision is being made here today. Compare this to Westminster—the budget is usually followed by four days of debate on the budget resolutions. These are the tax measures announced in the budget, and each day of day of debate covers the different policy areas, such as health, education and defence. Why does the Welsh Government think that one hour is sufficient to enable final scrutiny of the budget, and half an hour to set income tax rates? And today, the budget is not even the main item on the agenda; we've got a major item coming up of passing legislation. If we don't treat ourselves seriously, if we don't treat the budget process seriously, why would we expect anybody else to treat what we do seriously?

On the budget itself, budgets are always about choices. We know rates are the business tax most disliked by businesses. This is because there are very few tricks, short of demolition, that can be used to reduce the rate bill. The draft budget 2023-24 set out that over £140 million is allocated for retail, leisure and hospitality relief, although I've also seen a figure of £116 million mentioned on the same item. And it says:

'We will continue to provide support for those sectors most directly affected by the pandemic through a 2023-24 retail, leisure and hospitality rates relief scheme. This will provide more than £140m of non-domestic rates relief for eligible businesses.

'Retail, leisure and hospitality ratepayers in Wales will receive 75% nondomestic rates relief throughout 2023-24. Like the similar scheme announced by the UK Government, the Welsh Government’s scheme will be capped at £110,000 per business across Wales.'

Scotland does not have such a scheme. Things like fast foods are franchised, including McDonald's, KFC, Subway, Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Domino's pizza. So, each franchise is an individual business, so the rate relief on each business, as far as I read it—the Minister might tell me I'm wrong, and they're going to aggregate businesses up when they're franchised—[Interruption.] Thank you. As I've just been told; other restaurants are available. [Laughter.] If I'd gone through the whole list, I'd be in trouble with the Deputy Presiding Officer. Why does the Government think it's good use of taxpayers' money to support fast food businesses? We don't actually have joined-up thinking at all, do we? Because, quite often, we say, 'We don't support out-of-town shopping, we don't support fast food', and yet, once we come to doing rate relief, 'Yes, we'll help them.'

I take it from the announcement that large hotels in Wales will also get rate relief. This rate relief will help businesses' bottom lines, but I remain unconvinced that it will aid the Welsh economy. The Scottish no longer provide this support; England does. This money could be better used to pay public sector workers; I'd prioritise them over fast food and hotel businesses. And I think that's one of the things—everybody has talked about spending money; I've talked about trying to get some money to spend.

The Farmers Union of Wales has asked that basic farm payments are capped at £15,000 per year. I've heard no argument against this capping of basic farm payments. This is a Brexit dividend—following leaving the European Union, we don't have to pay them anything. I'm in total agreement with the Farmers Union of Wales regarding basic farm payments: they suggest we provide support to the small farmers in Wales, but cap payments to the larger and more profitable farms.

Overall, I welcome the Welsh Labour Government's spending plans, which will help to protect public services and the most vulnerable in the face of a perfect storm of financial pressures. Ministers have taken difficult decisions to reprioritise funding from within budgets to maximise support for public services and people and businesses most affected by the cost-of-living crisis and recession. The budget also allocates extra money for the NHS, councils, education. I have previously asked for EMA to be expanded and EMA to be increased; that's not a large sum of money, but it would make a big difference to many poor people. And Wales needs to prioritise research and development for economic sustainability, to support innovation in Welsh universities. I've also continued to call for an uplift in equality-related money that comes directly from the UK Government consequential to ensure that it matches spending in England. University research is crucial to developing the Welsh economy. I'll be supporting the budget, but hope that, next year, we'll look at rates support and basic farm payments to give us extra money.

Laura Anne Jones.

Thank you. I think I wasn't down to speak, but I will speak, because I think it's very important that I do speak on education. I can't believe that Plaid Cymru just stood up and said that they were going to support a budget that is, in real terms, cutting education—cutting education by £6.5 million in real terms. That is disgraceful. This Government has a missed opportunity with this budget. It has missed an opportunity to reverse the damage that's been inflicted on the children of Wales for the last 23 years. You have done everything that you shouldn't do in terms of education, when you should be concentrating on getting the basics right, rather than concentrating on headline-grabbing stuff. This Labour Government here has not just—[Interruption.] It hasn't just neglected Welsh education, it has effectively harmed it by cutting this in real terms. Would the Minister agree with me that, unlike what the First Minister said earlier, being at the bottom end of the PISA table for the last two decades is no good reflection on Wales's state of education, and, in fact, we need to get those basics right. It's absolutely imperative; it's nothing to be proud of that we've improved just a little bit on those few areas of PISA. We should be near the top; we should be the top of the UK. We should have a vision here that's laid out, where you increase the education budget, ensuring that we get those basics right, ensuring that we deliver the best education in Wales, and, quite frankly, you should be ashamed of yourself for this budget. 

I have to say, I don't want to stand up and absolve Welsh Government of responsibility here, but I do find it quite galling to hear the Conservatives talk about, 'What about the children of Wales?' when, actually, it's Tory austerity enforcing policies on people here in Wales, not giving Wales the fair share it deserves, lying about the Brexit dividend that would come to Wales that never materialised and is letting our communities get poorer. That's the reality, and you have to take responsibility for that as well. You cannot absolve responsibility. But one of the things we've had through our e-mails from many people has been from People's Assembly Wales, asking us, as Labour and Plaid Cymru politicians, not to vote in favour of this budget, because it would be implementing austerity here in Wales. They're asking why we're not out on the streets, united, to ensure that Wales gets what it needs and deserves, because the reality is that we are being let down by consecutive UK Governments, and it's making the situation impossible.

I'm also fed up of hearing people stand up in this Chamber and say, 'We would do this, if we had the money, or if we had the powers here in Wales', but not fighting for greater powers. And actually, we do support independence because we believe that we should be taking those difficult decisions here in Wales, rather than just pointing towards the UK Government. 

Will you take an intervention?

Yes. I've stopped speaking. 

Is that okay, Deputy Presiding Officer?

[Inaudible.]

You talk very passionately about independence, as, of course, all members of Plaid Cymru do, but do you accept that the fiscal gap means that you'd either have to raise taxes significantly or cut public spending significantly, which would have an enormously damaging impact on Wales and its people? 

The most damaging impact has been Conservatives in the UK Government not standing up for Wales, and I believe in Wales and I believe in the future of Wales, and I do not accept that. We have seen evidence from different researchers showing that that is not the case, and also we have seen that we were told that all this money would come in to Wales that never materialised post Brexit. So, I don't accept that. 

One of the things, if I focus on the Welsh Government's actual budget today—. I am pleased that we're working in co-operation, as has been outlined by Llyr. I'm not going to apologise for the fact that more children are benefiting from free school meals because we're co-operating. I'm not going to apologise for the fact that families are benefiting from free childcare. There are so many things that we've been able to co-operate on that have made a difference to the lives of people in our communities now—not in the future, but now: money in people's pockets now; food in children's stomachs now. But one of the things that I am pleased that we have at least agreed in terms of prioritised areas has been in terms of increasing the education maintenance allowance, extending eligibility for free school meals to secondary school and, of course, extending the bus emergency scheme. And I think we do need, all, to be united across this Chamber, to be fighting for that additional funding to make that a reality here in Wales.

A key issue of concern in this budget for a number of my constituents has been the end of the bus emergency scheme, and this is despite assurances being given that funding would remain unchanged, which was corroborated by ministerial evidence submitted on the draft budget, but we now know that that won't be the case. As a result, the future of many bus routes in my region and beyond are now in jeopardy, meaning people are worried about how they will access essential services, as well as employment opportunities, especially in those areas of my region where buses are the only transport option and where car ownership is low. I do think we really do need to prioritise this and see how we are going to support people living in our community now. 

In terms of what has been secured, I'm really pleased, in terms of the Welsh language funding, to see the additional £1 million of revenue for next year, and also free entry to the Urdd Eisteddfod for low-income families. I'm really pleased to see that. But, obviously, one of the key concerns, if I look at the portfolio areas in terms of culture and sport, Llyr Gruffydd mentioned in terms of the importance of the preventative agenda, what we're hearing now is that because of increased costs we are going to see, perhaps, swimming pools close, sports facilities close, arts centres close—all of those that are so essential in terms of the health and well-being agenda. I see in this budget many areas that are still operating in silos when we have the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. As we work for future areas and years through this Senedd term, I think we do need to look at that holistic approach to ensure that we are providing the best possible start to everybody and ensuring that opportunities such as those with culture and sport aren't taken away from those that desperately need them.

Well, I'm also stunned by the Welsh Conservatives, and here are some quick reminders: a £20 cut in universal credit from the Conservative Government. That's—[Interruption.] That's a £20 cut every week to the poorest people.

Peter Fox talked about Welsh ambulances queuing outside of hospitals. I actually don't think England is doing much better at all when it comes to queues of ambulances outside of English hospitals.

Brexit: one of the biggest disasters to Wales. You heard this afternoon about the cuts to our Welsh ports: £1 billion in EU funding has been lost, which the Conservatives in Westminster actually promised to replace in full—[Interruption.] I will in one minute, if I may, Andrew. I'll just finish this bit. The Westminster Government promised to replace that in full. And fair funding from HS2. So, let's be clear—and I look forward to hearing from the leader of the Welsh Conservatives—Wales has been sold totally short by the Welsh Conservatives. There's a lead-in for you.

Wales hasn't been sold short; £2.5 billion extra in this comprehensive spending review available to the Welsh Government. But you've spent your time going around mid Wales telling Welsh sheep farmers that their markets would collapse. Last year, they went up by 17 per cent—17 per cent. There's no-one more misleading in this Chamber or in this country than a Liberal Democrat.

How wonderful to hear you refer to the Welsh Liberal Democrats. We barely get a mention, so it's really good to hear you talk about the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

I'm not going to talk about the specifics around what you have done, what you have done to Welsh farmers. You have sold them down the river with a deal with New Zealand and Australia, which is about importing lamb at a much lower standard and a much lower level. You should be ashamed of that, and I'm sure you will be considering your position—[Interruption.]

NVZs. Sorry, I do get an interruption, and I cannot let that go by. NVZs: I think you'll find that I voted to ensure that the Welsh Government looked at water pollution levels, so please don't throw that at me.

So, can I just move on to my contribution, if I may, Dirprwy Lywydd? I want to talk about some specific points. Dentistry: I'm really pleased, thank you—[Interruption.]

Can Members allow the Member for Mid and West Wales to actually conclude, please, by being quiet?

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I was shouting, then, and I didn't need to, I realise.

I want to just talk about dentistry. Thank you so much for the work you've been doing. I'm really pleased that we are seeing an increase in dentist provision in rural areas. I know that we are looking at mobile dentistry, and we're looking at those dentists as well being in schools, secondary schools, so I'm really pleased that that is happening and I'm grateful, as well, for the additional funding for a dentist in Llandrindod Wells. We need to obviously protect our NHS dentistry and to grow it and to make sure that it's preserved. NHS dentistry should not just be for the poorest, but it should be for everybody, and in fact, we all know—. We've all got mailbags full of people who cannot access an NHS dentist.

We've heard about public transport and the concerns about removing the emergency funding scheme and the loss of services that this could imply. I want to see free public transport for all under 25-year-olds.

Housing: I am disappointed, along with Plaid Cymru, at the lack of an increase in the housing support grants. With costs having risen more than 10 per cent over the past year, this decision will inevitably mean a cut in services to support tenants.

I do agree with Plaid Cymru that there does need to be a debate and a discussion about how we get in more income to the Welsh Government, and actually looking at our Welsh rates of income tax. I know that will be for another year, but it is so important that we balance what we're spending with what we can get in through the front door as well.

I finish by saying that I'm really pleased that the Welsh Government has been prioritising social justice and equality issues. We've seen an increase in the discretionary assistance fund, and I'm really pleased to see that. I'm delighted that the universal basic income scheme for care-experienced young people continues—that is, that our care-experienced young people have the best possible start in life. And I'm really pleased to see other Welsh benefits also being rolled out.

But that is—and I go back to my earlier point—sadly, needed because we are looking at a complete outweighing of what we're getting from the Welsh Conservatives via their colleagues in Westminster. So, I will be supporting this budget. I hope that Wales can really move forward. Wales is an amazing country that has a really prosperous future, and I hope that we will continue to deliver. Thank you. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

I agree with what Jane Dodds was saying about the importance of the discretionary assistance fund and also the amount of money to be paid to care leavers. We've been able to get through this winter, just about. We have to remind ourselves that about one third of all households have been juggling with heating or eating. So, we've managed to get through this winter, but next winter is likely to become much more challenging, partly because we have less money to play with. The idea that this isn't a real-terms cut in the amount of money that the Welsh Government has available is for the birds—£1.4 billion is a really significant sum of money.

But looking at how we are going to support people going forward, we have to look at the efficiency with which we can ensure that support gets to those who most need it. To them that have shall always be given. Everybody has had £400 in their energy account if they have a traditional pay-as-you-go meter. Only less than three quarters of households on pre-payment meters have received that £400, and that is because some pre-payment suppliers to households chose to deliver that money in vouchers, by text, by post, or e-mail, which may or may not have arrived, or they can automatically ensure that the households get it when they sign up at their usual top-up point. I think it would be really useful to ensure that we get the UK Government to analyse which is the most effective way of doing things, because we've all heard stories of people who simply haven't received their vouchers. But it's really, really important that everybody does get the money who is entitled to get it.

I think that one of the reasons that the uptake in Wales is higher than in the rest of the UK is because of the work done by the Minister for Social Justice in ensuring that people know about the Welsh fuel payment. But that, once again, has not reached all the households that need it, and we need to ensure that everybody is working to ensure that those most in need get their money. So, I think that it is very significant that some local authorities have made serious efforts to ensure take-up of the Wales fuel support scheme, with 88 per cent in Flintshire—top of the league table. The lowest is in Ynys Môn: 61 per cent. It's disappointing that Rhun ap Iorwerth is not here to hear that and ensure that he gets them to raise their game. People on top-up meters are mainly social housing tenants, where local authorities hold the information, they can see who is eligible and who is not, and therefore they should be ensuring that people get that money, because that is money that's going to be circulating in the economy when it happens. I find it inexplicable that local authorities aren't on this case because it's going to enrich their local economy, their local shops, their local businesses, and make their lives just a lot easier.

Free school meals. Yes, it's great that we're putting £70 million into free school meals in the next year, I absolutely agree with Llyr Gruffydd, but we should not underestimate the challenge that that is going to be for schools, for local authorities, for suppliers and caterers, because the free school meals initiative cannot be about serving up adulterated, processed food. We have to ensure that we're delivering fresh, nourishing food—

I'm sure you're not suggesting that that is our policy aim.

No, I'm absolutely not suggesting that that is our policy aim at all. [Laughter.] I'm just saying that unless we keep control of this policy initiative, that is what could happen, because there's no shortage of multinational suppliers who would like to do that.

So, the food security issues, we've all rehearsed recently. There's a shortage of chefs in schools. We are not going to be able to afford this in the long term unless the money that we are investing in school meals is also staying in local economies, with local businesses, rather than the profits being exported.

Lastly, I just want to highlight the challenges we face around buses. I was very reassured to hear the First Minister saying about the work of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change that's going on with the bus companies to ensure that we are going to maintain the bus services as far as we possibly can, because the worst-case scenarios are pretty frightening, and my constituents will simply not be able to get to work or get to visit their friends and families if we don't have the bus services that people without cars absolutely rely on. So, I see I've run out of time. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.

It's a pleasure to take part in this debate this afternoon, certainly what I regard to be a significant day in the Welsh political calendar. Whilst the Labour and Plaid project of spending taxpayers' money on expanding the Senedd by arguing it is needed for the future of Wales, the Government is certainly not looking to the future by slashing funding for what is actually needed in the future, and that's our young people and our children. A huge cut to the education budget shows that—and it is a huge cut—the Government thinks they are more important than the children of Wales.

We already know how the Welsh Government will respond to any Conservative criticism of this budget, as shown already, by refusing to take any responsibility and pointing the finger down the M4 to Westminster. But the truth is that it's the Labour Party who choose what to cut, and it's the Labour Party who are leaving Welsh children with a less certain future. Equally, the Welsh Government will say that Westminster has cut their budget, which they have already, which you have said already, and the funding they allocate is the fault of the Conservative Party. Yet, like socialists always are, the Welsh Government is once again unable to prioritise and spend properly because their ideology always comes first.

Spending £12.2 million on socialist vanity projects like the universal basic income. This is not, quote, 'Supporting people in the choices they make', like the Minister for Social Justice has said, but it makes people dependent on the state and their lives dictated by the state. If the Welsh Government truly wanted to support people in the choices they make, it would not see the social care and support budget fall by 14 per cent, as unpaid carers will suffer and have their lives restricted significantly due to their caring responsibilities. It's been acknowledged time and time again that unpaid carers are essential to our care system, as they provide 96 per cent of care in Wales—yes, 96 per cent—yet they are still not getting the recognition they deserve. One in seven unpaid carers are using foodbanks and financial support for them is drying up in this budget.

The Welsh Government have known about the ever-increasing challenges that social care faces as far back as 20 years, to 2003, and the serious issues of an ageing population and delayed discharges from hospital, and they're nothing new. Therefore, I am surprised that the Welsh Government is still not addressing the urgent need to prioritise social care, as I mentioned in the business statement before, certainly in care home provision where care homes aren't operating to capacity simply because of the recruitment and retention issues. Where I welcome the uplift in the real living wage to £10.90, it's also getting the training opportunities right and the career path, because many carers who I speak to, they hit a glass ceiling because where they aspire to progress in their careers, they simply can't because of scant resources, and then they're leaving the profession and going elsewhere and that's the issue we're facing in terms of recruitment and retention of some of the people who make these key changes to people's lives day in, day out. It's also worth remembering that a lot of care workers don't just work nine to five Monday to Friday; they work unsociable hours. They work weekends, nights, evenings—you name it. They work around the clock and do sleep-ins as well—24/7 care. I firmly believe that they don't get the recognition that they need. I'd instruct the Welsh Government to increase their acknowledgement of the changes they make to our most vulnerable people's lives on a daily basis.

And just finally, quickly, with the news of Betsi Cadwaladr going back into special measures, I'd just like the Minister to address, possibly, in responding to the debate, whether that's been factored into this budget and whether there'll be any extra resources for Betsi Cadwaladr going into special measures, and what allocation is being made, given that consideration. Because, as mentioned last week, the people of north Wales, and certainly my constituents, have had enough of a failing health board and they'd like to see reassurances from this Government that they're indeed on their side and that this budget reflects that situation. I'll leave it there. Thank you.

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this important debate this afternoon. I do acknowledge at the outset that drawing up a budget is a difficult task, and I do sympathise with the Minister. A budget does outline political priorities. This budget, therefore, has to be drawn up in the face of austerity 2.0. Once again, the Conservatives are looking to cut back on state support and force painful financial cuts at a time of significant financial hardship. Of course, it's the vulnerable and disadvantaged who will suffer most as a result of the cuts of the Conservative Government in Westminster. Not only is the Barnett formula failing and means that Wales isn't getting the funding owed to us, but the necessary capital funding is being denied to us as a result of projects such as HS2. Therefore, the budgetary envelope that should come to Wales is smaller than it should be. The truth is that austerity is a political choice. A state with financial sovereignty and a central bank doesn't have to force austerity on its people; it's a political choice to do so in order to keep the rich rich. And trying to compare a state budget with a personal budget—the household income—is utter nonsense, which either shows a lack of economic understanding or is a deliberate lie on behalf of the Conservatives.

To go to the details of this budget, it's no surprise for many of you that I will stand here today to talk about an issue that I'm passionate about, namely housing. I've had a number of conversations with the sector and I've identified a number of priorities for short, medium and long-term needs. There is much that needs to be funded, but in prioritising these things, we will see that we need to increase the housing support grant, introduce a support programme for people at risk of losing their homes, a comprehensive package for the social housing sector so that they can reach the necessary standards in light of the huge increase in inflation and costs, and introduce a package to support people to buy homes. Yhese aren't new ideas from my part. I want to take a moment to recognise the role of previous Ministers, particularly Jocelyn Davies and Ieuan Wyn Jones, who developed policies that are not dissimilar when Wales was at the centre of a financial crisis back in 2008. The work of Jocelyn Davies and Ieuan Wyn Jones meant that thousands of people had been able to remain in their homes, avoiding homelessness. The valuable lessons from that time have been learned and adopted this year, and this is clear in the £40 million over two years in order to ensure that people can remain in their homes during this cost-of-living crisis, which follows directly from the work of Jocelyn.

It's clear that the work of Plaid Cymru in the co-operation agreement is seen here, and I'm pleased to see our priority of tackling the long-term housing crisis being prioritised. Seeing £63 million in addition provided to the support-to-buy scheme is going to make a significant difference, meaning that young families can afford homes in their communities in Dwyfor or the Vale of Glamorgan and every other community in Wales. Further to that, the £59 million over two years for the social housing sector, to enable them to meet environmental targets and to increase standards in the housing sector, is something that I warmly welcome. But the cost-of-living crisis is having an impact on people today, and I don't need to point out the fact that we are seeing homelessness increasing, with far more people in temporary accommodation. The services trying to tackle this particular crisis are creaking, with homelessness staff having trouble in making ends meet. So, it is a huge disappointment to see that there hasn't been an increase in the budget for the housing support grant. As things stand, it is certain that we will see these services shrinking, and the result will be seeing more people sleeping on our streets because the crucial service to support them isn't available. That is a huge disappointment.

I finally want to briefly mention agriculture. The new agriculture Bill is currently going through the Senedd, with Stage 2 upon us. The Bill is—[Inaudible.]—and the current environmental climate is a central part of this. Because of this, farmers will have to adapt some practices in a very brief period of time, so it's also disappointing that no capital budget has been allocated to enable our farmers to make these changes in the brief time that we have available. Thank you.   

I also welcome the final budget brought by the Welsh Government after much scrutiny and much collaboration, and I thank the Minister, Rebecca Evans. But after a decade of austerity, Brexit and the COVID pandemic, the economy and public services have never been in a more fragile state throughout the United Kingdom. In my view, Britain is breaking. Fundamentally, the Tory UK Government has not provided Wales with adequate funding. The roof does not cover the house and the cloak does not cover the person. And even after some additional funding in the autumn statement, it is not even enough to meet the inflationary pressures Wales is facing, let alone all our priorities in 2023. [Interruption.] No, I'm not going to take an intervention at this stage. 

This is due to a fundamental disregard for Wales. It is a fundamental disregard of UK Government incompetence, a starvation of investment—[Interruption.] No, thank you—and UK economic and fiscal mismanagement. I would like you to listen. [Interruption.] In real terms—[Interruption.] I would like you to listen. In real terms, the Welsh Government's capital budget will be cut to 8.1 per cent lower in 2024-25 than in the current year. The UK Government has comprehensively failed to invest in Welsh infrastructure, and it has not met Welsh needs. And as the UK is entering recession, the Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast that gross domestic product will fall by 2 per cent, and unemployment will rise by 1.5 points. And the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Bank of England are deeply concerned. 

The Tory UK Government's mismanagement of the UK economy has had a profound impact on the UK and a profound impact on the people of Wales. This is without future ongoing pressures from 1 April—energy prices rising again, mortgages rising again, and food and fuel rises. Indeed, we have seen in the last week, from leaked WhatsApp messages from Matt Hancock, Boris Johnson even trying to nominate his own father for a knighthood. The Tory running of Britain has damaged many and privileged a few, and in the midst of this mayhem the Welsh Government continues to defend the interests of the people of Wales, as is shown in this budget, which still progresses the Welsh people's priorities. I commend this budget to Wales, and I commend this budget to the Senedd.  

This budget is littered with false economies that will push many more people into crisis, adding multi millions to the cost of crisis service providers in the health and social care public sectors. Funding for social justice has been cut by £96 million in absolute terms, and £119 million in real terms. Violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence is facing a real-terms cut of 6.4 per cent, despite the Minister stating that the Welsh Government were mindful of the fact that the cost-of-living crisis is having an impact on the violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence specialist sector. 

The Welsh Government claims it is increasing its focus on the housing support grant, yet funding is flatlining and represents a real-terms cut of 8 per cent. This is more than concerning. Of course, Labour Welsh Governments have form for this, where their statist approach rejects the reality that non-state providers can reach the parts of society that the public sector never can. Speaking here in 2016 in support of Community Housing Cymru and Cymorth Cymru’s Let’s Keep On Supporting People campaign for 2017-18, I called for the housing support grant’s predecessor Supporting People programme to be protected from cuts, and emphasised the need to also safeguard the homelessness prevention budget and the housing transition fund, which, like the Supporting People programme, saved money. As I then stated,

'The Supporting People programme is conservatively estimated to save £2.30 for every £1 spent, whilst also levering in other funding, preventing homelessness, preventing spending on health and social care, and increasing community safety, minimising the need for high-cost interventions and reducing avoidable pressure on statutory services.'

Speaking in 2017 as co-sponsor at Cymorth Cymru and Community Housing Cymru’s campaign rally for the Supporting People programme—a programme that prevents homelessness and then supported over 60,000 marginalised and at-risk people in Wales to live independently in their own homes and with dignity in their community—I stated that over 750,000 lives had been transformed since its inception in 2004, providing an essential preventative service that makes a real difference to the lives of those who benefit from it, increasing their resilience and their ability to maintain a secure home, as well as reducing their demand on health and social services. I said that Supporting People interventions reduce use of accident and emergency and GP surgeries, meaning fewer resources used and greater availability of services for the general population. Speaking here three weeks ago during the debate on the draft budget I stated that

'cuts or freezes in the housing support grant have been offered almost as a sacrificial offering in almost every Welsh Government draft budget for at least the last decade, despite the consequences of increased pressures on the NHS, accident and emergency departments, and blue light services’ and

'the Welsh Government should not be pursuing these false economies, and instead should be removing the millions of added cost pressure on statutory services that they would cause'.

As the chief officer of Gorwel, which works within four counties in north Wales, stated to me in a letter:

'We and our partner organisations need the Welsh Government to reconsider the decision within the draft budget to freeze the Housing Support Grant, because what we are seeing on the ground is unprecedented'.

He went on to state:

'official statistics show that there are over 8,500 people in temporary accommodation in Wales and this figure is growing by around 500 every month. At the same time, the draft budget will put the funding for services in real terms at £18 million less than it was in 2012.’

As Cymorth Cymru—

Will you take an intervention?

I’ll have one intervention if time permits, yes.

I just wondered, within those figures, and that meeting that you had with the housing association, whether they mentioned the disastrous budget that has increased people’s mortgages by up to £600 a month, by Liz Truss’s ideologically driven budget that people are still suffering the consequences of. They must surely have mentioned that.

Actually, they did not, but that disastrous and temporary intervention, which we opposed—and I didn’t vote for her—was dealt with. It’s history. The successor Government has moved on. [Interruption.] This is about the Welsh Government budget.

I ask Members to let the Member for North Wales continue his contribution, and that he can do so in his normal tones, without having to shout because there is too much noise in the Chamber.

Thank you. As Cymorth Cymru now state, homelessness and housing support providers and local authority commissioners have been left devastated by the lack of an increase in the housing support grant, ninety-three per cent of service providers are extremely or very concerned about their ability to continue delivering services, and services will need to be cut if there’s no increase in the housing support grant.

My question for the Welsh Government is therefore why are you still pursuing these false economies, which see key early intervention and prevention services delivered by the voluntary sector starved of funding, adding millions to the cost pressure on statutory services, rather than learning from this, working with the sector truly co-productively to spend the money better, deliver more and actually save more from the Welsh Government’s budget, too. Of course, whenever life doesn’t fit their comfortable theories, it isn’t the theories they doubt, it’s real life, or blaming somebody else. What they are doing by introducing these cuts is regressive, irresponsible and dangerous.

As Plaid Cymru's spokesperson for equality and social justice, I'd like to support the points made by Jane Dodds on the investment in the DAF and also echo the comments made by Llyr Gruffydd and Heledd Fychan on the importance of the investment in universal free school meals and expansion of free childcare as a result of the co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru. Jenny Rathbone's point on the importance of ensuring that the money that is being spent by the Welsh Government on support is reaching people's pockets quickly and consistently throughout Wales is key, I think, and Plaid Cymru, of course, would like to see a system where that is done on a statutory footing in order to ensure this.

But, Dirprwy Lywydd, would we need to spend as much on these measures if Wales were free of this unfair and unequal union of nations? Plaid Cymru has been raising concerns about the impact of underinvestment in research and development in Wales for some time, and we heard about that from Mike Hedges. It's disappointing, therefore, to note that this budget, once again, doesn't do much to tackle this deficit. Research and innovation are at the heart of the prosperity of our nation, now and for the future, enabling the crucial work in our universities to have a positive impact on the lives of the citizens of Wales and, indeed, the citizens of the world.

Over the past decade, Wales has had the lowest level of research and development expenditure as a percentage of its gross value added in all of the nations of the UK. A key factor in this is the comparative lack of quality-related, or QR, funding from the Welsh Government to pay for those things that other grants don't include, which then puts at risk the ability of Welsh universities to compete for the research and innovation funding available to them, and the figures demonstrate this clearly.

QR funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales for 2022-23 is £81.7 million, as compared to £1.789 billion allocated by Reserach England for QR funding in the same year. For universities to be able to compete pro rata with England, QR funding should be around £100 million. Universities are suffering from a deficit of £18 million in funding for key infrastructure. It's not a huge amount, but without action from the Welsh Government we will continue to see Wales fall behind as compared to the rest of the UK—something that actually creates problems for our prosperity as a nation and will be detrimental to universities.

It is an important issue and an urgent issue, because EU structural funds have, of course, played a crucial role in research capacity in Wales, and Wales's access to that funding, and what mitigated the impact of underinvestment from domestic sources in the past is about to come to an end. Its impact is already being felt—1,000 researchers facing redundancy, many of them already losing their jobs and many of them having already been forced to leave Wales, taking their expertise with them, even though we heard from the Government just last week how crucial innovation is to Wales.

There was some hope, as a result of the Windsor framework, that discussions could commence as a result of the UK's participation in the Horizon programme, but press reports on the weekend have suggested that Rishi Sunak and his Government in Westminster are doubtful about the value of the programme and the cost of being involved, which makes taking action on the lack of investment by the Welsh Government even more critical. 

Alongside this, the total higher education budget will reduce as a result of this budget to £198.653 million in 2023-24, down from £203.513 million in the 2022-23 budget, a development that causes concern, particularly in light of the fact that many vice-chancellors in Wales, including the vice-chancellor of Cardiff University, have stated recently that Welsh universities face an unsustainable financial situation, which is intensified by increasing energy costs and inflation. I would, therefore, like to note our disappointment that research and development and the universities sector aren't adequately supported in this budget, and to draw the Welsh Government's attention to the fact that the current situation in terms of our post-Brexit scenario, the level of inflation, the state of the economy and the cost-of-living crisis are even more reason for them to take action to maintain the sector and the research and development work that is such an important foundation for the prosperity of our nation and our contribution globally.

I want to thank Welsh Government for the positive budget that they have brought forward. UK mismanagement and wider economic pressures make this one of the most difficult budgets since devolution. But Welsh Ministers have continued to protect front-line services, continued to provide help to those most affected by the cost-of-living crisis, continued to support our economy through recessionary times. This is a great achievement.

I want to focus today on how Welsh Government is meeting the social care challenge that our nation faces, a challenge that the Welsh NHS Confederation has described as a national emergency—issues that have gotten worse and that are expected to present even greater levels of challenge. The factors causing this situation have been all too well rehearsed, and, equally, its consequences are all too familiar. The absence of a social care pathway is the primary cause of delayed discharge of medically fit patients. One result is fewer hospital beds being available for new admissions. But this also has personal consequences for the patients who can't be discharged and leads to a vicious cycle of poorer outcomes and greater future reliance on those hard-pressed services.

Investment in social care and getting a system that is fit for purpose are essential for timely hospital discharge and to release some of this pressure. So, at this point, it is reassuring to turn to the budget before us and to see a full and frank recognition of the challenges that our social care sector is facing. I am pleased to see that, above and beyond the commitments in the last spending review, the budget contains a commitment to provide an additional £227 million for Welsh councils. This includes funding for schools and social care, which, of course, are the biggest areas of spending for our partners in local government. Not least of all is the direct attempt to challenge some of the issues around recruitment, to ensure that our social care workforce gets the recognition it should—for example, through the commitment and funding to pay social care workers the real living wage.

I was proud to be elected in 2021 on a manifesto that made this a headline commitment, not least of all recognising the tremendous work that social care staff in my constituency of Cynon Valley and elsewhere in Wales did and continue to do during the pandemic: looking after our vulnerable citizens, ensuring that they could stay safely at home, in some cases, providing that sole link to the outside world. Now, the Welsh Government was able, within last year's budget, to provide funding to deliver this, funding that is crucially being maintained for the next financial year, with an allocation of an additional £70 million for the real living wage for social care workers. This is an incredibly important measure for the approximately 91,000 members of the sector's workforce. As Social Care Wales reminds us, 81 per cent of that workforce is female, so, in delivering this commitment, there's also an important step forward in terms of gender equality and eliminating the pay gap.

The NHS Wales Confederation have asked Welsh Government for a fully funded pay rise for social care staff to enable retention and recruitment, but also to change and challenge perceptions. Care work is skilled work, it is skilled employment. To work in social care, you need a wide suite of skills. Improving social care recruitment and retention via increased pay and better terms and conditions would arguably be the single most effective intervention, and I am reassured that this budget is a step forward in delivering this by Welsh Government putting its money where its mouth is in the budget that we are considering today, but also in wider actions that Welsh Ministers are taking, for example, the work that the Deputy Minister for Social Partnership outlined around fair work and the sector in her progress update last week. Diolch.

And the final speaker in this debate before the Minister's response, Alun Davies.

I'm grateful to you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Like others this afternoon, I'd like to start by congratulating the Minister on bringing this budget in front of us. I think she opened her remarks this afternoon by saying that it was a difficult budget for difficult times; it sounded like Gordon Brown [Laughter.] But, it's important to be able to set a budget, and, of course, given the interventions that we've heard from the Conservatives this afternoon, it's important to be able to set a budget that doesn't cost the economy £30 billion in 48 days, which I think the Government will also manage to achieve this afternoon.

But I hope, Deputy Presiding Officer, that we're also able, this afternoon, to agree that an hour isn't sufficient time—a point made by my friend, Mike Hedges, who is absolutely right: we do need to have more time to have a more reasoned conversation on these matters, and I hope that we'll be able to do that next year. I hope that, next year, also, we'll be able to look towards a legislative budget to put these matters on a proper statutory footing to enable the Senedd to have far greater control over how the budget operates.

But it's important also that we recognise where we are in having this debate. We are having a budget that is in the shadow of one of the most catastrophic economic episodes of mismanagement that we've seen in the UK economy in any of our lifetimes. The autumn saw an absolutely disastrous mismanagement and miscalculation from the UK Government that costs us all money today. It costs all of us who have mortgages, it costs all of us who work, money in our budgets today, and that will be reflected in our ability to raise funds in the future. But we're also, Deputy Presiding Officer, setting a budget in the shadow of Brexit. We know that Brexit has cost the economy 4 per cent in lost output. We know that that will have an impact on our tax base; we know that that will have an impact on our ability to deliver services for people; we know that that will have an impact on the size and quantum of the budget in the future. So, this is a difficult budget, but it's important—[Interruption.] I will allow that.

Thank you. And whose fault do you think it is that the Welsh Government are cutting the education budget in cash, in real terms? Do you think it's Brexit, or is it a political decision? It's clearly a political decision. You're showing Wales today that the priority of this Labour Government is not to look after the children and young people of Wales.

Deputy Presiding Officer, the Member opposite both intervenes and answers her own intervention. There hardly seems any point in me allowing that to happen. But, I will say to her that I don't think that this Parliament needs lectures from the Conservatives on economic management. I really don't think we need that today. [Interruption.] Well, if you wish to stand—I hear the Member from Aberconwy—who supported Liz Truss, of course—is telling us that we've got some things to learn. I'd be happy to give way to her as well, if she wants to intervene on this matter—. She doesn't; of course she doesn't.

But it's important, Deputy Presiding Officer, that we have a debate on the budget and not just the spending plan, because one of the concerns I have about the debates that we have, and the processes we follow in this place, is that every Member who stands up wants to spend more money in different places, and what we don't do is debate and discuss sufficiently and in sufficient depth how we raise that money. We've had conversations about our tax base; I have serious concerns about how we're able to raise funds in the future. But we also need to have a conversation about the balance of taxation. Now, I hear what's being said about taxation rates, and I support an increase in taxation rates, as it happens, and I support it for ideological as well as practical reasons. I believe in the public sphere; I believe in public responsibility; I believe that the public collectively can do more together for our communities than we can do individually as single individuals and therefore, I believe in taxation in the same way as my friend Mike Hedges does—who I seem to be quoting almost as often as Mark Isherwood quotes himself. [Laughter.]

And I hope that we will be able to look hard at taxation rates in the future, but also to ensure that, in doing so, we ensure that money goes where it is needed. Because one of the concerns that I have, if we do not have sufficient funds available in the public sphere, is that those people who will be most dearly affected, most harshly affected, by reductions, are the poorest people, whether those people live in poor communities or live in relatively wealthy communities, because when you cut public services, the people who suffer disproportionately are people who rely on public services to a greater degree, and that is almost always the poorest people in our society.

And at the same time, if we move taxation or the weight of taxation from a progressive taxation such as income tax to a regressive taxation such as council tax, what happens again is that poor people pay proportionately more, and poor people who live in poorer areas pay proportionately more again, and those local authorities who represent poorer areas are less able to fund services, which again hits poorer people harder and more harshly than those people who are relatively well off.

I won't test your patience any more, Deputy Presiding Officer, but I will say this: what I hope we'll be able to do is have a debate on the future of the Welsh budget that is a richer debate in the future, that enables us to actually debate a budget and not just a spending plan. And I will commend the Welsh Government in closing, because the level of information and analysis that we get from the Welsh Government today is far greater and far more important to our debates than it was, say, a decade ago. And I think that we should recognise the work that the Welsh Government is doing on informing and enabling us to have the sort of debate that we need to have. But I hope that, as we move through this budget round and into next year's budget round, we will be able to collectively agree that we need to have a different sort of debate and a debate that is a far more fundamental debate about how we raise and spend money on behalf of the people of this country. 

I call on the Minister for Finance and Local Government to reply to the debate. Rebecca Evans.

Diolch, and thank you to colleagues for their contributions in the debate this afternoon. I'll begin by just responding to some of the comments made by the Chair of the Finance Committee in his remarks, which opened the debate this afternoon. One was, really, around how the Welsh Government engages with the committee in terms of providing information and so on, and I'm very happy to continue those discussions, which we're about to start, I think, in terms of how we can potentially improve the budget business protocol in future years. And I'm sure that we'll be bearing in mind the comments that colleagues have been making in the Chamber this afternoon. And I know that the Finance Committee has also found the technical briefings with the chief economist, for example, very helpful, and again I'm happy to continue with those, and also with an early evidence-giving session to the committee in those years when we do find ourselves—or circumstances when we find ourselves—in situations where the UK Government's autumn budget comes at a time that makes scrutiny more difficult than it should be in this Senedd. So, working together, I think, to improve these things I think will be very helpful in future.

The only recommendation that I wasn't able to agree to that the Finance Committee made was around the amount of information provided, asking that it should have been comparable with that set out in the spending review of 2021. And the reason that I couldn't accept that sole recommendation was because this budget is a single-year budget and it should be read alongside the three-year spending review budget documentation, which we published last year. Some of those things won't have changed. For example, the distributional analysis, which we undertook last year, wouldn't have really changed in any meaningful way this year. And in any case, the only data that we could have done that piece of work on was the last year's data, which is the most up to date set. So, there were good reasons in terms of not being able to accept the committee's recommendation there, but all of the others were accepted in full or in principle. 

Deputy Presiding Officer, there have been epic amounts of brass neck on the Conservative benches on display this afternoon. I think that colleagues on those benches have just completely ignored or forgotten the fact that our Welsh Government budget next year, or in the next financial year, will be worth over £1 billion less than we understood it would be at the time of the spending review. So, we shouldn't give any credence to the Conservatives who are up in arms when you see real-terms decreases to various budgets. [Interruption.] And I think I will come on to the point the Member will raise shortly, and, if I don't, I'll take an intervention after that.

We haven't discussed capital much in the Chamber this afternoon. The reason for that is that we didn't have a single extra penny of capital in the spending review last autumn, and that means our budget next year will be 8.1 per cent less in terms of capital. And that is, of course, the money that we need to be investing as we continue our journey out of the pandemic and the kind of money that we need to be creating good jobs and green investment here in Wales. 

But what I have done in the budget is listen very carefully to my colleagues on the Labour benches, and we've heard some of these really strong arguments this afternoon—from Jenny Rathbone, Mike Hedges, Rhianon Passmore, Vikki Howells and Alun Davies—about why we should be continuing to focus our efforts on the most vulnerable people and on protecting businesses in Wales and our public services, and that's why you'll see an extra £227 million for local government. And that, of course, includes funding for schools and social care. And the Conservatives are entirely disingenuous when they suggest that funding has been cut for schools. We've passed on every penny of the £117 million additional consequential funding we had in respect of education to local government and, on top of that, added funding to the education department in Wales. And if the Conservative education spokesperson speaks to local government leaders, as I do, they will be keen to tell her that they are investing more in education than they received in respect of that £117 million consequential funding.

Will the Minister acknowledge that there is a real-terms and cash cut in education in your budget this year? And will you also acknowledge that, with you putting the money that is designated for education not solely into the education budget but putting it into local government, there is absolutely no guarantee, even though you say that local government leaders say that they have good intentions, that that money will go into education?

Well, we fund education differently here in Wales, because we trust local government here in Wales to do the right thing by their schools, and, as I've said, local government is passing that money on to schools and then some, so I think that the characterisation that we're seeing on the Conservative benches is inaccurate and unfair.

We've also provided an additional £165 million for NHS Wales to help protect front-line services, and an additional £40 million for public transport, and I have heard the important points that colleagues have been making in respect of public transport. But I would also point to the fact that, over the next two years, we'll be providing in excess of £0.75 billion of revenue funding to support public transport provision across Wales, so this is clearly an area of significant interest and commitment from us.

And then you'll also see the additional funding for the discretionary assistance fund and the other forms of support that we're providing to those who most need it. So, I'm really proud of the budget that we are tabling today, and I do want to put on record my thanks to Plaid Cymru. Plaid Cymru Members have quite rightly highlighted some of the areas where we've worked in partnership, through our co-operation agreement, to provide additional funding—for example, the additional £10 million revenue in 2023-24 and 2024-25 towards expanding free childcare to all two-year-olds and the work that we will be doing together to monitor that. And of course there's additional funding to take forward some of the joint work that we're doing in respect of promoting the purchasing of Welsh-made goods and services. Again, this is part of our co-operation agreement, as is the additional funding to explore how the establishment of a national school for government might contribute to a step change in embedding the idea behind the one Welsh public service that drives us forward here in Wales.

I just want to put on record, I think, those important pieces of work that we'll be doing together, and of course to thank Jane Dodds as well for the discussions that we've had ahead of the budget today. I know that those have revolved a lot around the academy model, which provides the general dental service capacity, and that's linked with the education and training facilities. You see a really good example of that in north Wales; the North Wales Dental Academy has brought together community service, general dental service and education in a single location, and we'll be exploring how we can go about investing in more of these services in different areas of Wales to improve access to dentistry, and we look forward to continuing with those discussions as well.

So, in summary, as has been acknowledged by many, there are many challenges that remain. It has been a difficult budget to deliver, and the reality is that we haven't been able to meet all of the challenges that colleagues have quite rightly drawn attention to today. Despite this, I am confident that our budget does maximise the funding that is available to us, balancing those short-term needs against our longer term change agenda and committing to deliver on our programme for government ambitions.

I think I'll just take this last moment, with your indulgence, just to thank our very, very talented and committed officials, who have supported the development of the budget—I know that they have gone above and beyond to support the work—and also just to thank everybody who has provided evidence to committees and to ourselves as well. I think that this is a really good example of what we can do if we work together, and I look forward to the vote later on this afternoon.

Thank you, Minister. As voting on the Wales rates of income tax 2023-24 has been deferred until voting time, I will defer the vote on the final budget for 2023-24 until voting time as well, in accordance with Standing Order 20.29A.

Voting deferred until voting time.