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.