Janet Finch-Saunders:
The annual allocation of the Welsh Government’s budget remains the most important tool for improving the economy and services of Wales, and yet this budget is simply a case of business as usual. Instead of boosting business, protecting health and reversing decline, this Welsh Labour Government, with the help of a Plaid Cymru sell-out, has decided to cling to the status quo.
On enterprise and business, the follow-up to the erroneously titled ‘Budget for Growth and Jobs’ contains an allocation for business, enterprise, technology and science of just 2% of the total budget. To put that into perspective, more money is spent on the Welsh Government’s own empire building of expenditure on central services and administration than on business and enterprise: £348 million as opposed to £274 million. The budget lacks any detail on enterprise zones, and business leaders will be dismayed at the absence of any solid decisions on business rate relief.
The health budget over the past three years has been reduced by nearly £0.5 billion. On the ground, services are reaching crisis point, and it should be a matter of shame for the Assembly that Labour, with help from both the Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru, has allowed this to happen over the years. I call on the Minister to heed the warning of the Finance Committee that she should address the case for additional flexibility for LHBs to manage their own funding across financial years.
For local government, there is a challenging settlement that, on the face of it, appears better than it is. An attempted sleight of hand by the Minister means that there is top-slicing of nearly £10 million from councils’ own individual budget settlements to fund a collaboration agenda that is in complete disarray. That £10 million rightly belongs to those local authorities, and this top-slicing will have profound implications for their ability to borrow over the coming years, meaning deeper cuts to local services. I know this, because I have spoken to finance directors. Furthermore, invest-to-save already exists to fund innovative collaboration and reform. The creation of a separate fund can amount only to an admission of failure. Crucially, the Welsh Government has failed to commit the funding for council tax rises in Wales for a third time. Shame on you. That money has been transferred. You talk about cuts, but this is a Welsh Labour cut of the first degree.
The ‘One Wales’ agreement included a commitment to protect district general hospitals and support community-level healthcare. This budget cuts health spending in real terms, meaning hospital downgrades and cuts to community healthcare. That is in spite of all the promises that we have had from the Minister for Health and Social Services, saying that she would not allow any downgrades. They are happening as I stand here now.
Ann Jones:
On the point about health, over on that side of the Chamber, you seem to think that Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board has made its decisions, and yet the consultation has only recently closed. Surely we should give it time to look at the consultation results before we start predicting what it will do.
Janet Finch-Saunders:
I thank the Member for raising that point, because it provides me with the opportunity to inform the Member that I have correspondence that states that matters that were not part of the consultation, as regards Llandudno Hospital, will now be considered as part of it, so that is a complete failure and leads to a lack of trust in the process.
The ‘One Wales’ agreement promised to enhance business rate relief, and yet this budget has a complete absence of any solid rate relief proposals, which businesses and our economy so desperately need. I must be honest and say that I was amazed earlier to hear the dazed response of the First Minister to Antoinette Sandbach when she talked about bureaucracy and red tape in business in Wales. I speak to an awful lot of businesspeople and they are very disappointed with the performance of this Welsh Labour Government. The ‘One Wales’ agreement also contained a promise to ensure that all households in all communities, irrespective of their means, could afford a decent home. At the same time, Plaid Cymru is allowing a budget to pass that will see the housing budget cut by more than spending on administration and bureaucracy.
This budget is devoid of new ideas. For the people of Wales, it is very much a case of business as usual, which will see health budgets being cut, services downgraded and lives put at risk. It is business as usual that will see councils lose out on millions of pounds so that the Minister can push forward with a collaboration agenda in disarray, and business as usual that will see no extra help for businesses, which are so vital for the health and prosperity of our nation. This is a lamentable budget from a lazy Labour Government, propped up by its Plaid Cymru cronies. So much for standing up for Wales. You have clearly let everybody down.