LAST week the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Finance Mark Drakeford AM, unveiled a new budget for Wales.

This budget is significant because, from April 2018, Wales becomes responsible for raising a proportion of its own revenue to spend on public services. This revenue will be raised from Wales’ 2 new taxes: land transaction tax and landfill disposals tax. However, the vast majority of funding for Wales will continue to be through the block grant from the UK Government, accounting for almost 80% of the revenue available in 2019-20.

This Welsh budget for 2018-19 has been drafted in the 8th year of a sustained and unnecessary austerity programme from the UK Government and amid ongoing uncertainty about the future of European funding streams.

As the Minister said: “The UK government’s decision to plough on with its flawed policy of austerity means we continue to face cuts to our budget. By the end of the decade…we will have had £1.2bn less to spend on vital public services.

"Despite this, we have published two-year revenue plans to provide stability for public services so they can plan for the future and ambitious three-year capital proposals to build a more secure and prosperous Wales.”

As the UK government continues to cut the money available to Wales to spend on public services, the Welsh Government is protecting social care and education budgets and providing more money for local health services-there will be an additional £230m in 2018-19 and £220m in 2019-20 for NHS Wales.

We have all seen the effects of UK Government welfare cuts which have resulted in many more homeless people on our streets. The Welsh Government has set out plans to spend an additional £10m to tackle this.

The Welsh Government’s 21st century schools programme has already seen investment locally with new buildings right across the Vale of Glamorgan – I am delighted that this programme will continue with an extra £40m.

The Welsh budget also releases £340m, as part of our £1.4bn investment, towards our flagship commitment to build 20,000 affordable homes and will invest £70m over 2 years for our flagship childcare offer too.

This Welsh Government budget aims to protect services in communities like the Vale of Glamorgan from the damage of Tory austerity.