Co-operation agreement will make a real difference for better in many ways

LAST week, the Welsh Government published its budget and with it the culmination of months of co-operative working between Plaid Cymru and the Government – with the result being tangible, life changing policies for thousands of families across Wales.

As Plaid Cymru’s Lead Designated Member I have been working with Government Ministers since the Agreement was signed in December 2021.

At its heart, this budget secures a whopping £200 million investment in free school meals for all primary school children.

This pledge has been a central part of Plaid Cymru’s policy offering for years and is now taking centre stage and highest priority within this bud get.

Feeding children should never be a source of debate and here that principle is put into practice.

So, from September this year, thousands more children will receive free school meals.

But take the Co-operation Agreement more generally.

It really does deliver for the whole of Wales, and for the benefit of all our communities. For example, there will be £11 million for the Arfor scheme - a direct boost to the economies of the west.

As we look to tackle and mitigate the impact of the climate emergency, this budget will enable us to work together towards establishing a publicly owned energy company for Wales – Ynni Cymru – to expand community-owned renewable energy generation.

In addition, there will be significant investments, including an additional £48 million, plus £102 million of capital funding, to strengthen our national resilience and tackle flooding. This is in addition to commissioning an independent review of the response to the flooding caused by extreme weather in Wales during winter 2020 and winter 2021.

The creative sector, too, has suffered greatly due to the pandemic.

That’s why there will be an additional £27 million over the next three years to support culture, media and broadcasting.

As a package, this budget contains a series of investments that address social inequalities, tackle climate change, and build back from the pandemic as we face the major challenges of the future together.

It demonstrates our commitment to help the most vulnerable in our society; putting our principles into action through this national budget.

Politics is not perfect, but this new way of doing co-operative politics to make people’s lives better will make a difference to the lives of many communities and people up and down the country and presents a glimmer of hope in an increasingly challenging world.