There were several important debates in the Chamber last week, with some significant votes.

The most contentious was the Welsh Government budget. Wales has received extra funding from Westminster, mostly due to more money being allocated to clear councils debts in England. The Welsh Government needs approval from the Senedd for all budgets or changes to budgets.

Governments don’t normally put forward a budget unless they know that there is a majority in favour. In this case, Plaid did not secure agreement with any other party so the budget was rejected. This new Senedd structure was created by Labour and Plaid Cymru in the full knowledge that it was very likely to create minority administrations which would require co-operation. The bus fare cap in England will produce further money for Wales. It can be spent on whatever the Welsh Government wants, but once again this will need approval by the Senedd. So this matter will return again in the autumn.

Reform UK succeeded in persuading the Senedd to pass a motion ensuring wildlife management forms part of the bovine TB eradication programme. This is sometimes portrayed as simply a badger culling issue, but the science is more complicated than that. There are pockets of very high bovine TB in Wales where approximately ten thousand cattle are year have to be slaughtered to control the disease. This is stressful for farmers, and bad for the economics of farming. The debate was a good example of how there are some matters on which parties can agree.

Another debate in which I made a contribution was on tourism. Welsh Local Authorities now have the power to charge a ‘Visitor Levy’ or ‘Tourist Tax’ as it’s more commonly known. Some have already decided to introduce it from next April – including Cardiff. Torfaen and Monmouthshire have not. It’s marketed as only a ‘modest sum’ – as are all taxes when they start. In practice, it will be about £6 per night for a family of four. That’s already a significant amount for a young family staying in Wales on their annual holiday. And you will now pay extra to stay overnight in Cardiff.

On a happy note, my belief in the welcoming nature of the Welsh people has been reaffirmed. Yesterday I was fortunate to attend the biggest event of the season, the Royal Welsh Show. Today, I am a little hoarse after chatting with the many visitors for seven hours, non-stop. We are fortunate to have our own shows around here at Chepstow, Monmouth and Usk over the summer. If you’ve never been to a country show, do go along. They are great fun.