IT’S that time of year again. The past few weeks has seen a number of significant publications emerge quietly from the National Assembly and Welsh government. But quietly is not good enough. It’s time the Members in the Senedd learned to shout with the best of us.

The mainstream media attention will undoubtedly focus on the Outline Draft budget announced by Mark Drakeford on October 2. The budget marks the second year of a two-year agreement between Labour and Plaid Cymru on the division of resources the Welsh government has at its disposal. The headlines are the contrasting fortunes of health and local government with a 5.4 per cent uplift for health and social services and 1.8 per cent reduction for local government.

A renewed emphasis on major road and rail projects and other infrastructure sees economy and transport get the largest increase, of 12.2 per cent. Education, energy planning and rural affairs also gain in real terms with central services and administration cut back.

Local authorities will have to wait until the end of the month to discover how much of the hole in their core funding can be plugged via specific grants which are being announced separately.

Inevitably there will be the usual battle over how Drakeford has proposed the cake is cut on this occasion. However, the fundamental questions are not about the annual slicing of the cake, but rather the scale of the resources the Welsh government has to deliver public services to meet public needs.

It is clear that savage cuts are coming, particularly to local government, and there will be a need for communities and public service trade unions to pull together in opposition to this Westminster-imposed austerity. Recognising it for what it is will be the first step.

Drakeford himself opened his statement by arguing: “Never has the need for a UK Government to abandon the failed polices of austerity been more urgent” and closed his remarks with “this government remains committed to do everything we can to help our public services meet the very real challenges they face today.

“This is a bread-and-butter budget, focused on sustaining the fabric of Welsh life and using every source of revenue and capital available to us in order to do so.”

The capacity of the Welsh government to resist the cuts without engaging a movement of popular support is slight.