The big political news this week in Wales has been about the proposed agreement struck between my party and the Labour Government. At the time of writing there are a few hurdles to be cleared before this agreement can be ratified but I am hopeful it will go through.

My overriding emotion when looking at the agreement is one of pride. There are some real tangible benefits that will result from this agreement and many of them will benefit the people that need it most. It has taken the influence of Plaid Cymru to deliver these policies.

One shining example is free school meals for all primary school children. Plaid Cymru has for years called on the Labour Government in Wales to expand free school meal provision. Our calls were always rebuffed - as early as July this year, Labour Mss voted down our plans to expand school meals provision.

We were backed by several child poverty organisations on this after figures released last October revealed that of the 129,000 school-age children living below the poverty line in Wales, over 70,000 were not eligible for free school meals. This is usually because their parents are in low-paid jobs which take them over the eligibility threshold, but still leaves the family in poverty. The free school meals policy will now ensure that parents of primary school children will not have to worry about providing for lunchtimes. Plaid Cymru has aspirations to roll this policy out to secondary schools as poverty does not end in primary schools but we may have to wait until the next Welsh Government to do that.

The free childcare policy for children from the age of two is also another win for Plaid Cymru. Finding and affording good quality child care to allow parents to return to work has been a familiar issue for families throughout Gwent for a long time. Moving towards an integrated social care system is much needed. This will hopefully see social care workers get the recognition and salary increase they have deserved for a long time.

Other proposals in the agreement include the establishment of a national energy company, a national construction firm and seeking independent advice on bringing the net zero target date from 2050 to 2035. This last proposal is vital as the climate emergency is the biggest problem we face.

All this has been struck by a party that is still outside of government. If you like the sound of these policies, just imagine what a government led by Plaid Cymru could achieve?