Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. May I congratulate you, Minister, on your appointment, and I look forward very much to shadowing the skills aspects of your portfolio, and may I thank you for your statement this afternoon? I will start by picking up on the comments that you made towards the end of your statement on the apprenticeships levy. You stated that there was still no total clarity. I would have liked a little more meat on the bone in terms of the negotiations that you’re having with the UK Government. I would be grateful for an update perhaps on how much negotiation has taken place first of all, and whether in your view it is a matter of a problem in sharing information, or do you think that there is a more fundamental problem in terms of confusion as to how the levy is to work, and the implications of that to Wales. I would also be grateful to hear your view as to whether the levy will be operational within the original timetable, or will we see some delays because there has been some mention of the possibility of delays in England, at least.

And if the levy is introduced in Wales, then there have been some questions as to whether additional funding will be Barnett-ised, and so on and so forth. But if it is Barnett-ised, will you as a Government protect that additional funding for apprenticeships in Wales, or will that funding go into the wider coffers of the Welsh Government?

You also made mention of the clear commitment to create 100,000 apprenticeships over the next five years, and that is something that we support, but there is a debate to be had, perhaps, as to the number of apprenticeships that have been created over the past five years. For the sake of clarity, I would ask you just to be clear that your intention as a Government is to go beyond what has been achieved in terms of numbers during the term of the last Government. In that regard, could you give us an assurance that you are confident that the capacity exists among the relevant bodies to actually achieve that level of apprenticeships? As the commitment you’ve made in your manifesto referred to provision for all ages, in terms of apprenticeships, then can you also give us an assurance that that will have no negative impact on the provision for those under the age of 25?

In your statement, you also say that you want to develop certain kinds of apprenticeships and enhance the participation of under-represented groups—for example, more Welsh-medium provision. There’s a specific reference to that, and we welcome that clearly, but how will we know what success looks like? What will the measure be? Will there be a target? We know that only some 3 per cent of apprenticeships are delivered through the medium of Welsh at present; what’s your Government’s target over the next five years? What level would you like to see achieved in that regard? Then, also, there is there broader question as to how you intend to achieve that. You said, for example, in a statement back in January, during the last Government term, that you were looking in earnest at how you could improve and strengthen the Welsh-medium provision. I would be grateful for some further information on any work that has been done since that point in this particular area.

Dywedasoch hefyd mewn datganiad yn gynharach eleni eich bod yn bwriadu cyflwyno cynlluniau prentisiaeth a rennir, sydd yn amlwg yn arbennig o werthfawr i fusnesau llai. Ni ddylai'r ardoll brentisiaethau arfaethedig effeithio arnynt fel y cyfryw, ond mae'n amlwg y gall y tarfu ehangach gael goblygiadau i'r sector. Efallai y gallech amlinellu'r cynnydd a wnaed gennych ar brentisiaethau a rennir neu o leiaf eich bwriadau a’ch dyheadau yn hynny o beth yn ystod y blynyddoedd nesaf.

Yn olaf, Weinidog, gwyddom fod yr elw ar fuddsoddiad o brentisiaethau yn sylweddol iawn gyda phob £1 a fuddsoddir yn dod â manteision o hyd at £74 dros gyfnod oes yn ôl Ffederasiwn Hyfforddiant Cenedlaethol Cymru, o'i gymharu â £57 wrth fuddsoddi mewn addysg uwch neu radd, efallai yn fwy penodol. Felly, a ydych chi'n cytuno â mi bod prentisiaethau yn cynrychioli un o'r enghreifftiau gorau o'r defnydd effeithiol o gronfeydd strwythurol Ewropeaidd yng Nghymru, gan ddangos budd allweddol a chlir o aelodaeth Cymru o'r Undeb Ewropeaidd?