Can I thank the Member for his questions? He asked whether we will be able to make the scheme available for part-timers straight away. I’m now caught in a dilemma: Members expect this to be delivered as a package and now some Members want little bits of it to be delivered earlier than others. I think the issue is, David, that we see this package in the round and I want to be able to move forward on that basis, introducing support for students across all modes at the same time, because I think if we start doing bits earlier than others, we’ll be in danger of perhaps being accused of not keeping faith with this principle that this is a package as a whole.

But with regard to credit thresholds and previous study, you’ll be aware that the report is newly published and these are some of the details that we will need to work through in the coming weeks, before we’re able to go out to consultation on a detailed Government response. So, issues around credit thresholds, previous study, how many times you can go into the system and whether you can be a perpetual student in the system, all need to come out in the further consideration around sustainability and around the finer details of the package.

You’re right: industry, employers have a role to play here. You’ll be aware of a speech I made recently with regard to how I want a closer working relationship between higher education institutions and their local economy—their local employers. Those discussions are ongoing with Julie James and other Cabinet Secretary colleagues about how we can make those linkages, which are absolutely crucial. You raised the issue of moral hazard: if we do this, will we actually then create a problem elsewhere in the system? I believe there is a genuine desire, both in the HE sector and with employers, to work together to deliver on this agenda. Employers see the benefit of having well-skilled workers who they can support. They can retain those skills, increase their productivity and increase the productivity of that business, which has been one of the things that have dogged the Welsh economy—low productivity levels. This is an opportunity to address that.