Well, can I thank the Member for his thoughtful comments, and also for taking us back to 962? Over the last week, I think I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in the Supreme Court, examining some 20,000 pages of documents taking us back to the 1300s, and there was some reference to Welsh law, but the history of law is important. This is an exciting project, an exciting step forward, because we are looking at the commencement of a process of the codification of a whole new regime of Welsh law, of codification of law leading to what I’ve said previously in this Chamber is an inevitability, and that is the establishment of a jurisdiction. How we get there, how long before we get there is obviously a matter of debate, and, of course, the Member raised the issue of the Wales Bill, and he’ll be well aware of the statements made by the First Minister in respect of the jurisdiction and also the statements that I have made. There will be some recognition of the body of Welsh law within the Wales Bill, but there has not been, as far as I’m aware, any concession in respect of the specific jurisdiction point. But as I say, we are on a road and I think it is inevitable that we will eventually get there.

I’ve been very cautious in terms of the approach I’m adopting, because what I am very wary of is there is a lot of work; this is an incredibly complex task, and it is a resource-driven task as well, and I’m very wary of the environment we’re in at the moment, with the major constitutional change we are going through, not just in terms of the UK but in terms of the European dimension and so on. And it’s important that nothing is done that actually obstructs (1) the legislative programme of this place, but also the fact that we may need to respond quickly and responsibly in respect of our devolved areas, our own constitutional status and the issue of European laws and the complications that may arise there. But I believe that by adopting the approach of a pilot, we can already identify that there are laws where a certain amount of codification has already taken place, where there are what you might describe as ‘quick wins’ in respect of codification, starting the process and learning from that process, as well as to the resources that will be needed, but also where there may even be overlap in what we may be required to do in respect of European laws. What is also very interesting as well is the extent to which we’re now seeing increasing publications in respect of Welsh law. I was at the launch the other week of a book on administrative law in Wales. For some, that may not seem to be a particularly exciting evening or prospect, but the fact that you now have a publication that is wholly devoted to the issue of Welsh administrative law and that we now have the move towards the appointment of a president of Welsh tribunals—. Those things are important and they all go together.

With regard to the issue of the European changes and the issue of devolved powers and what may happen there, that, of course, is moving in to another debate. Of course, the Member will be aware of the statement I made with regard to article 50. Probably, what is best is that I will defer commenting again, going over old ground on that, because we are now, of course, awaiting the judgment of the Supreme Court. And the Member will also have seen the very detailed submissions we put in, which set out how we see the Welsh devolution settlement, the issues that were raised in that article 50 case on sovereignty, but also the role of this place in respect of the Sewel convention and the status of that within the UK devolution structure.