And I’m sure that there are examples of that, and I don’t doubt what the Member is saying, but I think, as a general rule, if you keep starving a service of funds, then inevitably it begins to impact, and I would say that there are more examples of the opposite than the kind of examples that the Member refers to. But it is about local authorities having to prioritise, and there’s no getting away from that. Of course, it’s not just about the services that are directly provided by local authorities—as we know, many third sector providers rely heavily on the funding that they also get from local authorities and that’s also been the subject of cuts that they’ve had to face.

If I could just take a moment to talk to you about some of the organisations in my own constituency. We have some incredible originations and schemes, such as the Forsythia Youth Project and the Dowlais Engine House to name but two. As Hefin David has already mentioned, these receive significant amounts of funding through the Communities First programme. That, to a large extent, has plugged the financial gap from local authorities and the money made available to them. So, while I’m not today going to open the debate about Communities First, because I know that the Minister responsible for that is going to be making a statement in the near future, I have to say that, if Communities First funding is to go or is to be phased out, then it’s crucial that we look at ways that youth schemes, like the ones that I’ve mentioned, continue. And I ask myself why that is so crucial. Well, I’m absolutely in no doubt whatsoever that if it were not for the likes of those services, provided by some of the projects like the ones that I’ve mentioned, many of the young people served by them would end up roaming the streets. They’d then be engaging in anti-social behaviour, possibly falling into dependency on drugs and alcohol, or even becoming young offenders. In some of these areas, the closure of those facilities wouldn’t result in their parents just paying them to go and use other facilities because they are generally in areas where those families would not have the money available to do that. So, when the Minister reviews the national strategy for youth services, I hope that recognition will be given to those projects such as Forsythia Youth Project and the Dowlais Engine House that I’ve referred to, and others that provide that early intervention that is so important, particularly in the most deprived areas in our society, and that we will give consideration as to how these schemes can be maintained in the future, regardless of the decisions surrounding the future of Communities First.

So, Llywydd, in conclusion I’m just pleased to be supporting both the motion and the inquiry report, and in doing so trust that the significance of the work done by our youth services and the staff who work in them will be fully recognised going forward.