I think the Cabinet Secretary started that last week in her statement on Hazelkorn, which signalled a very real, and different, and radical approach to moving forward. But let me respond more profoundly to the debate that we’ve had. We’ve heard from both Oscar and John that further education provides opportunities for people and that second chance for an education, and we understand that, and we appreciate that. We need to find ways to ensure that FEs certainly will continue in the future to pursue that and deliver on those expectations and that role. I want to ensure that we also have the ability to support vulnerable learners, that we’re working with employers, meeting local needs, and that we are providing this diversity in provision that means that we will continue in the future to be able to deliver those second chances, but also, that we will look in a more radical way at the way the labour market is changing, and that we will respond in a more radical way to ensure that skills match the needs of the economy and of individual learners for the future.

The new Government programme, ‘Taking Wales Forward’, recognises the value of further education and its role in ensuring that everybody has the opportunity to reach their potential. Many Members on all sides of the Chamber have spoken about the need to ensure that Welsh-medium or bilingual provision is developed and delivered. Let me say this: I’m absolutely committed to ensuring that that happens. The Cabinet Secretary has established, of course, a task and finish group that is looking at some of the lessons from the work done by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol in higher education, and we are absolutely committed to ensuring that we are able to improve and deliver courses in further education through the medium of Welsh, in a way that we don’t do at the moment, and then to expand that in terms of work-based learning and apprenticeships as well. We need to be able to look—. We had a conversation earlier during questions about how we improve the availability of Welsh language education, and this Government is absolutely committed to doing that.

But we also need greater coherence between the academic education and vocational learning. Now, more than ever, we do need to be engaged with the wider debate that is taking place on vocational education, particularly in Europe, and we need to ensure that we are able to continue to deliver at the very height of excellence. The second year of Leading Wales, our FE leadership programme, is having a positive response. I want to maintain and build momentum. A third round of the programme will start in May and a similar programme will be delivered for the HE sector, building on the success of the FE programme. We need to be able to strengthen the sector’s capacity to respond to change, and I am considering at the moment options for a resilience programme, supporting the sector in developing even stronger leadership, financial sustainability and employer engagement. We need to ensure that we are able to maintain the vitality of the sector into the future.

Members, at different parts of this debate, have talked about funding decisions and the impact of funding decisions on further education. I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to identify shared priorities with Plaid Cymru, resulting in an additional £30 million for further education and higher education in the next financial year. However—however—it ill serves debate in this place for Conservative Members to constantly complain about the impact of Conservative policies. We understand exactly why further education is under the pressure it is today, because we have a UK Government that is consistently, consistently, consistently reducing the funding available to us, and we understand that the UK Conservative Government wishes to continue with that policy.

I understand, and I actually agree with, the point that Darren made in his introduction about a three-year funding cycle for further education. We actually do recognise that, and we recognise the desirability of planning. However, we do not have the same certainty ourselves from the United Kingdom Government. A late autumn statement, £3.5 billion-worth of cuts in waiting to come in 2019-20, and the ongoing uncertainty about the financial impact of the UK leaving the European Union, and then you tell us you want certainty. Let me tell you now: if you want certainty, that isn’t a message you need to give to this Government; it’s a message you need to give to your Government in London.

We all know that the impact of the loss of structural funds will hit further education hard, and I know nobody—nobody at all—who believes the assurances that have so far been given by the United Kingdom Government that they will make good on their promises. I’ll give way.