Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I regret that Plaid Cymru do not feel in a position to support this LCM today, because, actually, what we’re trying to do is secure important safeguards for Welsh higher education institutions in being able to accrue these powers for Welsh Ministers with regard to the future of TEF as well as our ability to be able to continue to provide student support in a way that will be necessary and we need to move forward on because of the changes across the border in England, and to actually make some progress as well on alternative student finance, where we know from evidence there are certain members of our community who are put off from applying for student loans because of the nature of the student loans system that we have at the moment. We have a certain group of students who don’t avail themselves of that support, and I believe that to be discriminatory—that we’re not allowing all Welsh citizens to be able to apply for student support systems, to be able to do that, and this is the most timely and effective way of being able to address what I believe to be the discriminatory system that we have at the moment.

With regard to the operation of the UKRI, the Minister for Skills and Science and I met with Jo Johnson, the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation in England with regard to the new research funding architecture, and I’ve had a number of bilateral meetings with my counterparts in Scotland and a quadrilateral meeting, where all four administrations were represented, to talk about this. Whilst it is welcome that there has been an amendment at the Commons Report Stage that says that there is to be due regard, I do not believe that it goes far enough. I do believe that there should be full Welsh representation on the UKRI. I share the Member’s concerns about the consequences that this may mean for the flow of research funding and we continue to try and push that case. With regard to joint working with HEFCW, I can assure the Member that the Bill allows the relevant authorities to work together if it appears to them to be more effective or if it would allow the authorities to exercise their functions more effectively. So, the effect will allow HEFCW to work jointly with UKRI, insofar as its Research England functions are concerned, and will also allow HEFCW to work jointly with the Office for Students, the Scottish Funding Council and the relevant Northern Ireland departments. This does not alter the scope of the existing arrangements for joint working with the Scottish Funding Council. I regret that Plaid Cymru have decided not to support the LCM, but I think it is, on balance, an important step forward, Presiding Officer.