First Minister, thank you for your statement this afternoon. It clearly is an historic day—the Prime Minister triggering article 50 that begins the formal negotiation process after the referendum result in June last year.

I do take exception to your paragraph that talks about the Welsh Government being left out of the loop and not included in the negotiation process. I have to say that the Prime Minister herself has been to Wales five times, and David Davis himself has engaged many times with your good self and others in this Chamber, I might add, as has the Secretary of State for Wales. Whereas I look at the engagement the First Minister has sought to try and undertake with people who were on the majority vote after 23 June—neither he nor his Government have engaged at all with anyone who was on the majority side of the vote on 23 June and sit on this side of the Chamber. And so a bit of consistency, I think, would benefit the First Minister when he is throwing these allegations around. I also do regret bitterly the language that the First Minister used yesterday in First Minister’s questions: that he could see no money coming to agriculture after 2020, or structural funds. What evidence do you base that on, First Minister? Or are we to assume that that is official Labour Party policy and you are merely talking to Labour Party policy?

The letter today that the Prime Minister has sent to the President in Brussels clearly identifies the strands that she believes the negotiations should undertake. And I do hope that the First Minister does welcome the strands that the Prime Minister has identified in her letter, in particular with specific reference to Ireland and the peace process, and the significant discussions that will be require around that, and the importance of having parallel discussions and not isolating the settlement for the breakaway to the continuing relationships that the UK needs to develop with the EU. And I do hope that the First Minister will be able to endorse that sentiment; and indeed I do hope that he will able to endorse all the principles that are contained in the letter that the Prime minister has sent—and also the principles that the Prime Minister laid out in her Lancaster House speech, which clearly laid out 12 key principles that will form the basis of the negotiations over the next two years.

It is important that the UK Government does work with the devolved administrations to make sure that there is continuity in the message and continuity in the negotiations. I fully accept that, First Minister, and I will work tirelessly to make sure that does happen. And I do believe that there should be no—as the Prime Minister has clearly said—power grab or law grab back from any of the devolved administrations to Westminster. And the Prime Minister has clearly stated that, and, ultimately in her letter today, she clearly identifies the substantial passage of responsibilities and powers that she does see being transferred to the devolved administrations.

In your speech today, First Minister, you do identify—and I think it is a very relevant point to identity—the workings of the JMC, because there is a huge piece of work to be done domestically—as I have identified in other contributions that I’ve made within my speeches in this Chamber—about how the UK will function when we do come out of the European Union, and how—and it is my preferred model—the UK frameworks that would be put in place for agriculture, for structural funds and for HE funding will work on an equal basis to make sure that no one part of the UK is disproportionally affected by any changes that might come out. And so I would be grateful if the First Minister could give us a feeling of how he believes the JMC should develop in the coming weeks and months. Because I do think there’s a real danger that we do take our eye off what change we can effect in this Chamber, and the role that the Government here will have, by focusing too much on what’s going on in Brussels, while not focusing on what we need to be doing here in Wales to make sure that whatever negotiation and agreement arise out of that negotiation benefits all parts of the United Kingdom.

The other point I would like to make as well: What I think is really important is the great repeal Bill, the White Paper that will be published tomorrow. I notice that the First Minister does identify in his statement today that he will have much more to say on that, but it is important that, again, that is another area that we could have a huge impact on in making sure that Wales—in the transfer of responsibilities when they do come back from Brussels—that the right responsibilities do come back to this institution so that there is a positive dividend for devolution and a positive dividend for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England in that restribution of powers and responsibilities at the end of the two-year negotiation period.

The other point the First Minister rightly identifies is the focus on transitional arrangements that potentially might have to kick in if the two years do not prove sufficiently long enough to conclude the majority of the negotiations. What type of transitional arrangements does the First Minister and his Government have in mind that might be required? It’s one thing talking about transitional arrangements, it’s another thing understanding what exactly they might mean. And I do think, given that the Prime Minister clearly identifies in her letter today that she’s not looking for having a no-deal approach—as she points out, it is important the deal is concluded, but a deal that is fair to both partners working in these negotiations. Because this is not about putting Europe down and it should not be about putting the UK down. This is about making sure that we retain our strong links with Europe as partners in security, defence and economic opportunities, whilst recognising that sovereignty will return to these islands and those decisions will be taken within these islands, but reflecting, importantly, that the islands that the sovereignty will return to are not the islands that were the same in 1972 when we first went in to the European Union. We do have devolved Government, we do need to recognise that and the Prime Minister has given that commitment. But I do make that point that I opened my remarks on, First Minister: I believe the UK Government is sincere in its commitment to work with you and the other devolved administrations. It is a real shame that, over the last eight or nine months, you have not chosen to work with others in this Chamber.