So, we move to the 90-second statements, and the first of those this week is Huw Irranca-Davies.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. This weekend, the Urdd Eisteddfod comes to the grounds of Bridgend College’s Pencoed campus. Many thousands will travel to the area from across Wales to enjoy the festival of Welsh language and Welsh culture and youth.

We are very proud to be hosting the Urdd Eisteddfod and I am very proud of the way in which my own local communities have taken this high point of the Welsh cultural calendar to their hearts: the way in which the staff, management and students of Bridgend College have worked so hard in preparation for the event; the fantastic fundraising efforts of local communities across the area; the enthusiasm and involvement of local schools; the support of local clubs and organisations, including Pencoed RFC, which hosted a very successful rugby sevens tournament; and so many more who have worked over many months to make Eisteddfod yr Urdd Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr, Taf ac Elái a success.

Those of you who haven’t before visited an Eisteddfod, I say to you: please come to enjoy yourselves and the welcome offered at the best youth festival and by the best of our talented young people. We hope to see you there.

This weekend the Merthyr Rising festival will commemorate the events of May 1831 when iron workers, miners and their families rose up against the deplorable living and working conditions they had to endure. During the protest the rebels bathed their flag in calf’s blood—believed to be the first time the red flag was used as a symbol of revolution. There are still buildings and sights in Merthyr that played a significant part in the rising, not least of which is the debtor’s court of requests, where those in debt often faced seizure of their property and belongings, plunging them into further destitution. But whilst buildings like the court are a reminder of the rising, it is the people behind it who matter most, and one of those was Richard Lewis, or Dic Penderyn as he was more commonly known. As least 28 people died during the rising, but it was for allegedly wounding a soldier that Dic Penderyn was scapegoated, brought before the courts, sentenced to death and hanged at Cardiff jail on 13 August 1831, protesting his innocence to the end with his last words: ‘O Arglwydd, dyma gamwedd’—O, Lord, here is injustice. Despite a subsequent deathbed confession by the real culprit, Dic Penderyn has never been pardoned, but I’m proud to have added my name to the support for the campaign by his family to achieve this.

So, this weekend we will remember Dic’s legacy and the spirit of the workers of Merthyr who rose up against injustice and tyranny, paving the way for future political and social reform in Britain, and we will continue the fight for justice for Dic Penderyn.

28 May marks the seventh World Hunger Day. Run by the Hunger Project, this aims to raise awareness of the nearly 800 million people across the world who do not have access to enough food, and to promote sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty. Globally, hunger kills more people than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. This year’s World Hunger Day takes as its theme the causes of chronic hunger. The Hunger Project states that this is a symptom of poverty and social inequality, and this an important context in which to note the recent statistics from the Trussell Trust. As Members will know, the trust maintains a network of over 400 food banks around the UK, providing emergency food to those who find themselves in crisis, many of whom are children. New information shows that supplies provided by the trust in the last 12 months around the UK went up by over 70,000. Here in Wales, there was a shocking 10 per cent increase in the numbers fed by food banks, and this is before the full impact of the switch to universal credit is felt.

I know, first hand, the excellent work Merthyr Cynon Foodbank does in my own constituency, and I’m happy to support them and raise awareness of their work. But when police officers and nurses are reportedly relying on foodbanks here in the UK, it becomes obvious that hunger is widespread and we must find a solution to this challenge, both here and abroad.

Thank you very much.