Can I say thank you to the Cabinet Secretary for giving advance notice of her statement, and for publishing the summary of the responses, as well, to the consultation on the Welsh Government’s position? It’s very timely that this should be made, particularly before the summer recess, because, of course, young people will be wanting to prepare for future academic years, and thinking very much about their future, and I’m grateful that there’s been some clarity provided today over the Welsh Government’s position on a number of issues, particularly around the start of the new regime in 2018. I think it’s fair to say that the Student Loans Company have been working very hard with the Welsh Government to achieve the ambition of being able to introduce the new system of support by that particular date.

Can I welcome, also, the continued recognition that there needs to be absolute parity of support for part-time students with full-time students as well? That is something that, of course, there hasn’t been previously, and I know that many people, including the NUS and other organisations, including HE providers like the Open University, have been calling for that clarity and parity. So, I’m very pleased to see that also.

I also want to welcome very much the support that is going to be in place for postgraduate students. We know that the Welsh Government was very late clarifying its arrangements for this coming academic year in September. It was only February of this year, I think, when you clarified those arrangements, which was completely unacceptable, frankly, for people wanting to make plans about postgraduate study, so it is pleasing to know that there’s been a little bit more clarity, certainly about the 2018-19 situation, and that people can begin to make their plans in respect of that. But I do wonder why it is that the new system of support for postgraduate students is going to be implemented later than that for other students. Why is it 12 months on? You don’t explain that within your statement, and I think it is important to get on the record precisely why that is the case.

I think it should come as no surprise to us that we’ve seen a 14 per cent fall in the number of postgraduates taught in Wales. That is because there has not been any support for them up until this academic year. And, of course, we’ve had that lack of clarity, as I’ve just indicated to you. I know that that’s not all on your watch, Cabinet Secretary, but it is a fact, and therefore it doesn’t surprise me that we’re losing postgraduates—or we have been in recent years. I’m hoping that your announcement today will enable that situation to turn around, although I do believe that it may take some time.

I’m also very much pleased that you’re not just rejecting things that are taking place over the border, but when sensible things happen you are also seeking to emulate them. So, I was very pleased to see that too.

I think it is important to get some stability into the tuition fees situation. I note that you have said that you want to go back to this pre-2012 policy of linking the fees to inflation, but I just wonder, Cabinet Secretary, whether you’ve thought about the potential implications of that, should there be a significant change in fees elsewhere in the UK, either up or down—and I suspect the previous is more likely. But if that is going to be your position for three years, are you still going to be committed to that if there is a significant shift elsewhere, which may, of course, end up disadvantaging Welsh universities?

I noted in the consultation comments that there was a suggestion that the new regime could look at pegging the system of maintenance support, not to the national living wage but potentially to the Living Wage Foundation figure in terms of support. I wonder whether you could clarify whether that was something that you have considered as part of your position; and if you have, why are you not seeking to move towards that over a period of time?

In addition, Cabinet Secretary, I think there are some things that you haven’t referred to, which I think it’s important to get some clarity on. There were many respondents to the consultation that referred to the squeezed middle—these individuals who may be at the margins in terms of the level of income that they have, just over the income threshold perhaps, or those individuals who may have more than one child going through the university system at the same time, and the difficulties and challenges that that might pose for them in terms of supporting their dependants. I wonder if you could say anything as to what your consideration of people in that position might have been, and whether there may be an opportunity to look again at the system of support, so that it recognises the difficulties that those families might be in.

In addition to that, of course, many people have referred to those individuals who might be estranged from their parents and families, and therefore it would be inappropriate to take into account their familial income in order to determine what level of support those individuals might get. You haven’t referred to that at all in your statement today. You haven’t clarified your position on how you intend to ensure that individuals who are estranged from their families might be able to access higher education through this new regime, and it would be helpful if you could give us some clarity on that.

In addition, there was a call from the Children, Young People and Education Committee for you to consider what support you might be able to give to people from underachieving ethnic minorities with low representation and proportion of individuals going to university, and the Gypsy/Traveller community. I wonder whether you might be able to comment on whether there might be specific ring-fenced support that you might be able to make available as a Government to individuals in those situations.

Another group that is disadvantaged under the current system, of course, are the over 60s, who face discrimination in terms of their ability to access support. If they are going to be completing their courses after their sixtieth birthday, there’s no support available for them at all, and I wonder whether you can say whether you are going to do anything to address that discrimination against older people. And, finally, if I may, is a question about bursaries. Again, there were many, many comments in the consultation responses about the availability of bursaries, particularly nursing bursaries, but, of course, I know that you’ve been working with Cabinet colleagues looking at other bursaries that you might be able to extend. I wonder whether you can give any clarity on the longevity of nursing bursaries and what other bursaries you might be considering introducing into the new regime. Thank you.