Diolch, Gadeirydd. It’s a privilege to move today’s motion and to bring forward this opportunity for the National Assembly to debate our report on the future of regional policy—where next for Wales. Before I go into the discussion on the report, I would like to express our thanks to the witnesses who came to the committee, to the clerking team, who provided the excellent support, particularly Nia Moss, who obviously is our link to the EU and who underpins everything we’re doing at the moment, but also to Members for their contributions through the whole report process.

Following the referendum decision to leave the EU, which was agreed on 23 June 2016, this Assembly charged the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee with the task of examining the implications for Wales of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, and to scrutinise the Welsh Government’s actions so that this Assembly can be assured that Welsh interests are safeguarded during that withdrawal process. Given that, every year, Wales receives £370 million from European structural and investment funds for the purpose of regional economic development, it was clear to us early on that we would need to look at these issues in more detail. And whilst we’re talking about regional policy, it’s important to remember that though the report does highlight regional policy, it cannot be delivered without the support of funding behind that being available. The loss of access to these funds could result in a funding black hole, possibly, for a number of investments in areas such as skills and apprenticeships, research collaboration and excellence, infrastructure and innovation. Indeed, we stand to lose more money than any other nation in the UK if European structural funds are not replaced.

Our inquiry found that on a per capita basis, the Welsh funding allocation from the EU was 458 per cent of the UK average. The next highest was Northern Ireland at 197 per cent, way behind Welsh needs. The principles that underpin the current system of support from the EU to the member states are based on fairness and need. Regions that have a per capita GDP of less than 75 per cent of the EU average qualify for the maximum level of support. And there are two areas in the UK that manage that—one is Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, the other is west Wales and the Valleys. Cadeirydd, our report makes a total of 17 recommendations, and we are very pleased that the Cabinet Secretary has responded positively, and in detail, to them. This afternoon, I will only cover some of the recommendations and the Cabinet Secretary’s response in more detail, though every one of those recommendations is important for the future funding of our communities.