I have been ignoring him for quite a while.

I am grateful for the way in which Bethan Jenkins has not only led the debate this afternoon, but has also led the committee. You asked a number of questions during your opening remarks, as did Suzy Davies during her contribution. I do feel, on occasion, that perhaps it would be better to appear before the committee to answer some of these questions and to go into greater detail on some of the issues that you’ve raised with me, rather than trying to respond this afternoon, and I would be pleased to have the opportunity to return to the committee for that kind of discussion.

But, in the analysis that we have shared across the Chamber this afternoon, one thing that stands out and one thing that’s very important, and it comes back to Lee Waters’s contribution too: everything must change. It would have been very easy for any Government to be elected and to set a language agenda in the way that we’ve done in the past—that we want to see growth in the language, or we want to see the language prosper; whatever words we choose to use. This Government did something different. We did something different, something radical and something bold, in the words of Lee Waters, in setting a target of a million Welsh speakers, doubling the number of people who use and speak the language at the moment. That is important not only because of the number, the target itself, but in terms of what that means for this Government, to this Parliament, and to the nation. It means that things have to change. Everything must change. And that’s why I don’t agree with the conservative voices I hear in this Chamber on occasion and outwith the Chamber, and Sian Gwenllian has already alluded to that. I want to see us thinking anew about this policy and how we contribute towards expanding the number of Welsh speakers and, indeed, doubling the number of Welsh speakers. I do think that the committee report has been an important contribution to that end. The questions that Bethan Jenkins and Suzy Davies have asked this afternoon are important and valid, and it gets to the very core of the debate that we need to have over the next few months.

When I published the strategy and the vision over the summer, I wanted to move the agenda forward, obviously, but it’s important for me not just to publish the strategy itself but also to publish a programme of work too and the targets that are part of that. The targets that we have set are targets for this Assembly, this Government, and this Minister. They are not just targets for 2030, 2040, and 2050; they are targets for this Assembly, and for this Government, and I do think that that is extremely important. We’ve had an opportunity to discuss the White Paper already this week, and I have no intention of rehearsing that debate this afternoon, but I would just say that I will continue to lead this debate in this nation and all parts of Wales and all communities across the country, and I will lead a new consensus in order to change the structures that we currently have. Everything must change.

At the heart of all of this is the crucial role of education, and many people—I think everyone who’s contributed this afternoon—have mentioned the role that our education system will play. Members will be very much aware that the Cabinet Secretary for Education made an announcement last week on our action plan for education in Wales, and she has placed an important emphasis on developing Welsh-medium education and improving the teaching of Welsh to all learners as part of our education system. I recognise the points that Lee Waters raised in his contribution on the importance of the English-medium sector. Far too often, we concentrate on the Welsh-medium sector but we don’t think of the majority of learners in Wales that are in the English-medium sector. Every part of the system has to be taken into account for the future; I agree with each and every one of the points that Lee has made.

I will be making a statement, Llywydd, next week on Welsh in education plans, and I think that there has been a welcome across this Assembly for the work undertaken by Aled Roberts. I would like to express my thanks to Aled not just for the work that he has done, but for the way that he has undertaken that work. He has been having discussions with authorities across Wales, and he has been challenging authorities across the country in terms of how we can reach our targets—exactly the types of challenges that Bethan mentioned in her opening remarks. We, as a result of that process, have reached the point, I think, where we can say with some confidence that we will have the kinds of WESPs in place that will enable us to reach our targets.

I do see that time is moving on, so may I just finish by saying this? Bethan Jenkins asked a question in her speech on small businesses and how we are promoting the use of the Welsh language within small businesses. Members will be aware that the First Minister made a statement on a new grant to that end during the National Eisteddfod this year on Anglesey. We will continue to make further statements on how we will progress that.

Llywydd, I am very grateful to the committee for its work. This has been an important inquiry. It has contributed to policy developments within Government. It has contributed to the national debate that needs to take place in order to ensure that Government policy isn’t just the policy of Government but, in the words of Dai Lloyd, is the policy that can unite Wales, and a policy that will be supported across the country. Thank you.