Thank you, Chair. Can I not repeat some of the issues that have been already raised, but just speak particularly for the port of Milford Haven in my region? We’ve heard, now, that Holyhead is the biggest passenger port, but Milford Haven is the biggest energy port, and some 5,000 jobs are reliant on the energy that comes through the port of Milford Haven. But there are other developments and opportunities there that I want to address in the context of this report—a very good report from the committee—as well. I won’t repeat what’s been said about Brexit and the need to retain a soft border between Wales and Ireland—I think that’s very, very clear in the comments I made in an intervention on the Chair—but I also just want to say this: wouldn’t it be ironic if we get rid of the tolls on the Cleddau bridge between the two sides of Milford Haven port, within an enterprise zone, at the same time as we have tolls coming in on goods that are coming through the port, or individuals coming through the port? I think that’s just so ironic and so disrespectful, if I can almost put it that way, of the Welsh economy and the way we need to develop the economy in our ports, and Milford Haven in particular.

Now, one of the things that is developing in Milford Haven is the alternative energy developments there, and so we want to see—. And there’s a link here with the marine plan that we want to see from the Welsh Government. We want to see some sort of decision on the tidal lagoon, because there are engineering companies in the port of Milford Haven that could be part of developing a tidal lagoon in Swansea bay and wider. On Friday, I’m looking forward to visiting Ledwood Engineering and the WaveSub unveiling that’s going on there—another alternative wave power device. So, we know the richness of our seas, not only in fish but in energy and in tourism, and the ports are the gateways to exploit that economy. I hope that we’ll see—. Next week, I think, there’s a statement from the UK Government on green and clean industrial development of some sort. Let’s see if there’s a commitment there to the tidal lagoon, which is really what we want to see.

I think there are two opportunities as well, for Milford Haven, that I’d like to see explored further by the Welsh Government. Let’s take fishing, to start with: traditionally not seen as a big thing that we major on in Wales, but that’s because our fishing quotas have basically been sold to the Belgians for the last 40 years. When we do have a reconfiguration, coming out of the European Union, we need to ask ourselves whether we can do something around a quota—that’s landing our quota, if you see what I mean—whether we can have a way that the Scottish Government has been suggesting, that a certain amount of the Welsh quota has to be landed at Welsh ports, so, once again, we can stamp things ‘landed in Wales’ or ‘landed at the port of Milford Haven’ and grow our own then—more fish processing and other ideas around that. The Chesapeake bay that David Melding speaks of isn’t far from Milford Haven. A lot of the shellfish could be landed there, processed there—as well as those links with the Irish shellfish industry and fishing industry, including fish farming, which is developing in Ireland and needs markets coming through Wales. So, there’s an opportunity to develop our fishing industry and to review the 10m rule around boats as well, because that’s been something that’s been just enshrined in European legislation. In our ports, we can review that.

The second idea has already been mentioned I think, which is the free ports idea. Now, usually, within a customs union, you wouldn’t really want free ports, not when you’ve got a big trading bloc. But there is the opportunity to look at tightly defined areas where excise duty or duties are not exercised, are not raised, in order to allow transit of goods through them. This may be a workable solution in terms of the border between Ireland and Wales. This may be a solution, and one of the areas that that could be applied to is Milford Haven. I’m sure that, if there were to be development of the free port idea by the Welsh Government, then Holyhead and also Cardiff Wales airport would all be very interested in seeing how that could be developed. But it’s a possible practical solution in order to unlock some of the difficulties around coming out of the customs union, though I would put on record my own belief that we should remain in the customs union, as the most appropriate and practical way of dealing with the issue of ports and Brexit.

So, I hope, whatever happens, we will pay attention to our Welsh ports as real economic drivers and as areas that employ a great deal of people in my region and ones that I want to see taken seriously by the Welsh Government. To that, I very much welcome the report, as it at least puts this on the political map.