I first met Carl when he was elected to the Assembly in 2003, and as we've heard, he took great pride in representing his constituency, and as some here, I think, will remember, when local issues arose, he was sometimes keen to differentiate himself from the regional AMs for north Wales who, of course, covered the whole of the area. And often, he would preface his contributions in the Chamber with, 'As the directly-elected Member for Alyn and Deeside', before going on to make a point or ask a question. I think that struck many of us, in terms of Carl being intent on making an impact and a significant contribution here in the Assembly right from the very beginning, which, of course, he certainly did. Making that transition that others have spoken about from shop-floor factory work and town council to Assembly Member and Welsh Government Cabinet, and making that transition with apparent ease—when you start thinking about that, that's quite a phenomenon.

But we also know that when Carl did arrive in Government he was in no way content to relax and reflect upon that journey. He was absolutely determined to make lives better for people in Wales through the opportunity he had in Government. I think we would all say that he showed real ability, commitment and passion to make that difference for people, in developing and implementing policy and in the legislation—the future generations Act, the legislation on homelessness, the legislation on domestic abuse and others. And I think it was always clear that Carl was always concerned with actually doing things. It wasn't about holding a position, it was about using that position and doing meaningful things for social justice for our communities and people here in Wales.

I certainly count Carl as a great colleague and friend. As Assembly Members and serving in the Cabinet together, he was always very easy to work with, and always had time to talk and discuss. As a Minister taking forward cross-cutting policy, cross-portfolio policy, it wasn't always easy to work jointly with other members of the Government, but when you had that task and you had to meet Carl, you knew that you would always get constructive engagement, and I think that's what was Carl was about. It wasn't about any sort of personal rivalries, it was about getting things done, getting things done jointly and working together. 

Most recently, as Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, myself and the committee worked co-operatively with him, in his Cabinet Secretary for communities role, on our reports on scrutiny, domestic violence, asylum seekers and refugees, Communities First and fire safety, and on pieces of legislation. And true to form, I think what we had from Carl was exactly what we would have expected: he was ready to listen and compromise, but also to stand firm if convinced of the merits or otherwise of a particular proposal or suggestion.

As we've heard, everyone loves a character, and Carl certainly was a character. He was invariably full of fun and warmth, and that was on full display when, together with other Labour AM friends and partners, we travelled north for Carl's fortieth birthday party at Connah's Quay Labour Club—with karaoke, of course. It was just so clear there, so plain to see, how knitted into his community Carl was, how much he was a part of that community, and how much he was respected and valued—and, of course, respected across the political parties and loved by so many in and outside the Assembly: family and friends, his community, Labour colleagues here, throughout the party and movement in Wales and beyond, and in groups and organisations he worked with as a Minister. Our wonderful catering staff and general staff here in the Assembly I know had a very soft spot for Carl, and, as Lesley said, he was a particular favourite of the Welsh Government drivers who, as Lesley also said, I know have many stories to tell.

It is very difficult to accept that Carl will not be around anymore—in this Chamber, at our committees, in the Assembly, in his Alyn and Deeside constituency. He is a great loss to us all, but, of course, most of all, to Bernie, to Jack, to Lucy, to Carl's parents, and our thoughts are very much with them at this time and in the time to come.