I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement and for the opportunity to discuss many similar issues in the past, with the Minister too. May I just start with the point that the Cabinet Secretary finished with? I'm pleased to hear that he's confident that things have improved in Powys, but in looking at three issues—the report on children's services, the report today on adult services and, of course, the work that he has done on governance within Powys council—we do see that, broadly speaking, it's the same people who are improving the service now who were responsible for the initial problems. Although they've changed their functions, they are still part of the same group, to all intents and purposes, who have been there since some of the decisions were taken, particularly the budgetary decisions that led us into these particular problems.

So, may I start with that overview by welcoming Mohammed Mehmet and wishing him well as he starts in his role as interim chief executive, and may I say that myself and other Members met, about a week ago, with senior officials and the council leader? We were certainly impressed with the answers given by the senior officers. I think they have a grip on the situation now, but as the Minister with responsibility for local government, are you of the opinion that the lack of capacity that had been highlighted has now been addressed in terms of senior staff, in terms of the Cabinet's understanding of their role in driving this work forward in Powys, and in terms of the funding allocation to address these problems? So, in terms of the lack of capacity and those three specific issues, are you now content, in the light of your meeting today, with those areas?

If I could turn to the report published today, of course, we're discussing that in the context of a far worse report in the context of children's services, which will colour our response. It's difficult to know how we would have responded to today's report if we hadn't seen the earlier report. Because, as Russell George mentioned, many of the things that should have happened are now in the pipeline, and we welcome that, of course, but one of the things that both reports have in common is a lack of understanding—and not just a lack of understanding, but the absence of any understanding—of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. Are you of the opinion that the training is now in place in order to ensure that every officer in Powys who has responsibilities under that Act is now getting that necessary training?

The second thing that both reports have in common is the staff turnover—with staff moving, churn, a lack of continuity in terms of staff. It's been suggested to me that the more stringent regime has driven some staff to decide that they want to leave the service, but it's still staff turnover, and staff do need to understand the situation in Powys and be clear about their responsibilities. So, what's responsible for this lack of understanding? Is it the natural turnover of staff—the natural churn? Is it the nature of Powys as a rural authority? Is it the fact that they are dealing with cross-border issues in England too? Are you now content that that issue has been addressed, particularly in relation to training?

One of the other things that emerges from the report today is that deferred care for adults is having an impact on broader services in Powys, in hospitals and care specifically. So, I would like to know whether you have more to say about tackling that particular issue too.

Finally, one of the things that I think has brought us to this situation in Powys is the political culture that's existed in the council in the past: a lack of challenge, a problem in terms of sharing information, a lack of transparency among some senior cabinet members. That may be changing. I am aware that some political groups are now more eager to hold people to account and, in that context, are you of the view that the council itself is giving sufficient support and training, and support in the broadest sense, to the opposition parties and to individual councillors so that they can hold the current cabinet to account, and that they have the necessary tools to understand those problems and to be part of the solution to those problems too?