Cabinet Secretary, can I thank you for your statement today on the White Paper and also welcome the paper you published on reforming UK funding and fiscal arrangements after Brexit? At the weekend, Cabinet Secretary, you warned that a hard Brexit could throw the UK to the wolves with the spectre of a chaotic Tory Brexit looming over Wales and a hard right Brexit amounting to an attack on workers as a result of deregulation. Can I ask whether you have any confidence that this can be resisted, and can you clarify whether you believe the Welsh Government will have influence or the levers to safeguard employment rights in Wales as a result of this White Paper?

In the First Minister's speech yesterday, he reminded us of the Welsh Government's position and the four priorities laid out in 'Securing Wales' Future', agreed with Plaid Cymru, which has stood the test of time, including, as he said, retaining the social, environmental, employment and consumer protections we enjoy. In their White Paper, the UK Government does state:

'Existing workers' rights enjoyed under EU law will continue to be available in UK law on the day of withdrawal.' 

But in your statement today you raise a number of questions, as well as giving the views at this point—difficult though it may be—of the Welsh Government. But one of your questions in your statement is:

'how will the UK Government provide sufficient guarantees to the EU-27 on environmental and labour market standards, to ensure that there is a genuine level playing field?'

Can we be confident that we will have the influence to safeguard these rights?

The Women's Equality Network, which I've mentioned already to the First Minister today, is making representations to the UN Convention on the elimination of discrimination against women. They're making these representations in a report this week. It's calling on the UK Government to enshrine the rights of women currently protected in EU legislation in domestic law to guarantee that no women's rights or human rights will be lost post Brexit. But, Cabinet Secretary, how likely is it that this can be achieved, considering the UK Government's rejection of the EU charter of fundamental rights and their current state of political paralysis?

I thank you for your statement and would ask you to ensure that the valid points you made last weekend about threats to workers' and particularly women's rights, if there is a hard Brexit, can be included in your dialogue, including Rebecca Evans, when you meet with UK Ministers in Cardiff on 1 August.