I just want to pay my tribute as well to the work of Huw Vaughan Thomas for the eight years that he served as auditor general. Six of those he spent with me as the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, and I have to say that he was always extremely professional. He maintained absolutely his independence, and of course he pulled no punches in the reports that he published. Many of those reports would regularly hit the headlines, as they have done since.

I think it's testament to his work that the committee was able to undertake a number of reforms as well in the last Assembly, as a result of the sound advice and the wisdom that was given to us by the auditor general in terms of adapting our own working practices. I can recall many a meeting in different parts of the UK when the committee went to meet with audit committees up in Scotland, in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland, and it's fair to say that the respect that was there amongst his counterparts in those legislatures was extremely high in terms of the regard in which Huw was held.

And, of course, it is important to point out that for much of the decades of public service that Huw has given to the nation of the UK and this nation of Wales, the biggest proportion of that has been here in our country. On behalf of the people of north Wales and my own constituents, I want to put on record Huw's contribution as chief executive of Denbighshire for a number of years—a local authority that had its challenges during his tenure there, but, again, one that was under good leadership during his time in office.

I think it's also just important to put on record that Huw has not just made a huge impact in terms of his contribution to the public sector, but also to the charitable sector over the years. He's held many roles on a number of charities that also, of course, benefit the public, not least his work as chair of the National Registers of Communication Professionals Working with Deaf and Deafblind People and of course the national trustee status that he held with RNID in Wales, and of course roles on the Prince's Trust and other organisations too. I think it's important to reflect that when you give work out, giving it to a busy person is very often the way to make sure that things are done. And I know that Huw's time was not his own very often, and that he will cherish, no doubt, the extra time that he will now have to be able to focus on his own personal interests. But I wish him every success in his retirement. I think his CBE was richly deserved in the birthday honours list, and I look forward very much to seeing what role Huw will play in the future of Wales as we go forward.

Just one final comment. We've referred to the strains on Assembly Members at times and our capacity to work. I couldn't help but notice that the Llywydd made a statement on the future of the Assembly earlier on today. It's worth reflecting on the fact that, of course, Huw Vaughan Thomas did serve on the Richard commission way back when, which made some clear recommendations about the capacity of this National Assembly, and his sage advice on the Richard commission, I believe, still stands today. If there's something else that I think it's important for us to reflect on, it's the advice that he gave as a member of that Richard commission on the capacity of this Assembly, and in particular the numbers of Assembly Members.