Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. It’s a pleasure again to be able to contribute to this debate today as Chair of the Finance Committee and to look at our inquiry into the preparations for replacing EU funding for Wales. Although I was not a member of the committee during this inquiry, I have read the evidence with great interest and I’d like to thank all those who gave evidence to the committee during the inquiry. I’d also like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for Finance for his response to our report, and particularly the fact that the Government has accepted all of our recommendations, which is always a help to get any praise from any committee in this place, I’m sure.

We also received a written response to our report from the Secretary of State for Wales. However, the committee was disappointed that the Secretary of State did not fully engage with the committee on this important matter. If Brexit is to be a success for Wales, engagement from a UK level will be vital and this includes the opportunities to be able to do scrutiny work, which is something we didn’t have to the extent that the Members would have wished in this case.

Wales currently receives about £680 million in EU funding per year, and in terms of a per capita comparison this is by far the highest of the devolved nations and the English regions. Most of this funding comes through the structural funds and the common agricultural policy. The committee believes that securing post-Brexit funding will be vital for Wales and they found strong support for the Welsh Government’s position that Wales should be not a penny worse off after Brexit.