Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Although there has been limited media coverage, the recent statement from the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty was very hard-hitting. I'm therefore pleased to open this Plaid Cymru debate on what our response to that statement should be.

It seems to me that there are a variety of options for any Government when faced with a critical report from the United Nations. The list of countries that have faced critical statements from the UN isn't really a list that any Government should aspire to be on. The UK Government, and their colleagues here, it would seem, has adopted the worst kind of response. Their response is one of denial. It says a great deal, in my view, about the decline of modern-day conservatism that is so ready to accept Trump-style theories about the United Nations being a left-wing conspiracy instead of attempting to engage with this report. Is this what the Conservatives really believe the UN to be? So, we will not be supporting the Conservative amendment.

I now turn to the Government amendment. At least this amendment has the merit of accepting the case made in the report, but at the same time, it deflects any responsibility. And so, we will, of course, be voting against that amendment too.

My colleagues will detail why Wales should have control over the administration of welfare, like Scotland and Northern Ireland. In particular, they'll be looking at the in-built gender bias that universal credit has created, and I'm sure that most Members, if not all Members here, will be aware, for example, of the rape clause, where a woman has to prove that she was raped before she can draw down any support for a third child.

And while Labour will say that all of these matters are for the Tories in Westminster, then how can the SNP and even the DUP bring protections for their populations from the worst of universal credit? Why is Welsh Labour's approach to allow people in Wales to suffer? My colleagues will also be focusing on those aspects of the statement that highlight the inadequacy of this Government's approach to tackling poverty.

The Welsh Government may well point its fingers at London and dish out the blame, but there are clear criticisms in this statement that can't be deflected by blaming austerity. The statement notes the lack of clear performance targets and indicators to measure progress and the impact of the tackling poverty strategy. It notes that, unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, Wales's lack of powers to introduce flexibilities in the administration of universal credit will exacerbate the problems that our people face. Yes, of course, it is outrageous that the Government here has to spend money to mitigate the policies of the UK Government, but you've got to do that anyway. Having control over the administration of universal credit would allow you to actually reduce that cost. How can the Government here still fail to understand that public services face an extra cost when homelessness happens? You face an extra cost when people become chronically ill and malnourished and have to use the NHS. You face an extra cost when schools have to deal with children who can't concentrate because their families rely on food banks. How can the party in Government here continue to want full control to remain in London on this issue due to some pathetic allegiance to a principle about the union offering some shared prosperity when all of the evidence shows that Westminster MPs care little for the prosperity of areas of the union outside the south-east and the home counties.