Diolch, Llywydd. I'd very much like to thank Plaid Cymru for bringing forward the debate today and thank Members for their very considered contributions. I'll say at the outset that the Government will be supporting Plaid Cymru's motion today. 

Plaid argue in their motion very clearly that the decision on whether to go ahead with the proposed M4 corridor around a Newport project should be left to the new First Minister appointed in December 2018, subject to the findings of the local public inquiry. Should the statutory Orders be made, it will be for a new First Minister and her or his Cabinet to ultimately make a decision to enter into the construction contract that would enable the scheme to proceed. However, it is important that the current process concerning the statutory Orders is allowed to run its course, and, accordingly, it's the intention of the current First Minister, Carwyn Jones, on behalf of the Welsh Ministers, to make a decision on those statutory Orders if at all possible during this Assembly term, on the basis of recommendations made in the inspector's report.

Obviously, the First Minister has not yet seen the inspector's report, we are waiting on the advice from the officials, including legal advice, to go with that report in order to enable him to make that decision. On making that decision, the inspector's report will immediately be published. And, just to be really clear, because I know that we've had clarity issues across this, we've queried what 'immediately' means in a legal context in this way, and, effectively, the report will be appended to the decision notice that makes the Orders, or doesn't make the Orders—one way or the other—because obviously you can go either way with that decision. After that's happened, we will schedule a debate and a vote in the Assembly in Government time, if we are able to do that within the time frame of this particular Government. As I've said, the decision to enter into a binding construction contract for the delivery of the scheme, should the Orders be made, would be a matter to be taken forward by the new First Minister and her or his Cabinet in the new year.

Llywydd, the Welsh Government officials who received the independent inspector's report, following the public inquiry, are in the process of preparing detailed advice for the First Minister on the basis of those recommendations. That advice, which includes the complex legal advice, will inform a decision under the relevant legislation as to whether or not to make the statutory Orders. This is an executive decision for Ministers under the Highways Act 1980 and the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 that needs to be based on the content of a detailed report produced by a planning inspector following a lengthy public inquiry. There is no legal role within that decision-making process for the legislature. However, once the statutory Order decision-making process is complete, we will bring forward the debate in Government time so the Assembly can express its own view on the project.