Due to these actions at the UK level, the specific recommendation made by the committee may no longer be necessary, but the principles that lie behind it remain important. In her recent response, the Minister also outlined the work Welsh Government has been undertaking in seeking to contribute to and shape the development of migration policy in the UK. It is a concern, however, that the Government’s position on this still appears to be 'wait and see' before deciding on differential rules, rather than taking a proactive approach, as we recommended. We note that the Welsh Government intends to engage with the Home Office to highlight its main aims for the HE sector. While we welcome this approach, as a committee, we will be monitoring this closely and will seek regular updates on progress.

Finally on this point, we note the publication on Monday of the report 'Migration in Wales' by the Wales Centre for Public Policy. The committee has not had an opportunity to consider this, but we note it is not focused on students. We will reflect on its content as we monitor the ongoing work of the Welsh Government.

I turn now to the effect of Brexit on programmes like Erasmus+ and Horizon. In both the oral and written evidence the committee received, there was complete consensus about the value and importance of international mobility placements for students and staff. We heard clearly that, despite Erasmus+ being only one of several mobility schemes, continued participation in it post Brexit 'would still be hugely beneficial'.

And, as outlined in the report, the committee believes the Welsh Government is doing all it can to maintain Erasmus+ participation. However, students need assurances, especially to confirm that they will face no financial disruption to their mobilities in the short term and in the event of a 'no deal' Brexit. Recommendation 7 of the committee’s report sets out how we believe the Welsh Government can help ensure this. We were therefore concerned that the Welsh Government’s response offered no assurances in this respect to students expecting, or required, to undertake an international mobility placement in 2019-20. As we've already outlined, there must be a clear focus on reducing uncertainty for students and providers and urge the Government to do so.

The third area to focus on today is meeting skills demands after Brexit. The evidence received during the inquiry painted a very clear picture that, through their more local focus and skills-based curricula, further education colleges are particularly sensitive to the strength of their local economies and employers. They also have a key role in meeting skills demand. It is almost inevitable, therefore, that any negative economic impacts from Brexit will also have a negative impact on the FE sector, and further education colleges will need to respond to any changes in skills demands resulting from Brexit.

The committee strongly believes that colleges have a fundamental role to play in any plans the Welsh Government has to upskill workers in economic sectors that may be exposed to risk from Brexit. Recommendation 11 in the report therefore calls on Welsh Government to commit to working jointly with the FE sector to develop and publish a plan to identify and respond to any changing skills demands. We welcome the Minister’s response setting out that proposals for skills projects funded by the EU transition funds are being prepared and that the future skills system in Wales will be demand-led. The additional information provided by the Minister last week also provides some further detail on the work being carried out and the proposals being developed. This additional response does suggest that the aims of Welsh Government and the committee appear to be fundamentally the same in this respect, which is very much welcomed.

One final point I would like to make is in relation to the committee’s recommendation 12 relating to funding the Reid review’s recommendations. We very much welcome the Minister’s announcement last week of an extra £6.6 million to support higher education research. We believe that research and innovation are of fundamental importance to the prosperity of Wales and that the Welsh Government must do all it can to fund the remaining recommendations from the Reid review.

In closing, Deputy Llywydd, I would like to highlight one of the key messages from the inquiry: Brexit will undoubtedly have a deeply disruptive impact on both the higher and FE sectors. While we recognise that there are shared themes across both sectors, we are very aware that the impact of Brexit on both will be very different. In looking to do all we can to help mitigate any disruption, it is vital that we do not simply conflate the very visible impacts on our universities with the impacts on our colleges, which are, on the whole, more locally rooted. I want to make a very clear commitment to both sectors today that, as a committee, we will continue to monitor closely the work the Welsh Government is undertaking to help ensure that it and we do all we can to protect education in Wales from the effects of Brexit in whatever form it takes. Thank you.