I'd like to raise the matter of the Welsh independent living grant with you, Trefnydd. I wrote to the Welsh Government in the middle of last month asking for a clear timetable for carrying out assessments and restoring financial packages for disabled people who lost out when the independent living fund was abolished. I've not yet received a reply. On behalf of disabled people and their families who welcome the Government's change of heart on this matter, can you give any indication as to when those warm words will be matched by deeds? I would very much welcome a statement.

I want to raise the issue of poverty and neglect in our former industrial areas, especially in the Valleys. Unemployment is too high, food bank usage is unacceptably high, opportunities are few and far between, and too many young people are desperate to leave. To compound matters, austerity has put paid to many of the support networks that were once able to catch people when they fell. This has become a critical issue now for many communities. In my street surgeries in the Rhondda in recent months, I've found plenty of people who feel like they're under siege. 'We've nothing left' is how one woman in Maerdy summed things up; 'Our communities are being allowed to die' said another. So, what can the Valleys taskforce do to help places like the Rhondda that have unemployment levels almost twice as high as the Welsh national average and more than twice as high as the UK level? There are some fantastic projects being carried out by volunteers. How can they be supported, rather than hindered? Can, for example, funds be set aside to enable local authorities to take back some of the services that they abandoned in recent years? After all, we have been told that austerity is over. We can't just abandon these communities. You've got a part to play in making sure that unemployment and poverty are tackled, yet I'm seeing nothing radical enough to do the job. So, I would appreciate some concerted action, a clear plan on what you're doing to help prevent some of our communities from sinking.