Thank you, Llywydd. Superficially, at least, much has changed since we last had the opportunity to take stock of the Brexit process. I'm sure most Members will have welcomed the decision of the extraordinary meeting of the European Council to agree to an extension to the article 50 deadline until 31 October. The decision has meant that we have averted, for now at least, the prospect of a chaotic 'no deal' Brexit, a situation that would have been impossible for the country to prepare properly for. It has provided a breathing space, and an opportunity to reflect. What is has not provided is the certainty that a 'no deal' Brexit will not happen; it has merely moved the horizon. 

Of course, as I and other colleagues have made clear, we in the Welsh Government have been doing everything we can within our control to mitigate the likely consequences of a 'no deal' outcome. And here I would like to pay tribute to the immensely hard work undertaken by staff across the whole Government and the broader public sector over many months to undertake the planning and preparations needed for this contingency. We have seen the civil service and public services in Wales at their best. Given the extension, the intensity of our preparations has been revised accordingly. We will keep this, of course, under constant review, but just as it is incumbent on us to prepare, it is also incumbent on us to manage resources responsibly and respond when the details have changed.

Yet, particularly at a time of such severe austerity, when our public services are under enormous pressure, it is nothing short of scandalous that resources have had to be diverted in this way. For what? Simply to protect the Welsh people against a threat that could have been averted had the UK Government recognised much earlier that the deal it had negotiated was unsalvageable and asked for a long extension.