Now, questions from the party spokespeople. Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Delyth Jewell.

Diolch, Llywydd. Does the Minister agree that the funding cuts imposed by Westminster since 2010 have caused untold misery to individuals and communities across Wales?

Yes, we are within a period of austerity. Those cuts made by the UK Government have been felt in the lives of the people of Wales, as they have in the lives of people across the UK. We have sought, as a Government, to ameliorate that as far as possible by making different judgments with diminishing budgets, but we know that the impact of austerity on many of our communities will have been a factor in the decisions made in 2016 in relation to the Brexit referendum.

The Minister has stated his view about the damage caused to society by spending cuts, and I agree with the substance of his answer, so let's consider the issue of public spending in the context of Brexit. The UK Government impact analysis released last year projected that UK growth would suffer a hit of between 2 and 8 per cent were Brexit to go ahead, depending on the kind of economic deal agreed between the UK and EU. The lower half of this projection is based on continued UK membership of the EU single market, which Welsh Government does not support. So, Welsh Government is in effect advocating a policy that would lead to a deterioration of at least over 2 per cent to growth, probably a lot more. When you add this to the effect on specific sectors within Wales, on businesses that rely on trade with the EU for their profitability, and the knock-on effect tariff- and non-tariff barriers would have on jobs and working conditions, the impact on the Welsh economy would be substantial and severe. Minister, do you agree that leaving the EU would exacerbate the effects of austerity in Wales?

Well, the Member rightly highlights the UK Government's own economic analysis, which demonstrates significant damage to the Welsh economy, as to the UK economy at large. We have been clear that our view as a Government is that the Welsh economy is best protected as part of the European Union, but the policy described in 'Securing Wales' Future', which describes the kind of post-Brexit relationship with the European Union that we feel respects the 2016 referendum, but also does the least damage to the Welsh economy—a policy that was agreed with her party—remains our view of the best kind of Brexit for Wales if we are to leave the European Union. 

Minister, the sort of deal that Labour is advocating would mean leaving the European single market and customs union, and this would cause untold damage to the UK economy, leading to further reductions in the Welsh Government's budgets, and it would damage the Welsh economy directly, leading to the closure of businesses and the loss of jobs. And it's not just Plaid Cymru saying this; Welsh Labour MPs Owen Smith, Tonia Antoniazzi and Anna McMorrin agree, and Welsh Labour AMs Alun Davies, Lynne Neagle and Vaughan Gething agree. And last night, in his speech to mark the twentieth anniversary of devolution, the First Minister said that cuts to public finances were directly related to an increase in child poverty, the use of food banks and homelessness in Wales.

Your Government seems determined to prioritise party political expediency over protecting the welfare of the most vulnerable people in society by supporting Jeremy Corbyn's decision to enter into talks with the Tories over a possible Brexit deal. Shouldn't your Welsh Labour Government be defending Welsh economic interests by taking all possible steps to stay in the EU, rather than supporting Mr Corbyn, who is in talks to help the Conservatives to implement their hard Brexit policy?

And, finally, let me turn now to the only way this catastrophe can be avoided, which is, of course, giving the people the opportunity to step back from the brink by holding a people's vote with an option to remain. Last week, the First Minister stated that the Welsh Government policy on a people's vote was, and I quote, that

'if the UK Parliament cannot unite around an alternative proposition that includes participation in the single market and a customs union, then the only option that remains is to give the decision back to the people.'

Since then, the Labour Party has announced its policy for the European election, which includes an extra caveat, namely that they would seek to force a general election before supporting a referendum if no Brexit deal is agreed. Minister—and I would ask you please to answer this question directly because I've noticed in the past you've answered questions on issues that we agree on in commendably meticulous detail, but you have sometimes overlooked questions that might perhaps make you a little uncomfortable—is it now Welsh Government policy to seek a general election ahead of a people's vote if a Brexit deal acceptable to the Labour Party is not agreed?

Well, I thank the Member for her advice on how to answer the questions. I think perhaps sometimes it's easy to lose track of the number of questions in any particular response. But I will do my best to answer the key questions at least. In relation to her description of the Welsh Government's position, which remains, as I will say again, as described in the policy document agreed with her party, it is not a question of being outside a customs union. We have called for a permanent custom's union with the European Union and close alignment to the single market. So, I just wish to clarify that misunderstanding. And I do reject the point about party political expediency. There are difficult judgments to be made in reconciling the response that the British public gave in 2016 with what we understand in this place, on these benches, and on her party's benches, I know, to be the damage caused to the Welsh economy as a consequence of Brexit. What we have judged to be the best way to reconcile that is as described in 'Securing Wales' Future'. If we are not able to achieve something that reflects the principles in that document, then our policy remains, as it has been, and endorsed by this Assembly on at least two separate occasions, that a people's vote is an alternative means of resolving the situation. We have, in fact, called on the UK Government to take steps to prepare for that eventuality, and I most recently raised that directly with David Lidington in my conversation with him of 11 April. 

Conservative spokesperson, Darren Millar.

Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, can you give us an update on the steering committee that was established to look at the delivery mechanisms for future structural funds?

Yes. That has been meeting under the chairmanship of Huw Irranca-Davies. The objective is to advise the Welsh Government on how, in future, we can deploy regional investment in Wales, learning from the experience of using those funds during our time as members of the European Union, and to find a means of aligning that with the sectors that have benefited across Wales, and to do that in a way that is innovative and provides new and fresh ideas as to how we could do that.

I'm grateful for the update. I note that the membership of this steering committee is not in the public domain. I don't know who the other members are and I think it would be very useful if the Welsh Government could share that information with Members, to ensure that it is a properly representative committee that will seriously look at the failings of the previous use of structural funds in Wales, which, of course, have failed to deliver the sea change to our economy that you, your Government, previous Governments, had promised in terms of the use of structural funds. Do you accept that previous structural funds were squandered, in many respects, by the Welsh Government? Do you accept that there's some responsibility on the Welsh Government for the failure to use those funds to boost our Welsh economy, particularly given that our gross value added, our productivity and our wages are behind many other parts of the UK, and we remain one of the poorest nations—certainly in west Wales and the valleys—of all of Europe?

I don't accept that at all. I think you will have heard the exchanges earlier in the Chamber on the benefits that have accrued to people in Wales in terms of skills enhancements, in terms of productivity, over the last decades. I think that the Member's efforts could be better focused in seeking to persuade his friends in Westminster to live up to their commitment to ensure that Wales doesn't suffer a penny lost or a power lost as a consequence of leaving the European Union. We are waiting for those commitments, they have not been lived up to, and it's about time that they should be.

I'm here to ask questions of this Government that serves the people of Wales. And I think that it's very important that people recognise the failures of your Government, and previous administrations, to properly manage the European funds that were at their disposal. We've gone backwards in terms of our wage growth when compared to—as a proportion—other parts of the UK. And I find it pretty appalling, frankly, that you're not prepared to acknowledge the failures in a way that other Labour backbenchers, and Ministers previously, have acknowledged in terms of the way that those funds have been spent.

Can I ask you a question in terms of the way that your Government hopes to distribute those funds? You will be aware that the UK Government is keen to establish a shared prosperity fund, that those funds will be available to Wales, and that there are many parts of Wales that are not able to benefit from the current European structural funds that would likely be able to benefit under different arrangements through a UK shared prosperity fund. Do you accept that many people don't trust the Welsh Government to distribute funds in Wales, given the way that you carve up local government settlements, given the way that you carve up other funding, and seem to distribute it in places according to your political preferences, rather than those places that actually need the sort of investment that is actually available?

And can you tell us what the timetable for the work of this steering committee that has been established actually is, in terms of the recommendations that it might make, and whether you will put in the public domain all of the minutes of those meetings, who attends them, and precisely the agenda that those meetings have going forward? Because I think many people will want to see the range of activity that is being undertaken by the Welsh Government in order to look at how you might manage structural funds in the future, given the failures of the past.

Well, I reject the outrageous allegations the Member just made in the Chamber. I think that the allegations of mismanagement are completely inappropriate—completely inappropriate. The opportunity that the work of the steering group represents, and indeed the work of the commission that's been given to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, is to seek the best possible input into how these policies are devised in future. The Welsh Government allocates this money at an arm's length through Welsh European Funding Office, as he will very well know. And so the particular points that he makes are completely unacceptable and inappropriate.

Looking forward, there is an opportunity to look at how we manage regional investment in Wales in a way that enables them to be better aligned with priorities that we have in Wales, better aligned with investment that Welsh Government might make through other sources and, indeed, that local government might make through other sources across Wales. All of those are significant prizes, if we can devise the right way forward.

But, again, I would say to him that, if he thinks that the solution to this is a UK-Government-managed fund, he needs to look at the failures of the UK Government in its work in Wales over the last few years. And if he thinks that people don't trust the Welsh Government to manage these funds—I think he's being very, very optimistic if he thinks that anybody in Wales might trust the UK Government to manage these funds better.