Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. As a Welsh Government, it is our view that a 'no deal' Brexit should be unthinkable. As we have already heard, the impacts could be severe and wide ranging. We know that it will be extremely difficult to mitigate the effects of no deal, and that is why we continue to work tirelessly against that possibility, as well as to reduce, so far as we are able, the disastrous impact of such an outcome. Deputy Presiding Officer, I would like to take this opportunity to elaborate on aspects of our 'no deal' action plan and wider work that some of our partners in the public sector, working closely with third sector partners, are doing to prepare.

Local authorities across Wales have responsibility for planning to ensure essential services such as education and social care can respond to all Brexit scenarios. They, and third sector partners, are key to providing a local response to the damaging impact of a 'no deal' Brexit on our communities. From the outset, we recognised this preparation would take significant resource and effort. We provided funding for dedicated Brexit co-ordinators in every local authority across Wales, and for work by the WLGA to support and advise them. This funding of over £1.3 million has enabled every local authority to prepare their own services to respond to 'no deal'.

They have worked with key partners to minimise the impact on our citizens of potential Brexit-related disruption to the ports, food supply chains, increases in the cost of food and fuel, as well as potential disruption to data flow. Disruptions to supply chains may impact food supplies to schools and care homes, or for vulnerable people at home. Any increases in costs of fuel and other goods or barriers for the workforce will impact on transport services and regeneration and construction projects, from housing to twenty-first century schools. Local authorities, like others, have had to work through these issues to explore alternatives and build resilience across their services. 

The impacts go wider than local authority services. Local economies, already hurt by a decade of austerity, are feeling the impacts of 'no deal' uncertainty. The role of local government in supporting local economies is significant, whether through direct support, purchasing decisions or wider regeneration. As part of our summer package of economic stimulus, the Government provided £20 million of capital funding to local authorities to support and stimulate their local economies against the impacts of Brexit. We have also funded the Wales Council for Voluntary Action to support the preparedness of the third sector. They recently published their report 'Empowering Communities'.

Deputy Presiding Officer, it is clear that a chaotic 'no deal' Brexit would impact across the piece, placing greater pressure on our already stretched public services. After years of austerity and cuts by the UK Government, these services can ill afford the consequences of another deep recession and potential increases in food and fuel prices, which could push a larger number of people into poverty and greater dependency on public services.

I want to say a few words about the impact of Brexit, deal or no deal, on our most vulnerable communities and citizens, including the risks for those already living in, or at risk of falling into, poverty. Housing and reducing homelessness is already one of our most urgent priorities. A 'no deal' Brexit will make this situation worse, putting people's livelihoods at risk, and increasing the cost of living, including mortgage and rental costs. That is why, under the first supplementary budget, an additional £50 million worth of capital expenditure was allocated to the social housing grant budget to help offset the economic impact of no deal.

Then, there is the potential for increases in the cost of food, due to economic shock or reduced supply. Demand for food banks has been on the rise for a number of years. Any increase in food prices would be a matter for grave concern. That is why the First Minister recently announced a £2 million fund for tackling food poverty and addressing food insecurity. We are also looking at ways in which our discretionary assistance fund could be used to support those most impacted by a 'no deal' Brexit.

Deputy Presiding Officer, we are absolutely clear about the value we place on those people of other EU nations who have made their homes with us, who contribute to our economy, our public services, civic life and culture. One of the most deplorable aspects of our current circumstances is the anxiety and uncertainty these individuals and families have been left in for so long. Let me be clear: the responsibility for this stands firmly at the door of the UK Government but we are not standing idly by. We have funded Citizens Advice Cymru to support citizens to apply for settled status through our EU citizens’ rights project, as well as funding an immigration advice service to provide more specialist advice.

Deputy Presiding Officer, we know the EU referendum has created divisions in families, communities and society that may take a generation to heal. In some cases, it has led to increased tensions and instances of hate crime. With the uncertainty of a 'no deal' Brexit, these tensions could be exacerbated. Therefore, we have expanded our community cohesion programme, co-ordinated by local authorities, with an additional £1.5 million of European transition funding over the next two years. This funding now supports small teams in each region of Wales to monitor community tensions and promote increased engagement in our communities. We have also increased funding for the national hate crime report and support centre, run by Victim Support Cymru, and developed a new hate crime minority communities grant to support third sector partners working with ethnic minority communities to mitigate the effects of hate crime and prevent it in future.

Of course, we do not hold all the levers to address these issues. Some impacts are outside the control of local government, or indeed Welsh Government, especially where they relate to non-devolved matters or macroeconomic issues. No level of planning and preparation either here, or by the UK Government, will adequately address the level of disruption a 'no deal' exit would mean for the people of Wales. That is why we have been working on 'no deal' Brexit contingency planning since the run up to the initial leaving date in March. The four local resilience forums across Wales have each identified their local risks and they have worked with Welsh Government and key stakeholders to ensure that we are as prepared as we can be to identify and mitigate these risks. We have contributed to the UK Government’s Operation Yellowhammer and continue to work with our partners in Wales to ensure that we have the right structures and processes in place to monitor the impacts and, where necessary, take the appropriate action.

Deputy Presiding Officer, the follow-up to the Auditor General for Wales's report, 'Preparations in Wales for a "no-deal" Brexit', was published on Friday. It observed that there is evidence of a more collaborative approach across Wales's public services and that Brexit planning constitutes the most comprehensive example of cross-Government working that we have seen the Welsh Government undertake to date. I very much welcome these comments and hope that they, alongside my statement, provide some assurance that we and our partners in local government and the third sector are doing all we can to minimise the impact on public services, and on our communities and citizens, of a catastrophic 'no deal' Brexit. May I take this opportunity to put on record my heartfelt thanks to colleagues across both the public and third sectors in Wales for their enormous and ongoing commitment to what can otherwise feel like a somewhat thankless task? Diolch.