May I also start by expressing my personal thanks to Meri Huws? She prepared the ground, after all, and that wasn't always easy: the overreaction of the previous Minister to the establishment of the standards, the erosion of her budget and her freedom in delivering her responsibilities in promoting the Welsh language weren't easy things for her to deal with. And for me, coming to this portfolio without any background in it and restricted language skills, her encouragement and her support was something that I continue to appreciate. So, thank you, Meri.

Certainly, we agreed that we needed to change the system of inquiring into complaints. There isn't much contained on this within the report, probably because of the failure of the proposals for new legislation. However, these issues were raised again in the report of the culture committee published recently, and I do hope that Aled Roberts will continue to press for reform of this system. We need to conduct thorough inquiries into complaints, but in a way that is proportionate, with some discretion about the professional views, as the Minister has already said, in terms of the best possible way of resolving any complaint.

So, I'm pleased to see two specific things in this report: an understanding that certain rights can be more valuable than others—and I'll return to that point in a few moments' time—and how the commissioner's enforcement powers have been used. I note the diversity of complaints, but it appears that the emphasis in most of them has been on positive performance for the future rather than penalties for failure, and if standards are to succeed, then it’s far better that we see rights being delivered more and more, and a greater understanding as to why that is a positive thing, rather than penalising and causing ill feeling.

And that's why I was particularly pleased to see the work on dementia. This is a case where a right to Welsh language services isn't a matter of choice, it's a matter of real need. In terms of priorities, some rights are more valuable than others. But the report was published on this work a year ago, and it’s not acceptable to wait so long for a response from Government on this. This will be a significant response—it will help us to understand the Welsh Government’s response to other areas where rights are a requirement, rather than just being desirable: speech and language therapy, for example; dealing with those with additional learning needs; and ensuring that we have clinicians who are able to work through the medium of Welsh is an ongoing issue.

I'm also looking forward to having a better understanding of the role of the commissioner in terms of legislation on the new curriculum, implementing the continuum and creating fair examination systems. And the report refers to the commissioner’s work on Welsh-medium education. Now, I would have liked to have seen specific references to other teaching locations, not just Welsh medium, because Welsh language rights, as safeguarded by standards, are relevant to everybody, but we haven't yet reached a position where we can be sure that learners appreciate those rights and are eager to exercise them.

Now, I don't know why the Welsh Government is taking so long to approve the good-practice guidance, but that's only half the story, in any case. As the commissioner has now reacquired the powers to promote the Welsh language, I hope that he will promote Welsh language rights for future speakers as well as current speakers.

Everybody working in this wider area—the councils, schools, the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, the National Centre for Learning Welsh, the mentrau—all of them should be judged according to their impact, not their activities. And the same should be true of the commissioner. He isn't only a language policeman, of course—he is a midwife for a bilingual Wales.

And, finally, the budget. If the commissioner is going to continue to share responsibility for promotion, then, therefore, the funding must also be shared, and the pot must be enhanced. We will see how this memorandum of understanding between the commissioner and Government will work. I hope that it does.

But I have some other concerns about budgets, specifically the seeming failure to plan for salary increases and justification on the figure for unexpected events. I think those could have been explained a little more fully in the report, but the main story is the pressure to use reserves. The culture committee has heard about that, but if there is any way that the Government and the commissioner could collaborate appropriately on this, I would be very pleased to see that happening. Thank you.