3. Will the Counsel General provide an update on the impact of Brexit preparations on Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OQ56011

Leaving the transition period, even with a deal, will have profound implications for businesses and communities across Wales, including Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney. We are doing all we can as a Government to prepare, and our end-of-transition action plan sets out the issues we face and the actions we are taking to support Wales. I would encourage everyone in Wales to visit the Preparing Wales website for advice on how to prepare for the end of transition.

Thank you for that response, Minister. And for some considerable time, we've all been awaiting the vitally important details of the Prime Minister's oven-ready deal, which of course, as we now all know, never really existed. And as has already been pointed out, we're still also waiting for details of how Wales will benefit specifically from the elusive shared prosperity fund.

In my constituency, like many others in Wales, I have major employers who trade with the European Union. They depend on supplies that are from and come through the European Union into Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney. Would you agree that as 2020 draws to a close, not only are we faced with a shambolic situation, but also a very uncertain future for many jobs in our communities, because the Prime Minister of the UK lied to the people of this country? And can you tell me what are the latest representations that the Welsh Government has made to bring pressure on the UK Government to help ensure that constituencies like mine are not left behind in this Brexit shambles?

I think Dawn Bowden's question cuts to the heart of the issue here. We face today a situation, less than a month before the end of transition, where none of us in this Chamber know the basis on which we will conduct our relationships with the European Union on 1 January. I know that in her constituency and right across Wales there are businesses and organisations crying out for that certainty, and fearful of the consequence, in particular, of leaving without any sort of trading relationship. The huge disruption and economic damage that that will bring; it's hard to overestimate the risks that we'll face. There will be employers in her constituency, in mine, and in others who know already that they'll face additional costs for customs declarations, customs paperwork and new red tape, but they're waiting to find out whether they will now have to pay tariffs, how their products will be treated, how component parts in the supply chains that she mentioned will be treated, and how standards will be treated in their international trade arrangements. Those are all fundamental to how businesses conduct themselves and, crucially, impose significant costs on how businesses and employers trade. I know, therefore, that she would be hopeful, as I am, that a trading relationship can be agreed, but also she will know, as I know, that at this point in time that trading relationship will not be of the quality that is required to put employers and exporters in Wales in the best possible position.