You did refer to the issue of more acceptable law in normal times and the resources and the programme that we can expect. It is fair to say that the programme for consolidation, the work on codification, the work on the development of the resources around the development of the accessibility to Welsh law is a tricky one, because the demands on the expertise and skills of the Welsh lawyers, the Welsh legal services, are tied up in many ways. One of those of course is the legislative programme. There is still obviously a lot of work that is under way in respect of the leaving of the European Union; that hasn't gone away, and of course there is still a lot of legislation and I suspect there will be more in respect of the COVID situation.

It is also, I think, fair to refer to the fact that many of the demands in respect of legal service are of course those that are set by the UK Government. We have 32 items of legislation; many of them, which when they're announced, we're not given the details of until the very last minute, yet we have to respond, we have to consider the implications for the Senedd, the impact on the integrity of devolution, the relationship to the various responsibilities that we have, and of course we then have to engage in the legislative consent process. Those demands are absolutely enormous and we have had to accommodate, I think, in terms of the programme that we have.

So, I've identified some of the work that is under way already in respect of the accessibility, the technical accessibility of Welsh law, knowing what it is, where it is, the accessibility of that. We also have to have regard to the accessibility of law and the fact that it is not just about practitioners, officials and lawyers who want to access the law and know what it is; it is actually about the people of Wales. And of course, I think the point you were getting to was the point that I've regularly made, and that is really the impact of cuts in legal aid and restrictions of legal aid by the UK Government that have actually excluded access to the law for so many people, and that is why the Welsh Government has introduced a considerable amount of support and funding in respect of advice services. It is not an adequate replacement for a proper legal aid system, but it does contribute in some particular way.

You raised the issue of the cost. The cost will depend upon the scale of work that is involved, firstly in terms of the work that's gone on, for example, with the commission, with the further work that may be ongoing, the work in respect of, for example, the coal tip safety work that the commission are doing, and of course a number of areas that we will obviously want to explore further. Firstly, in respect of some legislation work with regard to removing obsolete—a consolidation Bill to remove obsolete provisions; that is to clean up, to some extent, the Welsh statute book. But other areas that we will look at and we will explore will be around the area of public health, housing, building regulations, allotments, hazardous substances and, of course, we've already referred to the issue of planning. So, it is an ongoing process.

When the Legislation (Wales) Act was passed, of course, it was not just about laying this programme, but also annual reports, so that Members will have the opportunity on an annual basis to scrutinise the progress of the process of reform, codification, consolidation and the work that is going on in respect of the accessibility of Welsh law.

I hope that I have answered all those points. Just one final comment, I suppose, in respect of the issues you raised about access. Of course, you'll see that my statement and the report that has been tabled do refer in some detail to the work that is going on to look at how this process can be complemented by the use of technology, the use of artificial intelligence, the development of, for example, the Cyfraith Cymru/Law Wales website, and within all of that, one of the underlying principles is that we want the law and the work we do to be as clear, as simple, as understandable and consistent as is possible.