It's a pleasure to take part in this debate this afternoon. I've really enjoyed listening to the contributions, even though I don't agree with everything that's been said. I'm also a big tv and radio fan, so it's really good to take part in this this afternoon.

So, a free and open press in the news media is essential for democracy to thrive. One only has to look at what's happening in Russia to understand the risks of media being controlled by the state and the power that has over its citizens: a single voice controlled by the state, used to spread lies to the populace. At the other end of the extreme, we have this situation in the US, where the media landscape is a free-for-all: misinformation is openly broadcast by one or two large corporations that control all the media output across the USA. I think what we need to see is a happy medium, where we have plurality and independence, but regulated by a body independent from the state, much like the media landscape that we have currently in Wales. So, if it's not broke, then why are we trying to fix it? What is the purpose of devolving powers over broadcasting to Wales?

I've listened to the arguments put forward by Labour and Plaid politicians this afternoon, and it's clear as mud what they're trying to achieve. How will giving Welsh Ministers powers over broadcasting improve the Welsh media landscape? I believe it has a real prospect of making it worse. Wales is home to around 4.5 per cent the UK's total population, roughly about 1.3 million households. Even if every one of those households were to pay the licence fee, it still wouldn't be enough to pay for BBC Wales's output and the running of S4C. Because the licence fee is collected from across the UK, Wales can benefit from larger amounts of funding, so we punch well above our weight in that respect.

In the year prior to the pandemic, around a fifth of the UK's independent production budgets was spent in Wales. You only have to look here in Cardiff, and what Sam Kurtz mentioned about the creation of Doctor Who and Casualty, amongst others that are filmed here. And we get more than our fair share of funding in that sense. So, if Labour and Plaid get their way, they'll no doubt want more funding to follow the increase in powers. And how will the 82 per cent of UK households, i.e. the English licence fee payers, feel about their licence fee going up to fund Welsh broadcasting?

If broadcasting is devolved, what happens to S4C outside of Wales? According to broadcasters in the latest annual report, more than two thirds of the channel's viewership comes from outside our nation, and that's driven in part because of the relationship between S4C and the BBC, and with the use of modern technology such as BBC iPlayer, it's accessible in all parts of UK, as is BBC Alba in Scotland. What will happen to that relationship if broadcasting is devolved to one of the four UK nations? We won't be able to dictate to the other three.

There are also other concerns when it comes to funding. What happens when the Welsh Government decides it has other funding priorities? Say they need more money to fix the mess they have made of the NHS, when the penny finally drops, will S4C or the Welsh broadcasting co-operation even get a look in when it comes to their budgets? I seriously doubt it. There is no rational reason to devolve broadcasting other than to bolster the slow march towards independence. The Welsh public don't support the break-up of the UK, and I'm sure they don't support the break-up of the UK's media landscape. Broadcasting and media production across the UK are facing big enough challenges, and changes in demography and technology are ripping up the old ways of working, so we would be foolish to try going it alone in Wales. [Interruption.] Yes. Sure.