Speeches by Lake.

“My colleague Gill German mentioned the diaspora. GlobalWelsh, an organisation that tries to represent the Welsh people abroad, is quite keen to see more work being done to engage with the diaspora, particularly with a view to attract more investment into Wales. A survey that it ran found that a quarter of Welsh busines…”

“Dozens of small businesses across Ceredigion and north Pembrokeshire will have listened to the Minister’s statement with interest. Could he please reassure me that the consequential funding that he has confirmed will go to Welsh Government will be determined and communicated in time—by 1 April—to allow the Welsh Govern…”

“As is the linguistic impact.”

“To turn back to you, Lynn, it is not necessarily the ownership model that is causing the greatest concern; it is the uncertainty and, as you mentioned, the fear that it might lead to consequences for another partner and your club then being held responsible for it in some way.”

“The Minister will be aware that Ofcom is consulting on a draft code of practice on the prominence of public service broadcasters on digital platforms. Does she agree that it is essential that S4C is included in any measures that come out of that consultation, so that it is given greater prominence on smart TVs and othe…”

“Because of the recent announcement and events, Grant, can I also ask you about the current situation?”

“Thank you all for coming along this afternoon. Lynn, from a fan’s perspective, what are your feelings about the current situation with Cardiff’s ownership? You are, of course, very welcome to refer to recent events.”

“My concern is that it is not an attractive enough proposition to attract more commercial and private investment. However, in the interests of time, perhaps you could write with that detail.”

“So everything will continue to work, as it were, provided the current levels of private investment are held up for the next three and a half years. Is that what you are saying?”

“Yes, so is that what they think they are supporting?”

“The assumption for the investors is that it is about £1 million to £1.5 million per region under the current model. Is that for four regions or three?”

“Thank you. That is very useful detail, and it leads on to my second question. My understanding is that in order to attract private investment, some of the major drivers for interest will be the influence over the playing and the running of the club itself. Under the proposals for the new structure, it effectively seems…”

“I am going to come back to the finances. What, if anything, did the 5-year plan that you presented to the two providers have to say about anticipated private investment in the regions or the professional clubs?”

“You might be able to provide the Committee with some of the detail lines in the five-year plan in written form, but what was the model that was presented to the debtors for this refinancing agreement—in terms of the professional game and the number of clubs? What is in your plan?”

“I very much hope so, but 3.5 years is obviously not where we would want to be. I know that is probably not where the union would like to be either. I am interested, if you are able to share a bit more, about the information and business models that you presented to the investors in order to get them to invest. Specific…”

“On the £5 million that you say is effectively hypothecated, are you able to elaborate as to what those projects will be?”

“Thank you for that detail. You mentioned the stadium; I noticed that on Companies House there is a charge on 19 January. Is that related to this financing deal with Goldman Sachs and HSBC?”

“You mentioned that Goldman Sachs and HSBC had agreed to invest. Did they invest more than just to cover the previous debt, and if so, could you share with us the terms of that investment—the length of time for repayment and the rate?”

“I will do my best to be brief too, Chair. Mr Collier-Keywood, you mentioned in your opening remarks that you had successfully refinanced a lot of debt and—I believe I heard you correctly—it was both the NatWest debt and the Welsh Government debt. Would that be the £35 million with NatWest and then the £18 million comme…”

“I know that parents, grandparents and, indeed, young people across Ceredigion Preseli will welcome action to tackle the harms of social media and mobile phone use. Given that education, which will be so important in implementing these measures, is a devolved responsibility in Wales, will the Secretary of State seek ear…”