The New Horizons space probe’s long-awaited encounter with Pluto ironically coincided with a Welsh Government response to an enquiry in the Star Trek language of “Klingon”. So much for transparency!

When it’s speaking human languages the Welsh Government likes to remind us that it doesn’t receive as much money from the UK Treasury as it should as a result of the mysterious workings of the Barnett Formula.

Actually, Wales is currently funded at around the magic 115% of spend per head of population in England that economists cite as “fair” funding. Yes, we now need what’s known in the trade as the “Barnett Floor” to stop underfunding taking hold again as spend in England increases, but to be honest, it would help if the Welsh Government stopped going around selling off public land at a fraction of its market value!

The fact that former WDA land at Wonastow Road, part of the recent controversial land sale revelations, subsequently had to be allocated for housing to meet the Welsh Government’s own unreasonable demands for more houses in Monmouth certainly seems, well …convenient to say the least. Hopefully the Auditor General’s findings will lead to a better deal for taxpayers.

Funding that Wales will automatically receive is our share of the extra £8 billion the Chancellor recently committed to the English NHS. Sadly, as we know too well from experience the Welsh Government is not duty-bound to pass this money on to our health service. The lack of a cancer treatment fund this side of the border is one symptom of years of under-funding and a cause of concern to my constituents. This new money must go where it was intended – on our NHS.

On a brighter note, the sun beamed down on the recent Royal visit to “Humble By Nature” at Penallt. The much anticipated visit by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall over-ran by an hour so enthusiastic were their Royal Highnesses for the exciting developments at Kate Humble’s innovative farm.

Other farms in Monmouthshire will fare less well following changes to the Basic Payment Scheme. The move to a flat rate payment scheme without transitional arrangements poses yet more challenges for our hard-pressed farming industry as the farm-gate price of milk falls below 20 pence. Come on, we pay more for bottled water! It’s time our farmers, the custodians of our countryside got a better deal.