I thank the Member for those questions. It was never a claim that I made in my statement that European funds have been, to quote the Member, an unalloyed success. My case was that, in the difficult times that we have faced, European funding has been a fundamental element in bringing about some very significant improvements. If the Member thought that I was selective in my examples, then I’m afraid he will have wanted to have looked through this own list of particular examples that he chose to highlight this afternoon.

He went to raise a series of important points. Of course, the exchange rate—trying to keep abreast of changes in the exchange rate is a particular challenge at the moment for all our European funding programmes. Part of WEFO, and other direct links with the Commission, is about making sure that we try to have planning rates, co-financing rates and intervention rates that are sensible and do the very best they can from a Welsh point of view. But it is a rapidly moving picture and the decisions are not entirely in the hands of Wales. They are agreed with the Commission as those planning rates change. As far as WEFO is concerned, I entirely agree that the core task for all of us involved in this in Wales is to make sure that money is committed, but more than committed—that programmes deliver on the ground, so that funding can be rapidly drawn down for important purposes here in Wales.

I don’t think it is fair to characterise the decision-making pace as being grindingly slow. Forty three per cent of all structural funds are already committed. That will rise to 60 per cent by 23 November, and that demonstrates the way in which, with our partners, we have done our best to accelerate the approval of important programmes. I do say this, and I’ve said it to WEFO: I want an accelerated pace of approving programmes that will make a real difference. I will not be willing to think of approving programmes simply to draw down the money. The programmes have to be programmes that we would agree will make the difference we need them to make in Wales.

I do understand that, at its last meeting, the programme monitoring committee discussed the best way of organising its time, and the best way of working. It is for them entirely to do that. I understand there was a possibility of fewer but longer meetings. As I understand it, that was one of a number of suggestions, and not necessarily the one that gathered the largest amount of support.