The European advisory group has met three times to date, and provides valuable advice on issues for Wales related to the UK’s exit from the EU.

Welsh Government has worked with all partners to ensure strong governance arrangements underpin this deal. The signing of the deal has established governance arrangements that provide a transparent and accountable process for identifying, prioritising and agreeing projects and interventions that benefit the whole region.

The supplementary budget reflects budgetary changes since the first supplementary budget 2016-17. The budget contains several key allocations that reaffirm our commitment to providing stability for our key public services throughout Wales but also to make early progress on our programme, ‘Taking Wales Forward’.

Positive progress has been made by public services boards to meet their obligations under the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Every board has published its draft assessment of local well-being for consultation.

While trading standards falls outside the legislative competence of the National Assembly for Wales, it is an important responsibility of local government. The local government reform White Paper contains proposals aimed at increasing the resilience of this service area as a core part of public protection services.

The White Paper ‘Reforming Local Government: Resilient and Renewed’, which was published on 31 January, sets out the proposed arrangements for regional working. The proposals are the result of months of discussions with local authorities and others on how to strengthen services in the face of future challenges.

Good services play a vitally important role in the lives of all citizens in Wales. The Welsh Government continues to protect funding for our local authorities, so that vital services such as social care can go on being provided.