1. How does the First Minister assess progress in delivering the commitments relating to economic development set out in the programme for government? OAQ52286

Well, the economic action plan sets out our approach to building a strong economy through futureproofing businesses and empowering our places and people to become more productive.

One of the recommendations of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee report, 'City Deals and the Regional Economies of Wales', stated,

'There is a real danger that the creation of Regional Boards and structures to support them add an additional level of bureaucracy to economic development in Wales.'

We now understand that north Wales, south-west and mid Wales, and the South Wales East region, will have a regional officer to overlook the city and growth deals. Could the First Minister give an indication as to how these appointments are progressing, and also outline what he feels will be their full remit?

I understand that three are in place now. He asked the question about the structure. Well, where you have a regional deal, there needs to be a regional structure to deliver that deal; you can't rely on individual local authorities to do it working by themselves, but, by working together, and with other levels of Government, they can deliver the best outcome for the people who live in that area.

First Minister, the new wave of technological advances in robotics and artificial intelligence will potentially have a huge impact on jobs, and this is a piece of work that we're currently doing in the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee. Now, I certainly want to see the Welsh economy take full advantage of the opportunities presented by automation. Now, I appreciate that the Welsh Government has appointed Phil Brown to carry out a piece of work in this area, but that's not to say that work can't be ongoing now, before he reports. Do you have a lead officer working on this within the Welsh Government, and, as this is an area that rightly crosses over a number of portfolios across Cabinet Secretaries, who is the lead Cabinet Secretary in this area?

Well, in terms of digital innovation, obviously Julie James has that role. This is more than just about economic development, of course. People tend to see innovation as a threat to jobs. It needn't be. And, of course, we have to understand that there are opportunities there in terms of transforming the way, for example, that the health service works. That's something that my colleague the Assembly Member for Llanelli has made very clear on a number of occasions. So, it's not just an issue of economic development, although it's an important part of the future, but it cuts across many, many areas of Government, and that's why, of course, it needs to be dealt with by somebody with a cross-Government responsibility in that area.