Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I start by thanking all Members for their contributions today and, in particular, Angela Burns, for bringing forward this short debate? And whilst we may not agree on all elements of the content of Angela's speech, I'm sure everybody will agree with me in saying what a passionate and eloquent speech it was, promoting the wonders of our rural communities in Wales.

I think the key point you picked up on and something that struck me is that the economy of rural Wales is the golden thread. We know that the economy of rural Wales is vital to so many communities across our country. It's an economy that, as a Welsh Government, we are supporting and are keen to promote. During the summer, my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport visited businesses throughout rural Wales to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities facing those areas. Businesses included Siemens Healthineers, which employs 413 people in Llanberis, PCI Pharma, which employs 360 people in Hay-on-Wye, and I know that he recently visited Wynnstay in Llansantffraid, which employs 400 people. 

The Welsh Government has supported all these businesses in one way or another, but we know these aren't the only examples of successful businesses operating in rural Wales that we have directly supported. We have supported DMM International, which employs 195 people in the mainly rural Arfon area, and in rural Carmathenshire we have supported Coaltown Coffee, which is now a thriving business. If I'm correct, I've actually spotted it in the Members' tea room here as well. All of these are important examples of successful rural businesses that have received direct Welsh Government support. We absolutely recognise, however, that the success of these businesses does not rely on direct support alone. We need to do more to grow our economy in an inclusive way, tackling the structural inequalities that exist within our regions, spreading opportunity to every part of Wales.

Skills and infrastructure have a key role to play in delivering on that opportunity, and I know a number of Members pushed on the importance of connectivity in terms of transport. We are working with regional partners throughout the regional skills partnerships to ensure we have the skills provision in rural areas to meet the need of that region and that area.

We also know how in today's world the availability of digital infrastructure is hugely important to businesses and communities in rural areas and these areas often face specific challenges with that. Since its inception in 2013, Superfast Cymru has invested over £82 million to provide access to fast fibre broadband to over 280,000 properties across the predominantly rural areas of Carmarthenshie, Powys, Pembrokeshire, Ceredig—I'm not doing very well today—Ceredigion—thank you—Gwynedd and Angelsey.

Our national transport finance plan recognises the importance of our rural economy. For instance, the £95 million investment in the Newtown bypass, which is a programme to be completed in early 2019. As a Government, we are committed to empowering our regions through our economic action plan, to build on their individual strengths to ensure maximum economic growth for Wales and for our people. Our economic action plan recognises that each region has its own opportunities and challenges and that a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development will not go far enough to drive the regional economic growth that Wales needs.