Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:42 pm on 20 March 2019.
Yes, indeed. In terms of providing all support necessary, we really want this to succeed. The UK Government want this to succeed. Members here want it to succeed. The local authorities want it to succeed. In some ways, it's not been necessarily set up to succeed in the structures that we've put in place, in the insistence of the five-case business model, which the local authorities have struggled to respond to—that level of scrutiny and rigour. I think the important thing now—. And I stress, in all the reports, it's stressed that there is criticism of all sides here.
We had a very good meeting with the local authority leaders on Friday, in which I emphasised—and there was unanimity on—that there's no profit in pointing fingers here. Clearly, if we want this to succeed we need to press on, learn the lessons, reset. That is certainly the spirit in which the Welsh Government—and, in all the conversations I've had with the Secretary of State for Wales, the UK Government too—are entering into this endeavour. But, ultimately, this is a local-led project. So, in terms of all support necessary, we will give it every support we can, but also, in the spirit of partnership, that leadership has got to come from the local area, and not from us. But we must see it within the spirit of developing regional economic plans and work together on them as equals and, as I say, move away from the policeman to the partner model.