I think it's really obvious from the way that local authorities have reacted to the pandemic that they are indeed very flexible and resilient organisations that have been able to turn around the way that they respond to both the public and to service delivery, in what can only be regarded as a miraculous period of time, and have pulled together in order to be able to do that in a way that I think most people would recognise as highly entrepreneurial in any sense. Because some of the innovative ways that they've been able to respond to the pandemic are really very inspirational indeed.

In the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill, which has just gone through Stage 2 of the committee just very recently of course, we're also giving councils the power of general competence. You'll be aware, as a member of the committee, that one of the things we are seeking to do is put regulations in place that ensure that, in acting in a commercial way, the power of general competence is used in specific ways, with specific provisions for business planning, company structures, and so on, which will encourage the kinds of thinking that we are expecting to see and also discourage the kinds of speculative commercial ventures that led in the past to some authorities, particularly in England, over-stretching themselves in terms of ventures that went very badly wrong. I know myself, having lived through it, back at the end of the 1980s, that some commercial ventures for local authorities can be spectacularly backfiring on occasion.

So we're very careful to work with our local authorities to ensure that we understand the commercialisations that they want to put in place, that we encourage them as appropriate, that we have the right kinds of guidance and the right kinds of governance structures in place to enable them to do exactly as you suggest, to maximise income for spending on their local services whilst at the same time protecting the public from any over-commercialisation or unduly risky operation that might put those services in jeopardy.