Amendments 120, 121, 122, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 133 and 135 remove provisions that allow Welsh Ministers to mandate the creation of corporate joint committees where no request has been made, as we just heard from our Plaid Cymru colleague.

During Stage 1 proceedings, concerns were raised by a number of stakeholders regarding this issue. For example, the Welsh Local Government Association resolved to note that it has fundamental concerns over the principle of mandation, which is seen as undermining local democracy. Furthermore, the society of local authority chief officers suggested that the mandating of corporate joint committees would be 'counterproductive', and questioned whether a mandated footprint was required to ensure efficiencies.

During Stage 2, the Minister said that corporate joint committees are very much a vehicle for local government and that it is for local government to decide how they manage and organise their regional arrangements and collaborations. However, the ability for Welsh Ministers to mandate the creation of corporate joint committees undermines this argument, and the concerns of stakeholders that have been raised throughout the scrutiny of the Bill have not been addressed. Given their role in terms of regional infrastructure and economic development, the ability to allow Welsh Ministers to mandate the creation of corporate joint committees also undermines the internal devolution and local partnership working established in areas by bodies such as the North Wales Economic Ambition Board—as you know, a coalition involving both Governments, all six north Wales councils, business and academia.

Our amendments therefore remove provisions that allow Welsh Ministers to mandate the creation of corporate joint committees where no request has been made. Diolch.