I'm afraid I reject all the amendments in this group—that is, amendments 120 to 131, 133, 135, 164, 167, 173 and 175. I do not intend to speak to each amendment in turn, but to address the principle that I consider underpins these amendments as a whole, that principle being the powers of Welsh Ministers to establish corporate joint committees where no request has been made by local government.

Members will have heard me talking about the establishment of corporate joint committees on a number of occasions and this model is one that I have been working with local government to develop since I took up this office. I do not agree with the proposal that sections 73 and 74 be removed; I see this as a key element of these provisions. My ambition in creating corporate joint committees was not only to provide an enhanced vehicle for local government collaboration, with the benefits of being able to employ staff and hold budgets, but also to enable the use of a single consistent vehicle for this collaboration, rather than separate arrangements for different functions. I believe that this ambition is shared by local government.

My aim is to rationalise provision that already existed in legislation in relation to single-purpose collaborations, such as joint transport authorities and strategic planning panels, into a single regional arrangement that can look at these connected functions holistically. In order to achieve this, it is important that Welsh Ministers have the ability to create corporate joint committees to replace these existing legislative structures. I have been clear that this is a very limited power, restricted to areas where regional working arrangements already exist in legislation or in practice. These are areas where there is consensus that working at this scale makes sense, aligning economic development, transport and land use planning approaches to develop successful regional economies and encourage local growth. On this basis, I therefore strongly urge Members reject all amendments in this group. Diolch.