Thank you very much to Nick Ramsay for his questions, and also his particular interest in this agenda. Of course, I can't resist referring to Nick Ramsay's first comments about austerity, and the fact that the taps have finally been turned on in terms of investment, but it's unfortunate that it's taken a pandemic for that to happen, and it does show that austerity has been a political choice all along.

But given the helpful nature of Nick's questions, I won't push that any further, and I'll turn now to the question that was about the difference between the previous parts of the A465 and why this scheme is different to what's preceded it. That's because the A465 section 2 scheme, to which he referred, where there have been issues in terms of the timetabling particularly, is not a MIM scheme. That's an early contractor involvement scheme, and so there are some really significant differences between the two, and we shouldn't see those issues that we saw with the section 2 scheme with the MIM, because MIM is essentially a fixed-price contract. Good risk transfer has been achieved contractually, and that means, with a small number of exceptions, the majority of the programme and the cost risk sits fully with Future Valleys. Future Valleys, of course, I referred to in my statement as being the organisation, if you like, with which we have entered into the contract. Future Valleys won't get paid until the service is operational, and that, of course, incentivises them to meet their construction programme. The contract includes strict restrictions on the extent of traffic management and road closures—I know that's a particular concern locally.

There are stringent financial penalties for non-conformity with the contract restrictions, and again, this is all very different to the approach that preceded it. During the tender stage, over £7 million of surveys have been undertaken, and the scope of the investigations was developed jointly by the Welsh Government and the bidders, comprising ground investigations and intrusive structural investigation of the existing structures. Those investigations have enabled Future Valleys to understand better the nature of the site, and therefore to accurately price the risks. So, I think that this scheme is very different to that which preceded it, and it brings with it a number of important benefits as a result.

Nick Ramsay was particularly interested in the community benefits, and especially those that relate to the A465. The contract will provide over 120 apprenticeships, 60 traineeships, over 320 internships and 1,600 national qualifications. That's really delivering on our priority of maximising our contribution to youth employment and skills development, especially at such an important time. The project will also help us redress some of the inequalities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic through providing employment where it's needed most, and it will also, in the construction phase alone, generate the equivalent of 59.6 years of work for those who are in the NEET or long-term unemployed category, and 125 years of work for workers from disadvantaged backgrounds. I think that's really important in terms of those benefits. And over 80 per cent of the total estimated spend on goods, services and overheads during the construction period will be spent on businesses based in Wales. Again, that's something, I think, that we will all want to welcome.

I'm very conscious of the importance of building schemes that are environmentally sustainable, and the MIM scheme will certainly be built with long-term sustainability in mind, in accordance with the well-being of future generations Act. For example, to provide environmental sustainability, key design principles for Velindre cancer centre include the use of natural resources and energy efficiency in all possible areas. The A465, while improving the safety, connectivity and congestion of the local area will also improve the resilience of other Welsh roads by becoming an alternative route during periods of congestion, maintenance or major incidents. And obviously, new learning environments will also be built through the twenty-first century schools programme, and they must achieve the EPC rating of A and the Building Research Establishment environmental assessment method 'excellent'. So these things are very much at the front of our minds as well.

And then, finally, there were questions relating to monitoring our investments and DBW's performance. Well, having a public sector-nominated director on the board of companies delivering the public assets will provide a high degree of transparency. Furthermore, public investment in MIM schemes will also ensure a flow of shareholder information about the performance of the company back to Welsh Ministers. And Welsh Government has entered into a loan agreement with DBW in relation to the MIM investment that requires DBW to provide quarterly reports on the project company's performance, the performance of the investment and any current key risks. I think that that is important in terms of transparency and good management of the projects as well. Thank you.