7. Will the Minister provide an update on the north Wales growth deal? OQ56732

Thank you. The final deal agreement was signed by Welsh Government, UK Government and the North Wales Economic Ambition Board in December 2020. I think a Member in this place would have been one of the signatories. The first tranche of Government funding was paid to the North Wales Economic Ambition Board in March 2021. The deal is owned and delivered by the North Wales Economic Ambition Board.

Thank you very much for that answer, Minister, and it's great to see how the UK and Welsh Governments can work together to deliver real benefits to businesses and residents across north Wales. Minister, one of the key planks of the growth deal is around securing better digital connectivity. Will you join me in welcoming the news of the UK Government's shared rural network, which will see a massive boost to mobile communications in rural parts of my constituency, as well as the latest projects in the £5 billion Project Gigabit, which will see rural towns and villages in the Vale of Clwyd get access to lightning-fast fixed broadband connections? How will your Government maximise the benefits of this new investment and work with businesses to ensure they fully utilise the boost to rural broadband? Thank you.

Well, we know that broadband is a regular utility for businesses in urban and rural Wales, and I'm very pleased to welcome investment in the future of the economy—in north Wales, in other parts of Wales. And it really does show that it is possible for the Welsh Government and the UK Government to have a programme of work where we agree on how to support businesses and don't get drawn into a needless conflict. I would like to see a similar approach taken in the way that successor European Union funds are not only used but how they're determined for use, to allow us to invest in the broader area, because at present the projects that the Member is describing are undertaken and agreed on a whole-north-Wales basis. The current community renewal fund, of course, pits authorities against each other in a competitive bidding process. I do think that there is a much better opportunity to look at how we could work together, and the growth deals and our regional agenda here in Wales, supported by the work of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, provides just that.

And finally question 8, Tom Giffard.