It's odd about how long a departmental title is, and Michael Gove's LUHC department isn't one that I think will be judged on its title, but what it's actually prepared to do. I do know that Welsh local government has felt excluded from the process of even the engagement that took place up to this point in time, and that in itself is not at all helpful. The requests for meetings with Luke Hall when he was the then Minister before being removed at the last UK reshuffle were not ones that any local authority in Wales would say worked well, and also the way that evidence was given to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, which, of course, is led by a Conservative Member of Parliament, with a majority of Conservative MPs—they have recognised an amount of incoherence in the previous approach. So, I am concerned about how the headlines about local authorities having a better deal because they're going to directly engage at this point in time are really trying to hide the fact there's less money, less capacity and less say over what to do.

I do take seriously the Industrial Communities Alliance and what they've had to say to me. Their work with counterparts in England and across Wales is something that I want to keep on engaging with and listening to to try to make sure that we can have a framework that will work for Wales and, indeed, other parts of the UK in making sure we really do see significant benefit spread to communities that really need it.