Thank you for the question and the points. I've mentioned several times, during not just the statement but questions, the welcome for the further investment in the HyNet project they're looking to deliver across north-west England and through north Wales. I've had regular conversations with both the English authorities as well as the Welsh authorities involved in the Mersey Dee Alliance, and I'm pleased that that appears to be something that is additional and not competitive with the wider work the North Wales Economic Ambition Board is undertaking, where the six local authorities have agreed on a range of priorities to help support and grow the Welsh economy across north Wales. I have a very good relationship with local authorities. I see them as integral to our ambitions for the economy, including greening the economy, and that is part of the work with each of the regional partnerships that exist.

Both the regional skills partnerships and each of the growth deals, and the new corporate joint committees that exist, I think are a practical expression of our willingness and our desire to carry on working on a regional basis. Local authorities are essential partners in doing so. It's why I've commissioned the OECD, as one of my early actions in post, to carry on working on the future for regional economic development, and I certainly think that we'll see more to come in the partnership between the Welsh Government and local authorities. It would of course be better if we were able to have more certainty in the framework as to how we can work together with the funds that have yet to be made clear from the UK Government—the levelling-up funds. But I'm sure we'll have lots of opportunities to talk about those in the future.