Llywydd, I agree entirely with what the Member said. This was a fund announced in 2017, in a Conservative Party manifesto. It took until the start of this month—April 2022—before we've had any substantive discussions with UK Ministers about the way in which they intend those funds to be used in Wales. And all of that compressed into two weeks because of their determination to rush out an announcement in advance of local government elections, for exactly the sorts of purposes that Rhun ap Iorwerth has identified. Now, in those two weeks, we were able to secure some concessions from the UK Government, so that at least the way in which funds will be used in Wales will reflect the regional footprints that we've used for other UK and Welsh Government joint initiatives in Wales—the city deal footprints. And we've secured some agreements about how a wider set of interests can be brought round the table to help determine how bids can be made in Wales. Let's be clear, there are no decisions being made in Wales. Local authorities are invited to put together proposals, which will end up on the desk of a Whitehall Minister and they will make the decisions.

We had a series of discussions, Llywydd, with UK Ministers about the formula to be used for the distribution of these funds. Just on the point that Rhun ap Iorwerth began with, the formula that the Welsh Government proposed would have led to more money being spent in Bridgend, for example, or the Vale of Glamorgan, for example, both of which have Conservative Members of Parliament. So, the formula that we proposed was not a partisan one; it was one that sought to align funding with where need is greatest. We weren't able to persuade the UK Government of that—they have other objects in mind—and the result is that, as Rhun ap Iorwerth said, we will have a series of rushed bids. Local authorities have to put everything together—the whole process. They have to go out for bids, they have to assess those bids, they have to demonstrate the outputs that they will achieve, they have to demonstrate the governance arrangements that will be in place, they have to demonstrate how they will be able to consult, and all of that before 1 August. The chances that there will be coherence in that funding, the chances that that funding will be used to the best possible effect—. It's not just that we're getting less money, it's being less well spent. I think that's the fundamental objection to it.