7. What assessment has the Minister made of how levels of UK Government investment in digital connectivity are impacting the north Wales economy? OQ58562

Thank you for the question. Telecommunications policy is not devolved to Wales, yet the economy of north Wales benefits directly from the £56 million broadband roll-out and our £4.2 million grant to the digital signal processing centre at Bangor University, as this Welsh Government continues to step in where the UK Government has not.

Can I thank the Minister for that answer? The Minister will be aware that this is a subject that is close to my heart. For the record, Llywydd, I'll place on record my involvement as an unpaid member of the consortium at Bangor University, as mentioned by the Minister. They are determined to improve the connectivity of north Wales. Despite the responsibility for broadband sitting with the UK Government, the Tories' failure to invest properly has let north Wales down. I don't just want to see investment in making north Wales digitally connected properly; I want to see us creating and developing the next generation of world-leading technologies that improve our north Wales economy. Minister, do you share my passion for improving connectivity in the region and developing the next set and stage of technologies for connectivity, and will you commit to making this one of your priorities?

Yes, I'm more than happy to say that. It comes on the back of consistent work done across this Government in different iterations. You may or may not have heard the Deputy Minister talking earlier, but we've invested £200 million of Welsh Government funding into Superfast Cymru. That's money in an area that isn't devolved. We recognise the significant benefits of enhancing, improving and filling in gaps in what are UK responsibilities. The key part of our digital future is with public services and, indeed, in the economy. I'm very pleased to have the lead ministerial responsibility for digital services across the Government, not just in the economy, and I'll be more than happy to have a further conversation with the Member on what I think we can achieve within the Government.