Thank you very much, and thank you to the two Members who contributed to this debate, and I am grateful to the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee for allowing us to have this debate today by expediting the report.

Mabon ap Gwynfor asked some very pertinent questions around the regulations that we're bringing forward today. One of the questions you asked was around why the scheme would be paid retrospectively, and it is standard practice to pay grants in arrears; I think that's a recognised way of safeguarding taxpayers' money. But what we will do is there will be an option to assist with cash flow, really. There will be an option of submitting multiple claims throughout the lifetime of the project rather than just doing one right at the end, of the whole amount.

In relation to your question around why there hadn't been a public consultation: as you yourself pointed out, we'd had the 'Brexit and our Seas' consultation, and that did have a very specific section on future funding, and I think the responses to the questions that we had then are still relevant now, and the questions that were asked have been taken into account in developing this scheme. I think the iterative nature of the scheme lends itself more to an in-depth stakeholder engagement, as opposed to a one-off consultation.

Regarding simplification, you know, I'm absolutely with you on that: don't make things too complex. I would really argue that the complexity of the scheme is in the background, so as to ensure that we do absolutely have that flexibility that we require. The intention is to make the application process, for any given funding round, as simple as possible, so we can achieve its objective. A dedicated stakeholder advisory group, as you know, has been established, and that group will—what I've asked for is if they can identify priorities going forward.

You asked about what the scheme will bring forward, and what I will be looking to ensure is that it is one scheme, but it will be adaptable to changes within the legislative framework, because there's still, obviously, legislation to come forward, and that includes subsidy control, the needs of the sector, Government priorities, and budgetary constraints. Each funding round will target particular policy objectives within the overall scope of the scheme, and that then would allow for that flexible delivery that I think we need to look for.

The aims of the scheme are to give Welsh Ministers the scope and flexibility to provide financial assistance over a wide range of subject areas within the Welsh marine, fisheries and aquaculture sectors. We need to be able to invest strategically, I think, for the long term, and adapt to short-term challenges and opportunities, and really to support our coastal communities, because they certainly need that assistance and, of course, the marine environment. We really want both of those to thrive in tandem with one another, and I will ensure that the scheme is periodically evaluated to make sure that it is successful, so we will certainly learn lessons along the way. Diolch.