Thank you very much to colleagues for their contributions, and, again, thank you to committees for the work that they've done. We're absolutely committed to facilitating Senedd scrutiny, and, as I think has been recognsed, the scrutiny periods for the memorandum were originally shorter because of the anticipated timing of the conclusion of the Bill's committee stage in Westminster, but the reporting deadlines for memoranda 3, 4 and 5 were extended by several weeks when it did become clear that the timetable for the Bill had changed. So, at any opportunity, we have built in more time. And the various recommended extensions for each of these memoranda, and the rescheduling of the consent motion debate today, I think, have been a result of our attempts to ensure that the Senedd has as much scrutiny time as possible. 

But, I think, one of the most important things to recognise is that Welsh Ministers have secured standalone, equivalent regulation-making powers for the vast majority of the powers in the procurement Bill, so the Senedd will have the opportunity to fully scrutinise the detail of those regulations in due course. 

Turning to the issues around commencement, we are absolutely committed to commencing at the same time as the UK Government, to avoid the detrimental impact on cross-border suppliers and buyers of doing otherwise, and the UK Government is absolutely in the same space as us; we are intending fully to commence at the same time. However, if we were to withhold consent to the date of commencement of certain provisions in the Bill, there could be a potential delay in the commencement for Welsh contracting authorities. It wouldn't be the case that they were removed from the Bill entirely, and it's not possible to carry out a financial assessment at this time, as the financial impact would be dependent on the length of the delay. But, as I say, we're absolutely committed to not finding ourselves in that situation, and, to reassure colleagues, I have spoken to officials earlier on today, and they reassure me that we're very much in step in terms of the preparation of the regulations that we will need to put in place. So, work is very much in step either side of the border. 

So, on that question, really, about why there is more than one Bill, well, officials have worked really closely across this organisation to make sure that there is maximum alignment between the procurement Bill, our own Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill, and also, the work, of course, that my colleague, Eluned Morgan, is taking forward in respect of the Health Service Procurement (Wales) Bill. And I think that they do dovetail very well, and I'm confident that the approach taken does give certainty and clarity for buyers and suppliers across Wales, because I think it is again important to recognise that this is the preferred approach of suppliers and contracting authorities here in Wales. We consulted with them before deciding to legislate—or asking the UK Government to legislate on our behalf—and it was very much their preferred approach, because they recognise the benefits of doing this in this way. 

We have managed to protect Welsh interests, though, in terms of the legislation. The amendments that we've secured—I know they were areas that the committees were interested in—related to the definition of a Welsh authority. So, there was an amendment accepted and tabled in the House of Commons on 25 January, which provided clarity on that. We asked for an amendment in relation to the commencement powers contained within the Bill—I've described that, and that was tabled on 2 February—and an amendment to powers to make consequential provisions to reflect the Welsh Ministers in the areas of the Bill, and again, I've referred to those, and that was tabled in the House of Commons on 25 January. And, also, then, there was interest from committees in an amendment that has the effect of ensuring that a Welsh contracting authority's duty to have regard to the Wales public procurement policy statement will not be enforceable in civil proceedings; they should be enforceable through judicial review only. Again, that was an amendment that was accepted and tabled in the House of Lords. 

So, I think I would agree with what my Conservative colleague has said, actually—that this Bill does provide significant benefits for businesses in Wales, in the sense that there will be a duty on contracting authorities to have regard to the barriers that SMEs may be facing, and look at how they can be removed. There'll be increased transparency measures, meaning that suppliers will see all of the opportunities, including the pipelines of future opportunities and advertised below threshold procurements, all in one place, and the new competitive flexible procedure will provide more opportunity for innovative procurement. And I've already talked about the improvements in terms of transparency. 

And, then, just to finish, because I do realise I'm over time, the Bill does have opportunities for some suppliers through reserved contracts, which is obviously important to us in Wales. So, it's retained the current provisions allowing contracting authorities to reserve procurements for supported employment providers, for example. So, there is a range in which not-for-profit and mutuals will be able to benefit as well. So, I think that the legislation is an important new opportunity for contracting authorities and suppliers here in Wales. The kind of consistency across the border is important, but let's not forget how important the public procurement Bill, which my colleague Hannah Blythyn is leading on, is in terms of driving forward our own Welsh values through procurement as well.