We have seen the inconsistent and poor use of joint ministerial committees, which were supposed to enhance co-operation between the UK and devolved Governments, but were mostly, in my cynical opinion, just a box-ticking exercise. I am concerned that many of the forums established through the withdrawal agreement and the trade and co-operation agreement will see Wales's role either non-existent or purely artificial, without the voices in Wales truly being heard in the UK's future relationship with the EU. And your statement does nothing to reassure me that Wales will be heard. 

While Liz Truss's predecessor, Lord Frost, suggested that devolved Governments will be involved in forums established by both agreements when items of devolved competencies are mentioned, he also noted that this is ultimately subject to the final discretion of the UK co-chair from the relevant leading Whitehall department. If the problem with this isn't clear, it can be very clearly seen when, in November, the Minister requested to attend joint committee meetings as a contributing member when matters relating to Northern Ireland were discussed, due to, of course, their impact on the Welsh ports, but I understand that you were denied that request, Minister. I'd be interested to know on what basis you were denied and your view on this, especially given, as you've already pointed out, that, in the news just this last week, we have seen that Welsh ports have experienced a 30 per cent reduction in traffic due to Brexit, with a significant chunk of that being due to changes in the use of the land bridge route to EU ports via Caergybi, as Paul Davies also referenced. 

After the first meeting of the trade and co-operation agreement partnership council took place, you, Minister, wrote to Lord Frost describing the meeting as deeply unsatisfactory and one that the Welsh Government could not credibly support. I note that the Minister, in his statement on the whole, is pleased that engagement has been generally good, but does the Government truly have enough influence to properly represent the voices and needs of the people in Wales in these agreements? If the Minister doesn't believe that Wales can be truly represented, then what channels are available to the Government to raise their concerns?

And, finally, devolved Governments must inform the UK Government of all content and contact that they have with EU institutions and member states, and, from your statement, it's clear that the First Minister has been in contact with the European Commission President to set out a future constructive Wales-EU relationship, which is of course welcome, and of course Derek Vaughan's representations. To what extent is the Welsh Government intending to engage with EU institutions and member states, and what exactly does the Minister envision this future relationship looking like?