Nothing that the cabinet secretary has said this afternoon will dispel the feeling of people in the Highlands and Islands that they are being caught in the backwash of a centralisation process that is being urged on the Government by some within Scottish Enterprise and, indeed, by the Scottish Tories. People in the Highlands and Islands have been presented with the interesting concept of energising bodies by abolishing them.

What guarantees will the cabinet secretary provide that the responsibilities that he reallocates to local authorities will be adequately resourced? He will be aware from his visit to Orkney of concerns that already exist.

The cabinet secretary referred to the co-location of LEC and local authority staff. How will that be incentivised, and what funding will be available for it?