Mr. Michael Murphy:

I might take the first question. Like Councillor Feeney, I acknowledge the Deputy is a former member of the European Committee of the Regions and a former head of the Irish delegation. He asked specifically about the newly established Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, PPA, which has met for the first time. I mentioned the opinion on which I worked on behalf of the European Committee of the Regions, which was adopted unanimously, strengthening the EU-UK relationship at a sub-national level. During the course of the drafting and adoption of that opinion, I worked closely with the Northern Ireland Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, COSLA, the Welsh Local Government Association and the Welsh senate, and the UK Local Government Association.

One of the key conclusions of the opinion relates to a strong willingness at local and regional level to work closely to strengthen co-operation at a local and regional level. The narrative at the local and regional level is completely different from the rhetoric coming from Westminster, and we in the European Committee of the Regions are working closely with local government associations throughout the United Kingdom. One issue on which we worked very closely related to obtaining observer status at the PPA and, thankfully, that was a big win for us. The European Committee of the Regions has observer status at the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.

The devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have observer status at the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, PPA. Regrettably, the UK has decided not to include its local government associations or give speaking time to local and regional government at meetings of the PPA. Following on from the PPA's first meeting, though, I hope that the UK's local and regional government will have speaking time, and there are sounds coming from the PPA's administration that it will get speaking time. It is crucial for the implementation and governance of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement that local and regional government have some input. Local and regional government in the EU is represented at the PPA by the Committee of the Regions, but local and regional government on the UK side not being involved is a decision for the UK.

The narrative at local and regional level across the UK is different from the narrative at Westminster. Local and regional government there wants to co-operate further, particularly on matters that know no boundaries, for example, climate change and protecting the environment, tourism, security and energy. They are beating that drum, so it is regrettable that the UK has decided to stop participating in territorial co-operation programmes, which are at the heart of the EU project. The macro issues must be sorted out, but if we move beyond those, perhaps we can revisit territorial co-operation.

That addresses the PPA element of the question. Perhaps Ms Feeney wishes to address the question's two other elements.