2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Swansea Bay City Region? OAQ(5)0023(FM)

Yes. The Swansea bay city region board continues to lead regional alignment and collaboration to deliver shared aspirations for jobs and growth.

May I thank the First Minister for that response? I think that we both agree that Swansea bay city region has a clear direction of travel. I believe in the importance of city regions as economic drivers. Cardiff has had agreed funding for its city deal. Can the First Minister provide an update on funding for the Swansea city region, including the city deal?

Yes, of course. I know that Sir Terry Matthews and the board have developed an initial proposal for a city deal, which has been submitted to both us and the UK Government. It’s seeking a sum of around £500 million over 20 years, and, indeed, the proposal outlines the transformational power of digital connectivity to accelerate growth in the region, and across Wales and, indeed, the rest of the UK. So, that submission has been made. We now, of course, wish to move forward with a city deal along the lines of that that’s been agreed for the capital region.

You will be aware, naturally, First Minister, of the exciting development of the new campus in Swansea bay, at Swansea University, and you will be aware of the huge investment made in that new campus and that the vast majority of that has come from European funding. So, would you agree with me that such an investment would be impossible if Wales were outwith the European Union?

That’s quite right, and it’s true to say that without having that funding available to us, that campus would not exist.

The Swansea bay skills partnership is a work-based learning consortium that has been identified mainly as ‘merely adequate’ by Estyn. With such hopes for the economic potential for the Swansea bay city region, what is your Government doing to ensure that those charged with converting talent into desirable skills actually fulfil those aims?

I believe that is happening. The city region board know full well that the key to attracting investment is making sure that skills are available so that that investment can take place. One of the questions I’m often asked by potential investors when I go abroad is, ‘Do you have the skills that we need in order for us to prosper in your country?’, and we are able to provide them with that reassurance. If we look, for example, at the Swansea University campus, which I know, as my friend, David Rees, will remind me, is in the Aberavon constituency, it is a significant investment in the future of Swansea bay—a hugely important campus and a sign that education and skills provision is taken very seriously in that part of Wales, as indeed it is across the entire nation.

First Minister, for the city region to work most effectively requires greater collaboration amongst the local government partners. Your previous local government reorganisation proposals were at odds with the city region map. Will your new proposals for local government mergers take into account the need for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot to work closer together with Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire?

Well, that would be needed in any event. The Swansea bay city region of course crosses boundaries. We know that political boundaries don’t align themselves with economic boundaries. That’s why the city deal in the capital region involves 10 local authorities, reflecting, of course, what is the economic region, and reflecting the need for local authorities to work together to deliver prosperity for all their citizens.