Could I add my agreement to those comments made by Members in the Chamber today about condemning—

You need to ask your question.

Indeed. In terms of condemning racism. Sorry, Llywydd. But could I say that we need to send a message strongly, regardless of the vote last week—

You need to ask your question—

Oh, my apologies.

[Continues.]—on the Order paper. [Laughter.]

4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the potential impact of the Cardiff capital region on the Bridgend and Ogmore travel to work area? OAQ(5)0074(FM)

I can say that, in the Cardiff capital region, collaboration is driving forward our priorities in transport, and that means driving forward improvements for Bridgend and Ogmore as well. I know that the Member will have a particular interest in ensuring that the three valleys that he represents are regularly connected to the rail and bus network further south.

Thank you, First Minister. My apologies, Llywydd. I have obviously got a lot to learn in this Chamber. Could I briefly add my comments to those who’ve condemned racism? And we need to mean it. The utterances of politicians, like ourselves—whatever party, whatever Chamber we sit in—are important, and so are the actions of the tabloid media at the UK level as well. We should be welcoming of those who are currently working in our public services and our private sector as well who, today, are somewhat a little bit more fearful.

Could I ask him, in terms of the Cardiff capital region, together with the south Wales metro, potential future improvements to rail and major highways improvements in my constituency and throughout Wales, together with apprenticeships and training in my local Bridgend College and others—? All of them were predicated to some extent, large or small, on EU funding. So, would he agree with me that it is now incumbent upon those political and party leaders, including the leader of the Conservative Party here today, who made clear pledges that this money would be returning to the people of Wales, to make good that shortfall that we will now face? Not a penny-piece should be taken from my constituents or from the people of Wales. We expect it to be here. And does he agree with me that it is slightly odd and disconcerting that we do not have unanimity in this Chamber and amongst the party leaders that all that money should be coming back to the people of Wales to decide what happens with it?

I heard people on the doorstep, I heard Members in this Chamber say, whenever we talked about European projects—they inevitably said, ‘It’s our money.’ People said it on the doorstep to me. It is our money. It’s the money of the people of Wales. It’s not money to be decided to be given to Wales on a whim by the Treasury, as the leader of the Welsh Conservatives has said today. He has said, ‘Why should’—[Interruption.] I’ll quote it exactly:

‘Why should the Welsh Government handle the money?’

If anyone wants to see the BBC website—it’s the lead story in fairness—you can see his comments on the BBC Wales website. It is absolutely crucial that that money comes to the people of Wales and to their elected Government and legislature to decide how to spend it. It is not for the UK Treasury to take that decision on behalf of the elected Parliament of Wales.

South Wales West Members, including of course the Member for Ogmore, will be aware of the need for an eastern bypass for the communities of Llanharan, and I hope that that will be part of the plans for the Cardiff capital region and its infrastructure projects, shall we say. But it’s the heads of the eastern Valleys in my region where it’s more difficult for the population to get the opportunities from potential city region plans. The measurements of distance on a map are fairly meaningless if you don’t have the transport infrastructure to reach those communities. What are you doing to ensure that the city region board speaks to businesses and the local authority about ensuring that the travel-to-work area includes the heads of those valleys in the east of my region?

Absolutely, it’s crucial. The point about the metro is that, yes, it’ll make it easier for people to travel to cities like Cardiff to work, but also easier for investment to travel up valleys, as well. One of the issues, clearly, that we sometimes face is that investors say to us, ’Well, it’s a bit far away—this community’. I don’t want that to be the case in the future; that’s why the metro is proposed.

I know a lot of Members have concentrated on the rail map, but the bus map is hugely important as well. If we look at the three valleys at the eastern end of South Wales West, one has a railway line, one might have a railway line, still, in the future—a preserved line, the Garw Valley—and one lost its railway line in 1984 when the Wyndham Western Colliery closed. So, for those communities, obviously, a bus option will be what we’re looking at, but it’ll be a bus option that connects properly not just with the long-distance coaches at McArthurGlen, but also, of course, with Bridged railway station to make sure that people are connected as much as possible to where the jobs are and for investment to follow those routes up to those communities.