I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement today, although it is disappointing that there is yet another delay on this project—a dash, potentially, to the hopes of the community who’ve had so many false dawns, since their area was deindustrialised some decades ago.

As the Cabinet Secretary has mentioned, millions of pounds of public money have already been provided to progress the Circuit of Wales project. Is it, therefore, reasonable to conclude that that was done without Welsh Government being clear about the precise nature of its intentions regarding the project as a whole? The Cabinet Secretary has said that his Government has engaged with the Heads of the Valleys Development Company since 2011; why are we here in 2016, and only now has the Government set out its red lines, its business proposal? Is the Cabinet Secretary able to reveal when the 50:50 liability share between private and public sectors became Welsh Government policy in relation to this project? And can he elaborate on why, for this project, such a breakdown has been deemed appropriate?

Whilst we fully accept the need for serious care when Government underwrites private schemes, Government usually does so, of course, when markets fail. In this case, a failure to invest in areas such as Blaenau Gwent under normal market conditions. Government intervention is therefore crucial in order to secure employment in such areas. Why has there not been a clarity of communication between Welsh Government, local communities and investors on that basis? As someone who has spent part of my upbringing in Tredegar, I, in my relatively short life so far—so far—have seen hopes raised and dashed in places like Blaenau Gwent; promises of new opportunities made and then taken away. And here we have, again, years and years of raising and dashing hopes of people and communities who’ve suffered intolerable poverty and unacceptable levels of deprivation. Is it any wonder that so many, for so long, have lost all hope that things will ever change? Will the Cabinet Secretary give his honest assessment on whether or not he believes this project has a future? And what impact does he believe this sorry saga of many years will have on the long-term economic prospects for our Valleys communities?