Part of 2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 14 December 2016.
Of course, I recognise the impact that bank closures can have on constituencies, and other Members have raised that too. It seems to have all gone downhill since the Member left, perhaps, in terms of his former role. Specifically in Pembrokeshire, we are supporting Pembrokeshire County Council with £1.25 million through the Vibrant and Viable Places town-centre loans scheme to reduce the number of vacant, underutilised and redundant sites and premises in the town centres of Pembroke, Milford Haven and Haverfordwest. We do have to work in partnership to make sure that we get this off the ground here. It’s really hard to turn communities around—once these properties become empty, getting them re-floated is a difficult one. So, I and Ken Skates are working across both parts of the departments to make sure that we can make investments not only in Pembrokeshire, but across Wales.