3. Will the First Minister commit to taking steps to equalise the level of government investment in all parts of Wales? OAQ(5)0506(FM)

‘Taking Wales Forward’ details our priorities and the investment Welsh Government is making to benefit all parts of Wales in every aspect of society.

The Government’s own figures show that the level of Welsh Government’s capital expenditure on infrastructure in south-east Wales is twice that per head in north Wales, and three times the figure for mid and west Wales. I mean, it’s concern over that huge investment gap that led my party to vote against the supplementary budget last week. What assurance—[Interruption.] What assurance—[Interruption.]

Let’s hear the question.

What assurance can she give my party and Members on all sides who represent those regions that we will have equal investment for all parts of Wales so that we can see prosperity shared across our country?

Well, I think that the Member has seen the combined Welsh Government allocations for local authorities, health boards and police authorities for 2017-18, and has seen that there is only one area where there’s a slightly different per-head allocation, and I would want to share this again with the Member. In terms of capital expenditure, on an all-Wales basis that’s crucially important in terms of our investment in social housing, our investment in twenty-first century schools, and our investment in transport. I can, again, give you the investments in, for example, flood and coastal risk management, supporting the whole of Wales with £144 million; £700 million to improve our trunk road network; and in terms of north Wales, particularly important, £50 million to advance the developments of the north-east Wales metro, with potential to expand west in the future. But, I do have to say that, in terms of the supplementary budget, what was in that supplementary budget is very important to the people of Wales. It is £170 million to support the Welsh NHS—just to give one example—and £16 million for a treatment fund for new types of treatment; an additional £20 million funding for higher education; and an additional £55.5 million to support the construction and maintenance of the trunk road network in Wales, including plans to accelerate delivery of the Llandeilo bypass as a result of our budget agreements. So, let’s recognise the importance of our considerations.

Cabinet Secretary, there’s a Cardiff capital region city deal, there’s a proposed Swansea bay city deal, and there’s a north Wales growth deal. What consideration has been given to a mid Wales growth deal on the same scale, to ensure that there’s a similar level of investment in the fourth remaining economic region of Wales?

Of course, there has been work done, as you know, Russell George, in terms of how we can respond to growth opportunities in mid Wales, but I think it is also relevant to say—and I’m going to be very pertinent to your patch—that these are about budget choices in terms of those cuts to the capital programme that I’ve already spoken about. But five new primary schools we are building in Powys—recently announced as part of the twenty-first century schools programme. That is so important for the prospects of your children and young people in terms of growth opportunities in mid Wales.

Leader of the house, though you wouldn’t believe it, there was quite a degree of consensus last week during the debate on the foundational economy, which has already been mentioned by Simon Thomas, and it was agreed unanimously in the Chamber that indigenous small businesses connect with each other in a way that doesn’t happen in large firms. Networks of social capital need to be extended beyond local social contexts, it was agreed. It was further agreed that the geography of the south Wales Valleys has been a barrier to this in the past. Would the leader of the house therefore accept that for Government investment focused in this area to be successful, the northern Valleys should be seen as interdependent communities, linking east and west, and not simply spokes linking into a city hub?

It’s always good when we get back to consensus in this Chamber, as we did, very much, on that debate on the foundational economy, which, of course, the Cabinet Secretary for economy and transport responded to very positively. I was also interested to see the very strong arguments for the points you’re making, Hefin David, on the northern Valleys’ interdependency, with Vikki Howells, in an article in ‘The Western Mail.’ It is a very pertinent point in terms of the city region deal, because we have to make sure that we recognise the northern Valleys and it’s not just pulling down, it’s going up, and it’s that mutual interdependency.