Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:38 pm on 27 June 2017.
I’m afraid that’s not what the statement that came forward from the Cabinet Secretary this morning indicated. As I said, in his written statement, he says that there is little evidence of a project like this delivering, on the numbers that have been talked about. In fact, it actually talks of only 100 whole-time equivalent jobs being delivered, on the circuit—I take that, and there is a park alongside it. But, actually, the permanent secretary, in that department, said yesterday that it was a project ready to be delivered, he had confidence and, again, reiterating his words, it was a very high impact project. So, obviously, he had confidence in the project.
Your Government, at the eleventh hour, withdrew its support for this project. You’ve offered a fig leaf, by saying that you’re going to reinvigorate the enterprise zone in Ebbw Vale, which has, to date, delivered very little investment to the area. I go back to the point: how can there be two wide-ranging statements, one from the Cabinet Secretary, one from the most senior civil servant, that are so opposed in the views of this project? I think the public deserve a greater understanding of why it has taken five years to get to this point.