Part of 2. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 2:19 pm on 19 July 2017.
Minister, you just said that the strategy will be unveiled tomorrow. The Minister, Alun Davies, made a statement last week. I did press him on his statement to try and explain what the hubs economically are going to achieve. He talked that there would be six hubs. One of those six is the automotive enterprise park—call it what you will—in Blaenau Gwent that has been allocated £100 million over 10 years. He was unable to give any information at all; I’m not sure whether that was because he didn’t know what they were going to do, or whether he was just being guarded because, obviously, there was so much focus on the Circuit of Wales concept that, obviously, sits in his constituency. I’d be grateful from your perspective if you could enlighten me as to exactly how these hubs will operate. Will they be merely just small enterprise zones? Will they be themed? Geographically, where will they be located? And what budget lines are going to be allocated to them? Given that we know £100 million has been allocated to the one in Blaenau Gwent, are we talking similar sorts of moneys for the other hubs that will be dotted around the rest of the Valleys as part of the strategy?