An opportunity now for the party spokespeople to ask questions. Plaid Cymru's spokesperson, Adam Price.

Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to return, if I may, to the Valleys taskforce implementation plan. I think all of us would agree that it contains, at a high level, very, very laudable aims in terms of our communities, and we thank members of the taskforce, and, indeed, all those who took part in the various consultations that occurred across the Valleys areas.

But as the Cabinet Secretary, I'm sure, will concede, the key will be in the detail, of course, of how the plan is delivered. There are 68 action points in the plan as a whole, but you refer to specific targets. Maybe I can help him out here because, actually, the plan itself, on page 46, actually shows that there are only two specific targets. After going through all the well-being indicators, there are only two. And 7,000 additional jobs, 2,000 of which will be created as a result of entrepreneurship activity. Could he say, just for clarity, are those net additional jobs—in the jargon? Are those jobs created rather than jobs created, safeguarded and assisted? Seeing as this is the only target in the plan, what budget has been set aside to create those jobs? Even if we take the standard, the £30,000 or £40,000 per job, which the Welsh Government uses, you're talking of hundreds of millions of additional funds. If, actually, we only achieve the level of job creation that we've seen in the enterprise zones—£90 million-odd in Ebbw Vale and only 170 jobs created in that case—then you're talking of billions, and yet there's no additional money set aside that I can see in the Welsh Government's draft budget.

I'm grateful for the question. The £90 million in Ebbw Vale, of course, also includes parts of the dualling of the A465 road, which was postponed by Plaid Cymru. In terms of the direct question you asked, whether it's net jobs, the answer is 'Yes, it is net jobs.' And in terms of the funding for that, the funding will be found from within the budgets of the Cabinet Secretaries that will be contributing towards that. 

What the taskforce of the Valleys seeks to do is to shape and to drive Government policy to enable us to achieve our ambitions in the Valleys. I know that you share those ambitions, and I'm grateful to you for the points that you've made in the past on that. We're currently leading a programme of seminars in each one of the seven strategic hubs to look at exactly how each hub will contribute, both to the jobs target you've outlined, but also to other targets that are outlined in the overall vision. When we've completed that task—I hope by the end of February—I'll be able to make a further statement on that.

Cabinet Secretary, I suppose you and I kind of represent the arc of the Valleys, the former coalfield area—you representing the eastern Valleys, me representing the west. I was wondering if the geography, really, of this strategy at the moment is out of kilter. As we've heard from the leader of my party, really, there are areas in the Rhondda, Cynon, et cetera, which are not represented at all in the seven strategic hubs, which, to my mind at the moment, seem to have been chosen, if not quite at random, certainly in an ad hoc way, both in their location, but also, possibly, in their sectoral focus. We did have the announcement yesterday about two entrepreneurial tech hubs, which will be in the south-western Valleys and in the eastern Valleys. And there are also the community hubs—an unspecified number of community hubs—that we'll have there as well. But, even if you look at the map, Cabinet Secretary, Ammanford is actually outside the map, and many of the other western Valleys are actually not included within the definition of the Valleys area. So, surely, shouldn't we have actually, in order to underpin the strategy, a strategic development plan looking at the geography of the Valleys, making sure, for example, that these hubs are calibrated, in terms of the new metro stations, with the areas of investment? And who's going to deliver all this? With all these hubs, surely we need a hub of hubs, Cabinet Secretary—an agency or team of people who are going to deliver these 68 action points. And what's the provision currently, and what's the connection with the city deal? Because it seems to me that the Valleys taskforce and the implementation plan are over here, the city deals are over there, and there doesn't seem to be much interconnection between the two at the moment.

Over the years, the Member for east Carmarthenshire has called for more strategic thinking in the Valleys and elsewhere in Wales, and has called for less of a pork-barrel approach to politics—I think you've made a number of different interventions along those lines, and I have always agreed with you on those matters. But, in the last few months, since these strategic hubs have been announced, I've received one letter from the Member for the Rhondda, asking for a strategic hub in the Rhondda, and another from yourself, asking for one in Ammanford. I'm not sure that always outlines the strategic thinking that you've had in mind. [Interruption.] The Member's called for strategic thinking.

What I will say to him is that each one of the seven hubs—I would be happy to consider developing a model, I have to say, but each of the seven strategic hubs is linked to the metro, is linked to public transport, is led both by local authorities, informed by the work being done on the city deals, and also by the Welsh Government. And that is why we're going through a process of seminars at the moment to ensure that we do understand what exactly we're trying to achieve with each one of these hubs.

But I will say to the Member that it is important that we do look across the whole of the Valleys region. The points he makes about the western Valleys are well made, and recognised; I accept those points. And I think we do need to look at how we constantly ensure that we're able to reach people across the whole of the Valleys regions. And I think that is a challenge that we accept, and a challenge I hope we will meet.

I was wondering—if we could step back a little bit as well—if we can ask ourselves a deeper question, which I'm not sure is sufficiently addressed yet in the plan that has been published, which is why the initiatives of the past have failed. Because the most sobering reading of all—. I urge honourable—oh, falling into bad habits there. I urge Members to read the engagement study, which is actually based on surveys with people in the Valleys about how they see things. And it's sobering reading indeed: 45 per cent saying that the state of their town centres were poor; 54 per cent saying that support for businesses was poor; 30 per cent saying that the local health services were poor; 45 per cent, poor transport services. And we have to ask ourselves why are we in this position. And unless we have a sufficient analysis and an honest analysis—and I realise that, for a Government that has been in power for the best part of two decades, that is a difficult question to ask—but, unless we ask it, then we are condemned, are we not, to repeat the failures of the past?

In many ways, the plan that I published on 7 November is a plan from the Valleys, and not simply a plan for the Valleys. It's about listening to people, talking with people, having conversations with people, about what they want to see in their communities for the future. And many of them do describe their communities in the way that you've illustrated this afternoon. I accept that fully. But what I will say to you is that it's not the role of Government simply to describe the problems; it's the role of Government to act as a catalyst to create solutions, and that is what this Government is seeking to do. 

Conservative spokesperson, David Melding. 

Diolch, Llywydd. It's now been two years since the innovative homelessness Measure and the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 were introduced, and I think it's won many plaudits for its preventative approach. I think it's been tougher to deal with rough-sleepers already on the streets, or on the verge of going on the streets, and I wonder if I can ask the Minister what the Welsh Government is doing to reduce the number of rough-sleepers in Wales. 

I thank you for that question. As you'd imagine, tackling the issue of rough-sleeping is a priority for Welsh Government and a personal priority for me, especially at this particular time of year, as we're noticing the weather getting colder and we are actually seeing increased numbers of people sleeping on our streets. So, in 2016, Welsh Government improved the national rough-sleeper count, so that we're able to capture that truer picture of the number of people who are sleeping rough on the streets of our towns and cities and other communities across Wales. And I think that that's important, that we do get a better picture of the number of people involved and the issues facing those people involved, so that we can better target those services. Also, back in 2016, we introduced StreetLink Cymru, and that's a service that enables members of the public to alert authorities when they see an individual who is rough-sleeping, and then some outreach work can be done to reach out to that individual to explore what could be done to find them temporary, and hopefully, eventually, more permanent accommodation as well. 

In terms of the budget, we're seeking to increase the amount of money that we put into tackling homelessness more generally, with an additional £4 million for the homelessness prevention grant this particular year in order to prevent people from finding themselves in that particular situation. But it is, as you, I know, appreciate, a very complex picture. People who rough-sleep do have a wide variety of complex issues and life experiences that they're dealing with, so the response really has to be a partnership approach: Welsh Government working with local authorities, providing the resources that they need, but also making sure that we have that network of support locally with all of the organisations who do a fantastic job in terms of outreach and support for rough-sleepers. 

Can I say, Llywydd, I agree with the Minister that this is an important matter at this time of year, because we naturally, as Christmas approaches, think in particular of people who are having to sleep on the streets? But it really is a longstanding problem and it occurs all around the year, and it is multifaceted, you're quite right, in terms of why people feel forced to live on the streets. You're right about data collection. It has improved, and this probably accounts for some of the perceived increase, but The Wallich recently carried out a survey and recorded a 21 per cent increase in rough-sleepers in Swansea, a 67 per cent increase in Bridgend, and a 93 per cent increase in Newport. There are some signs of real initiative and hope as well. You may have seen in today's Western Mail the homelessness charity Llamau have announced a new project and they've had a lot of support from the business community in setting up, or seeking to set up, a helpline for, particularly, young people who are on the verge of living, or who may have just gone to live, on the streets. But, because of the multifaceted nature of this challenge, I wonder if the Welsh Government needs to do something really quite decisive—for instance, by declaring that it believes a housing first approach is the main way to combat rough-sleeping. 

I thank you for that question, and certainly we are expanding our approach to housing first, commissioning new housing first projects to help people into their own tenancies and increasing access to emergency accommodation. The previous Minister did provide some additional funding to improve and increase the capacity of emergency accommodation, particularly in the Cardiff area. But I agree that housing first is the way forward, in terms of ensuring that people do have access to a warm, safe, decent home, because so much more comes from that. I know also that we need to be working particularly with individual groups that are perhaps more vulnerable, so, young people particularly. I think you were at the launch of the Llamau project, which did involve businesses in terms of tackling young rough-sleeping, particularly, and that was also attended by the First Minister, because he's made it clear that youth homelessness is a particular personal priority for him as well.

I'm also keen, building on the work I did in my previous portfolio, to see what more we can do to support ex-service people who also often find themselves on the streets. We're developing a new housing pathway specifically for veterans to try and ensure that they are able to transition well into civilian life and also ways in which we can engage with them, if and when they are rough-sleepers, in a way that's appropriate to them and has a resonance for them.

There's much I agree with in that response and, piecemeal, we see many, many good initiatives, and it's trying to combine them, and I just wonder if we need to look at traditional models that have not answered the problem to the extent that we would demand. They're basically treatment first models, usually based in hostel environments, rather than in a home that is then supported—you ensure that the person feels secure in their tenancy and in a home-based approach. But, as I said, the traditional models have been treatment first, and that's what you do before you put someone in a home of their own. 

Turning this around to a housing first model is a challenge, but already we're seeing remarkable success, for instance, in the project in Anglesey, which has been piloted by The Wallich foundation. We've seen some countries now adopt housing first, like Finland, where it's been remarkably successful. So, is the Welsh Government up to a fundamental review of the old systems—treatment first, generally—and looking at housing first?

I'm absolutely open to looking at what more we can do to expand housing first. As you do, I completely see the sense and the benefit in terms of ensuring that people have that warm, safe home and that's the building block then around which they can then start to build a life and tackle issues such as substance misuse and so on. Because we know that many people with substance misuse problems do have problems also maintaining a secure tenancy and that just compounds the kind of stresses and pressures on those individuals. I'd be more than happy to enter into some more detailed conversations. I'm very keen to look at the example in Finland and any other examples that there are of housing first and when it works well. But, to me, it makes perfect sense.

UKIP spokesperson, Gareth Bennett.

Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to welcome the Cabinet Secretary to his new role.

[Inaudible.]

So, welcome. [Laughter.] It's a bit of a reconfigured—[Interruption.] Sorry. It's a bit of a reconfigured department that you'll be running, in that you have the local government responsibilities that Mark Drakeford used to hold and also the communities portfolio, which has come from a different department. So, it may take us all a little while to get used to what is, essentially, a new portfolio. So, my first question is: how do you think this new department will better deliver on local government and public service issues in Wales?

Can I say how grateful I am to the Member for his very kind remarks—an example to all Members, I would say?

Presiding Officer, the portfolio I now have brings together a number of functions, as has been outlined by the Member. I hope that by bringing together a responsibility for both local government and the delivery of public services across the country we will be able to pursue a programme to sustain and support excellence in all of our public services, protecting and defending the people who deliver them and ensuring that the people that all of us serve, on all sides of the Chamber, have the best possible public services that we can deliver.

You also bring with you from your previous role the job of delivering the programme of the Valleys taskforce, which we've been hearing about at some length today. I think it's interesting that we have been talking about this a lot because it's possibly a subject that—over the last 18 months, we probably haven't heard enough about the mechanics of how it will work. So, I think we do need to look at it.

One aspect that I'm interested in is the retraining issue. We live, these days, in a fairly fluid labour market. If people leave their jobs for whatever reason, they may quickly need to retrain for another sector or work, and so skills is a key issue, as you've acknowledged in the past. How will the Valleys taskforce improve retraining and upskillng, and what sort of interaction will you have here with the skills Minister, Eluned Morgan?

The former Minister for skills, who is now leader of the house, was and remains a member of the taskforce, and, at our taskforce meeting tomorrow in Pontypool, we will be inviting the new skills Minister to join the taskforce as well. So, we will have structural links across all of those departments.

I do wholly agree with the Member's analysis on the need for skills. I'm a member of the ministerial employability group, and we will be ensuring that exactly the programme that is being developed at the moment will meet the objectives that have been outlined by the Member.

Thanks for that response. I hope that there will be a joined-up approach to this very important issue.

Now, an awful lot of young people these days go to university or college, as I'm sure you're aware. But this may not be the best route for everyone, and, indeed, a significant number of young people may not want to go to college and might prefer exclusively on-the-job training. Does this approach form part of your thinking in relation to the Valleys taskforce and the other relevant parts of your portfolio? 

Yes. One of the most important pieces of work that has been driven by the former Minister for skills and now leader of the house, who is in her place today, has been to drive forward an employability programme and an all-age apprenticeship programme that will deliver skills for the twenty-first century, skills that will be required in the future and may not be available in the workforce of today. That will continue to be as important in the Valleys as it is elsewhere. How we deliver that programme in the Valleys, of course, may well be different, depending on local circumstances.

In answer to the questions from the Plaid Cymru spokesperson this afternoon, I tried to outline that we do have a number of different targets that will drive forward the creation of 7,000 new jobs in the Valleys. They will be jobs that will require skill levels that, perhaps, we don't have in the population at the moment, and we will be ensuring that we're able to deliver exactly those skills for the future.