5. Will the First Minister make a statement on the delivery plan for 'Our Valleys, Our Future'? OAQ51491

Yes. The taskforce delivery plan sets out actions and milestones to deliver three priorities: good-quality jobs and the skills to do them, better public services, and strengthening communities. It is an excellent example of joined-up, collaborative working—all the buzz words there—involving partners from across public, private and third sectors and, most importantly, Valleys communities.

With that in mind, I particularly welcome the aspect that supports local small and medium-sized enterprises to bid for public sector procurement contracts. Caerphilly County Borough Council piloted a project for local SMEs to bid for contracts as part of the Welsh housing quality standard programme, and it brought together four SMEs who worked together to deliver an external refurbishment package worth £1.2 million.

The work was successfully completed, but the council was disappointed that the consortium of SMEs broke down soon afterwards, and then were unable to further bid for contracts that were in infancy. So, the concern that the council has is that there's limited support to help those small firms continue to work together. So, can the First Minister tell us what further support can be made available to insist and encourage such relationships in the future and how that then will be embedded in the economic plan?

We know that they're hugely important to what we want to deliver as part of the economic action plan. Without a co-ordinated approach across Government, we won't succeed. I can say that the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services has met with all other Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries to discuss the work of the taskforce and the delivery plan, and it will be very much part of the delivery of the taskforce's work to work with those SMEs that are the bedrock of so many examples of enterprise in our communities.

First Minister, 'Our Valleys, Our Future' pledges to exploit the job creation potential of major infrastructure investment, such as the M4 relief road and the south Wales metro project. The M4 relief road is currently bogged down in a public inquiry, and one of your own backbenchers has claimed that the south Wales metro project is being set up to fail. First Minister, what contingency plans do you have if your Government fails to deliver these projects, which are essential to the success of the 'Our Valleys, Our Future' strategy, and that are desperately needed there? Thank you.

He will know that the M4 relief road is something that, as a Government, we've taken a view is very much needed. There has to be a public inquiry, because it's hugely important that these issues are tested. I don't think anybody would disagree with the need to do that, to make sure that any decision we take in the future is based on what the inquiry has found.

Secondly, given that I was the first person to talk about a south Wales metro, at Bedwas rugby club, if I remember, back in 2009, I can guarantee that it's not been set up to fail. I want the metro to work. It's hugely important, as far as south Wales is concerned. It provides huge opportunities, not just to get people to work faster, but to get investment into communities that, up to now, have struggled to get the right levels of investment because of where they sit geographically. So, the south Wales metro is definitely something that I want to see succeed for the people of Wales.

First Minister, the economic action plan that's just been published says that Government will be able to

'utilise the regional approach as a glue to bring together and integrate the interventions of the Valleys Taskforce and City Deals.'

Now, what that says to me is that the singular focus on the unique problems and opportunities of the Valleys will be lost. The Valleys taskforce has been disbanded, there's been no new money put on the table that I'm currently aware of, and so, without a structure to deliver it, without a specific budget, won't this strategy be just, once again, a long list of very good intentions that, unfortunately, won't be delivered upon?

No. If we take the western Valleys, for example, which he will have an interest in, naturally, in terms of the area he represents, we know that the western Valleys are linked to the wider economy of south-west Wales, particularly the city of Swansea. So, how is that delivered? Well, the taskforce is working closely with the Swansea bay city deal to maximise its benefits to the Valleys communities and to ensure that the priorities of the city deal and the taskforce are aligned. So, it's a question of tapping into existing sources of funding, when it comes to the city deal. We know, of course, as we look at developing strategic hubs, for example, in the future, that we will need to consider what the financial obligations are in order to deliver on the recommendations of the taskforce.