Those of us who were brought up in a typical Valleys community will know that there is no such thing as a typical Valleys community. I'm from Caerphilly. My constituency is split south and north, and what you would see in the south of Caerphilly is a different kind of community to that which you would see in the north of Caerphilly. But also, those of us who've got friends and relatives who live in different Valleys towns and villages will know that those towns and villages are very different to each other, and have a different set of challenges. 

One of the questions I was going to ask the First Minister on Nick Ramsay's question about bringing enterprise to south-east Wales was going to be about—and I wasn't called, and I don't hold anyone responsible for that, Deputy Presiding Officer—but one of the questions I was going to ask was AerFin is based in Caerphilly. AerFin is a distributor for civil aviation parts, and for two years running has topped the fast growth 50 and it's based in Bedwas. And the question I would ask is: why can't we have more AerFins but based in the likes of Bargoed, Rhymney, Nantyglo, Pontypool? Why can't we see AerFins developing elsewhere? And it is entirely possible but will require the kind of change of culture and dynamic that is encapsulated in this plan. Among those things would be, of course, better transport links, more affordable housing, more employment opportunities, but also ensuring that people like me who grew up in a Valleys community do not want to leave, and want to stay and work and contribute. That's why I've never left my Valleys community and never intend to do so. I did have to find work, though, in Cardiff and I was working in higher education. I managed to stay as well as a county councillor; I've probably mentioned it before in this Chamber. But having worked in higher education representing Valleys communities, I've seen what higher education can do in the communities I came from, and I think those universities that serve the Valleys have a duty to reach out into their hinterland in a way that they haven't thus far, and it's one of the things that I've tried to, and successfully, represented to the Cabinet Secretary. I want to see Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan University and the University of South Wales proactively going out into these communities to engage with the plan, and I've seen in the delivery partners, higher education is mentioned many times.

They've got a duty to increase part-time study and they've got a duty to increase franchised study in further education institutions. The Cabinet Secretary has, in a previous incarnation, referenced the need to remove the boundaries between further and higher education. But also we need to see our universities engaging with secondary and primary schools. As a senior lecturer, I went to my former primary school and we ran a university day in Glyn-Gaer Primary School, one of the most rewarding things I've done in that profession.

In terms of the strategic hubs, I do have some questions. If they are going to be located in areas that are already prosperous, then their purpose can be self-defeating. One of the questions I've got is: how are those hubs going to link to areas that are in need of growth? So, how, for example, will a hub in Ystrad Mynach reach out to Senghenydd? How will Senghenydd benefit from a strategic hub in Ystrad Mynach? I would be interested to hear more about that, and I think the Cabinet Secretary has bravely and rightly agreed to support the Conservative amendment, which recognises that those further questions require answers and will be answered.

And also the Valleys in general: I talk about the northern Valleys as distinct to those areas close to the M4. A great deal of my constituents who live near that M4 transport corridor do not want to see the further overdevelopment of the area in which they live—that being the Caerphilly basin—and we need to ensure that affordable housing is developed in areas like Bargoed and further north, and moving away from those already congested areas. And the Cabinet Secretary for environment is here, and she will know that I've made those representations to her on many an occasion. Therefore, the strategic hub must enable the latter and guard against the former. If we can improve transport links, then I think that begins to answer those questions.

So, I think it's a very positive plan and one which I support. We can address the issues that I have grown up with and have continued to wrestle with, and I look forward to supporting the Cabinet Secretary and the Ministers in doing so.