I am grateful to the Cabinet Secretary, as well, for allowing his official to come to a meeting that I organised last week with stakeholders. The meeting was probably more technical in terms of what areas should be covered and who should govern a deal, because I think it is, perhaps, a little bit too early to get into any detail.

Of course, city deals are already reshaping the economic development priorities of south Wales, and the Welsh Government's new regional approach set out in 'Prosperity for All: Economic Action Plan' supports this. As a committee, we took on this inquiry because we wanted to see what impact these deals were having, how they were progressing and to compare the Welsh deals with what is happening in other parts of the UK. Deals are very much being talked about as a key driver of future economic activity in Wales, so we need to ensure that there is clarity about what is happening, who is responsible for the plans and what happens if targets aren't achieved.

I'll give one example. We felt that there was a greater need for certainty that meeting the UK Government's drive for GDP growth and the Welsh Government's ambitions for a sustainable economy can both be achieved at the same time.

Whilst we in Wales were looking at our city deals, in the Scottish Parliament, the Local Government and Communities Committee have been doing something very similar to us. Their report, published two weeks ago, reaches many of the same conclusions that we did, which, I think, is reassuring. Interestingly, they also felt that there was a tension between the aims of the devolved and the UK Governments.

Their report says, 

'further clarification is required as to whether the focus should be on pure economic growth or inclusive growth.'

So, it's clear that this is an issue that hasn't been fully resolved in any of the devolved deals to date, and equally, it's clear that it needs to be.

Our inquiry revealed concerns about whether any positive impacts of deals would reach the most disadvantaged in the area, and whether competition between regions could see some places prosper at the expense of others. It's heartening to see that leaders of the deals are mindful of these issues, and there is some evidence of collaboration between Welsh regions, but it's not clear whether that will be enough to ensure that deals can avoid the creation of winners and losers.

I note that the Scottish local government committee also talks at length about the risk that economic activity will simply be displaced from one area to another. Like us, they worry that areas not covered by a growth deal could lose out twice. By that, what I mean is, once, by not having a deal of their own and, secondly, by seeing their home-grown businesses move to another deal area. This, of course, only reinforces our argument that all parts of Wales should have a deal.

The one area where the Minister has rejected the committee's recommendations is with regard to what we call 'fuzzy boundaries'. Our aim in this recommendation was to ensure that local authorities or other partners have the flexibility to contribute to more than one deal area. An example of which is, perhaps, Gwynedd and Pembrokeshire share some of the rural issues of Powys and Ceredigion, and I would urge the Minister to relook at this.

In Scotland, there are a number of local authority areas that participate in more than one deal. So, there is no reason why similar arrangements could not work effectively here in Wales. Should local authorities choose to go down that route, I absolutely accept that there would be issues around accountability and clarity that would need to be resolved.

Deals, of course, are at a very early stage and the tailoring to local needs at the heart of deals makes it difficult to learn conclusive lessons from other places. But, a constant issue is the need for partnership and an agreed vision for the region. This element of the south Wales city deal has also occurred, but will need to be sustained. The financial sums involved in these deals are perhaps less significant than they appear at first glance, because they are over, of course, a large period of time. But, the potential gains from collaboration, I think, between sectors, and the development of strategic development goals, could prove to be both the foundation stone and the lasting legacy of the city deal approach.

So, I'm very much looking forward to this debate this afternoon and what I hope will be an interesting debate. I hope that we will hear from Members, perhaps those not on committee as well, and I hope that, in general, there'll be consensus around some of the recommendations that the committee's report made.