As has already been stated, city deals offer a new opportunity to bring together a range of stakeholders to really boost the economies of Wales. It offers a new, joined-up way of working. Importantly, they will be backed up by an injection of capital that could help deliver major infrastructural benefits. But it is important that we get city deals right, that their governance is understandable and recognisable. They must also meet the objectives laid out by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and offer communities the opportunities they need.

These are the points I want to make today. Firstly, recommendation 2: democratic accountability is key to ensuring the city deals fulfil their potential to boost our economy. Governance must be transparent, expectations clear, and outcomes easy to monitor. It's important that communities know how their money is being spent. It's also vital that they, and their representatives, whether elected to this Assembly, to council chambers, or to Parliament, are able to purposefully engage and scrutinise decision makers. All this will help determine ownership. I understand similar points have been made by the Scottish Parliament's local government committee during its considerations of city deals in Scotland.

I think there's an important parallel here, perhaps, with the European Union. We know that EU funding helped deliver some really beneficial projects across areas like mine, but many in those communities never felt that sense of ownership. They didn't know where the money went, what it was achieving or delivering. This fuelled the anti-politics feeling that manifested itself in 2016's Brexit vote. We cannot let the city deals fall into the same trap. I welcome the Cabinet Secretary's strong response to this recommendation. Similarly, on recommendation 3, there should be clear recognition and awareness of exactly what success and failure looks like. However, as I've said, we need to be bold and dynamic and ensure this information is not just retained by deal partners, but shared and understood at the grass-roots level also.

The sixth recommendation is also very important. The well-being of future generations goals rightly underpin the work and objectives of the city deal initiative. For example, in terms of the prosperity and equality goals, it is good to note the Welsh Government's response to the report. The comment that spreading economic benefits across the regions is key to the city and growth deals is important. As a socialist, I am convinced that economic redistribution is key to measuring the success of the city deals. During evidence, we did hear some concerns from Colegau Cymru about the possibility of the Valleys being hollowed out. We must make sure that this hollowing out does not occur. Transport links, as previously mentioned, are critical to this and they must be genuinely two-way. They must bring investment and prosperity into the Valleys, just as they take Valleys workers out for jobs in Cardiff or elsewhere. The south Wales metro project will really be key to this.

I also briefly want to touch upon recommendation 10. When we heard from witnesses, the benefits of local authorities and private sector partners being able to engage with multiple city deals came through quite strongly. So, our recommendation that borders be fuzzy and flexible makes sense. This is also an area where I know first-hand from my constituency that such an approach would work best. For example, communities like Hirwaun look towards and have strong communication links with Swansea, although they're part of the Cardiff capital region and Cardiff capital city deal. These areas on the boundaries could really benefit from being able to engage in a bespoke way with both Cardiff and Swansea city regions. The response of the Welsh Government on this recommendation is therefore, I feel, disappointing. I previously raised this during a session of FMQs and welcomed the First Minister's expressed views that there wouldn't be any strong boundaries. I hope the Cabinet Secretary can give us further reassurances around this point when he replies to the debate today.

I've welcomed the opportunity to contribute to today's debate and to the wider inquiry conducted by the economy committee. My thanks to the Chair, to other Members, and the clerking team, and I would like to echo previously expressed thanks to all of our witnesses too. I look forward to seeing how the city deals work so we can see the development of the regional economies that Wales undoubtedly needs to compete and thrive in the future.