Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:40 pm on 24 January 2018.
As a Member of a constituency where people look south to your constituency, they look south-west to Owen Paterson's constituency, north to Wrexham and Delyn, east to Chester, and west into my colleague's area of Wales, I think it's absolutely essential that we respect that economic development sees no boundaries. But there is also a need for governance arrangements that are very clear.
My belief is that there will be no need for fuzzy boundaries, provided the deals are complementary, and given that we're establishing the roles of chief regional officers to ensure that those deals are complementary and to make sure that communities and businesses across each of the regions can benefit, not just from interventions and projects in their own growth or city deal regions, but also in those that are adjoining—. I'd say that not just for the developments that have taken place within Wales, but also on a cross-border basis in England as well. So, that's why we're very keen to ensure that there's full complementarity of the projects that are contained within the growth deals on the English side of the border to those that are contained within those here in Wales.