7. Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on the progress of the Swansea Bay city deal? OAQ51756

The city region continues to work with the Welsh and UK Governments to move the deal into the next phase. That is a delivery phase, and that will unlock Government funding.

Cabinet Secretary, I am a great supporter of the city deal, and I believe that the real benefit will not just be in the 11 projects that have been selected to go forward, but in the economic climate that that infrastructure will create, and the multiple small projects and alternative projects that can come off the back of it.

In Pembrokeshire, the Pembroke Dock marine has been put forward as the key project. Now, Cabinet Secretary, the city deal input is some £28 million, with £24 million coming from other public funds, and another £24 million from the private sector. But could you please confirm to me which organisations will be responsible for paying the interest element of those loans?

Well, the loan aspect, if I'm understanding the Member's question correctly, will be borne by the local authority, because prudential borrowing was always part of the contribution that local authorities were to make to the deal. When the deal was struck, and the financials of it were very carefully scrutinised both by the Welsh Government and by the UK Government, the ability of local authorities to support the contribution that they are committed to making to the deal was carefully examined. I remain, as I know she does, very keen to move into the phase where the money that I have set aside, and the money I know the UK Government has set aside, can be released, both to support the Pembroke Dock marine project, but also the other 10 projects that are in the deal. Local authorities must make sure that they are in a position to deliver on the funding aspect to which they made a commitment when the deal was signed. 

Naturally, as you know, as part of the city deal, investment in the public sector is crucial, of course, in order to ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place and that the individual projects, as we’ve heard, have the best opportunity to succeed. Having said that, everyone is aware that private sector investment will also be crucial to the success of the city deal. Without it, it will fail entirely.

So, given your most recent discussions, can I ask you how confident you are at the moment that the city deal is going to deliver the necessary private investment, and what are you doing as a Government to support these local authorities to achieve their aims?

Llywydd, one of the things that were on the face of the city deal for Swansea bay was a contribution coming from the private sector and the role that the private sector would play when the deal was designed and planned. Now, I am looking forward to the appointment of the chair of the economic strategy board, which will be key to the deal, and that chair will come from the private sector. So, it is totally vital in the deal to draw together what the local authorities can contribute, what we can contribute as a Government, but also to use the energy and the tangible things that the private sector can contribute to the deal. And I am confident that there is an interest from the private sector, and we can use that to get a deal that will succeed for every part of the south-west of Wales.

The one thing I'd like to tell the Cabinet Secretary is that there's massive cross-party support from people living in the Swansea bay city region to make Swansea bay city region a success. What I'm asking is: will the Cabinet Secretary confirm that all the money initially budgeted by the Welsh Government for the Swansea bay city deal is still available for the Swansea bay city deal?

I'm very happy to confirm to the Member that the £125.4 million that we put on the table to get the deal to its conclusion is still available. I am very committed, and as I said to Angela Burns, to do everything we can to assist the deal to move into the next phase so that money that is available can be put to work to support the commitment that I know is there amongst the local population to make this deal a success.