3. Will the First Minister make a statement on public ownership of retail and commercial property? OAQ52058

The guiding principles for Welsh Government ownership of property are set out in our corporate asset management strategy. Other public bodies will have their own relevant asset strategies. Of course, since bringing Cardiff Airport back into Government ownership, it's been a remarkable success, and I look forward to the first Qatar Airways flight coming in next week.

I certainly look forward to those Qatar flights starting. First Minister, on 11 April, Ken Skates said that there had been no transaction connected with the proposed Cardiff bus station that would create a liability for stamp duty land tax or land transaction tax. Yet, on 18 April, he said Welsh Government had recently bought the site from Cardiff Council for £12 million. Did Welsh Government agree, exchange and complete on such a large and complex deal in less than a week, or has it somehow sought to avoid its own 6 per cent supertax on land transactions?

No, we did not gain a tax advantage as a result of this transaction being completed under SDLT rather LTT. So, I can assure the Member of that. 

On this same subject, which obviously is of great interest to me, could you explain why it's been necessary for the Welsh Government to intervene with this proposed metro delivery partnership, given that a huge number of commercial companies have benefited from relocating to Central Square and I would have expected them to make the planning gain necessary to build the bus station as a crucial part of making this a success?

It's been necessary for us to become involved because we want to make sure that the metro is successful. We have a vision for the site around Cardiff Central to become an integrated transport hub to provide seamless integration between trains, buses, coaches and the metro, allowing easy access for pedestrians and storage facilities for cyclists, and of course facilities for taxis and private cars, because we know that an integrated transport hub is by far the most effective way of ensuring that people will actually use the system in the first place. So, I think it is appropriate for Government to become involved in developing the heart of our capital city for the benefit of not just the people of Cardiff but of course people who live beyond and work in the city every day.