One of the issues I have to address later this evening is that of looking at Merthyr and the crucible of the industrial revolution. Gwyn Alf Williams, I think it was, spoke about the arc of fire from Blaenavon to Merthyr that forged the modern world. We're still living in that world, of course, and that world, today, is facing challenges that are not of its own making and not of the making of the people who live there and the people who work there, but changes that have been forced upon those people by outsiders and by people who have little care for those communities.

The points made by the Member for Merthyr on austerity are well made and well recognised. When I think about the community I represent in the Valleys of south Wales, I feel very strongly that we and they and us, together, are on the front line of austerity. Many Members on all sides of the Chamber will talk sometimes in quite an academic sort of fashion about the economy and the wider macro economy of Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. But for people in the Valleys, they're seeing the reality of austerity; how austerity can impact a community, can stop that community from being able to make its way in the world and can prevent people from achieving what we would all expect to see and want for our families. It is the real human cost of austerity that I think we're seeing in the Valleys at the moment. But we're also seeing the result of many decades of decline. The issues facing us in the Valleys weren't issues that were created by the financial crash in 2008 or 2009. They weren't simply the creation of the twenty-first century. But we recognise that, through most of the twentieth century, we didn't see economic success in the Valleys of south Wales; we didn't see the investment that we required in order to move from an economy that is dominated by the heavy industries described by the Member for Aberavon.

What I want to see and what we want to see together, I hope, is an injection of investment in these communities, but it is more than that—we want to create a renaissance of these communities in the Valleys. And, I hope that the work that we're doing—. Members have already referred to the work of the Valleys taskforce. That is a plan not for the Valleys, but it's a plan from the Valleys, written in the Valleys and spoken by voices from the Valleys. We have spent and invested a great deal of time in talking and listening to what people have to say from all parts of the Valleys, because one of the issues we face—. The Counsel General joined us for the introductory speeches here. Now, the communities he represents in what I would regard as the western Valleys—the Neath valley and elsewhere—have expectations that are different from those of us in the Valleys of Monmouthshire and the Valleys of Gwent. It is important that we recognise the perspective of everybody in those places. There are issues that are common to all those places, and Members have already made reference to local issues around local transport and the future of our town centres—they are absolutely crucial to us and to what we want to do.

But, more than anything, what we want to be able to do is invest in the economy and have a sustainable economic model that will sustain communities. It isn't my purpose and it isn't my wish simply to deliver industrial parks and industrial estates and housing estates in Valleys communities. What I want to do and what I think we all want to be able to do is to ensure that we are able to create a sustainable economic base for communities in the Valleys. And the connection with who we are, I believe, is absolutely essential. We had an exchange earlier with the Member for Monmouthshire, Nick Ramsay, who was talking about his part of the world, but for me, growing up in Tredegar, that part of our country was almost a playground for me. I would cycle from Tredegar into the national park, over Trefil and down to Talybont, into Llangynidr, across to Abergavenny and elsewhere. We saw ourselves as part of a wider community. It wasn't simply a Valleys coalfield community, but it was a community that was linked to other places, and one of the things I'm hoping we can do as part of this work in the Valleys is to reconnect ourselves with that heritage and with that history and with that sense of place.

One of the books I'm reading at the moment is on those long-distance walks that we have connecting some of the religious sites, the pilgrimage sites, in Valleys communities from Penrhys across to St David's, but I hope we can reintroduce, if you like, or find a way of learning and enabling us to appreciate, the history and the heritage that gave life to the places in which we live today, whilst at the same time ensuring that we are able to look again and invest in our economic foundations. I want to be able to deliver an industrial policy, an industrial strategy, Deputy Presiding Officer, for the Valleys of south Wales that looks to ensure that we have the quality of life that we want to have, but that quality of life needs to be measured in more than simply GDP figures. It's a quality of life that reflects our rich heritage and who we are and who we want to be.

There are numerous interventions that we're delivering, from the employability delivery plan through to the economic action plan. A number of seminars are taking place. I was delighted that the Member for Merthyr was able to join us for a seminar, I think it was six weeks ago, in Merthyr, looking at how we maximise the impact of the dualling of the A465, the Heads of the Valleys road, to enable us to maximise the impact and to stimulate economic activity in that part of the world. I know that the Member for Aberavon who's sponsored the debate this afternoon also wants to ensure, and needs to ensure, that we're able to invest in those Valleys that he represents above Port Talbot, and to maximise the impact of investments that are taking place there. I won't accept his invitation to venture into the dispute on the location of the school in his constituency. That's beyond my pay grade and beyond my ability this afternoon in a short debate. I've been tempted into temptation, as you know, before, Deputy Presiding Officer, and that's always led to trouble. I won't give in to temptation this afternoon.

But what I will do is give you and Members an absolute undertaking that this is a Government that is rooted in the Valleys of south Wales—not to the exclusion of other communities, but we recognise that the Valleys face particular problems and particular issues, and we recognise that needs particular answers, answers that are not found on Google or found in the library, but answers that are found in the minds and imaginations and ambitions of the people: those of us who represent the Valleys, were born in the Valleys, live in the Valleys, and the people of the Valleys. Because together I believe that we can drive real change, we can lead change. I want to invest in our local authorities and I want our local authorities to lead that change as well. So, working together we can create communities in the Valleys of south Wales that we will be proud to live in, and proud to hand on to future generations. Thank you very much.