2. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the economy of the Swansea bay city region? OAQ52269

The 'Prosperity for All' national strategy and the economic action plan set out the actions we are taking to improve the economy and business environment across the whole of Wales, including the Swansea bay region.

Thank you for that answer. I want to highlight the importance of the university as an economic driver, creating highly paid and highly skilled employment. We know the importance of cities as drivers of growth. I ask that, in conjunction with the university, the Welsh Government looks to create both a business park and an entrepreneurship centre that will provide a founder and incubator platform for students, ex-students, young entrepreneurs and investors in the region.

I think universities do have a crucial role in fusing their work with up-and-coming businesses, particularly in the tech sector. I think that the Swansea bay region is showing world-class expertise in the development of exciting new companies in the tech sector. I think it's fair to say that the Be The Spark methodology emphasises the importance of true stakeholder collaboration. University collaboration in business activities is absolutely vital. It drives economic growth and I think it shares more fairly prosperity across a country. So, in support of this, I recently announced a £5 million enterprise hubs tender, which will create the incubation spaces that the Member has described and which will stimulate collaboration and entrepreneurial behaviour right across the country.

Of course, the universities are key partners in the city deal, but there's more to the city region and the city deal, and all of us here, I hope, recognise it as a great visitor destination—we're all familiar with Gower and some of the more popular attractions, including the Afan valley. But the heritage and landscapes of the Neath and Dulais valleys are very under-celebrated, and their local authority is struggling to maintain assets in its ownership and, of course, it has no tourism team. If you want visitors to come and stay or to come back, they need to feel that they're missing out on something. So, how can the tourism potential of these valleys be more visible in Welsh Government promotional campaigns, but also in the Valleys task force activities?

I'm very, very keen to see both the regional plans that are being drawn together at this moment in time and the enabling plans for the foundation sectors, of which tourism is one, to ensure that we identify all communities and all of the assets that can drive the visitor economy. Those particular destinations, which the member has just identified, are clearly opportunities. Yes, they may be viewed during an age of austerity as being something of a burden on the local authority, but, in the longer term, I'm confident that historic assets—heritage sites that have struggled in recent times—can become a more important feature of the visitor offer that we develop, and so I can assure the Member that, as the regional plans are developed and as the enabling plans are developed for the foundation sectors, we're going to look at how we can use tourism, food and drink, retail and care to share prosperity more equally across the regions of Wales.

Cabinet Secretary, as the economy grows, obviously one aspect within that is transport. I know that there's a south Wales metro being proposed by Mark Barry, which highlights the future role of the transportation system within the south Wales area and the Swansea bay city region in particular, but part of that proposal is possibly the removal off the main line of Neath station, which is in my county borough. Can you give a categorical denial now that the Welsh Government will not support any proposal for a metro system within that area that will either close or take off Neath station from the main line, to ensure that the people in that area can commute across the region totally freely and knowing that their station will still be there?

Can I thank David Rees for this very important question for the entire region, but particularly for the community that Neath station serves? Let me be absolutely clear: regardless of who recommends what, Neath station is staying on the main line. Moreover, Neath station won't just be protected; Neath station will be enhanced as part of the franchise agreement that we've reached with KeolisAmey, ensuring that £194 million is spent, on every single train station in Wales, including Neath station.