Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:21 pm on 10 July 2018.
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your update here today. You'll know that I'm an enthusiastic supporter of the Valleys taskforce and its delivery plan, as are so many of my constituents as well. It's good to see you referencing the former Tower Colliery site, which I believe has excellent potential due to its unique connectivity links. I look forward to seeing what can be done with that site with Welsh Government help in the future.
I have a few questions for you today. Firstly, in relation to the Valleys landscape parks, and particularly joining those up, you may have seen recently in the news that RCT council has been appointed as the lead authority to take forward the reopening of former railway tunnels, including the Abernant tunnel, which links Cwmbach in my constituency with Merthyr Tydfil. With your comments around heritage and tourism, do you agree with me that these structures, including the Abernant tunnel designed by Brunel, could be used as levers to support tourism being brought into the area and also to encourage active travel? How can the Welsh Government support taking these projects forward?
Secondly, a number of interventions around health were mentioned in 'Our Valleys, Our Future' and with last week's timely seventieth anniversary of the NHS, and that institution's strong links to the Valleys, are you able to say any more on Welsh Government actions to meet these goals?
Thirdly, and finally, I recently spoke at a conference organised under the umbrella of the mutuals alliance, which highlighted how co-operative and mutual models could be used to deliver services in a range of areas. How are you linking into this sector and encouraging the development of real grass-roots, co-operative alternatives?