2. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on Welsh Government spending for 2019-20 in Monmouth? OAQ52709

I thank Nick Ramsay for that question. Last week, I published the outline draft budget for 2019-20, which set out its main building blocks. The detailed draft budget will be published on 23 October. It will show continued investment in the Monmouth constituency in schools, in Welsh-medium education, in housing and in transport as we align our spending to the issues that matter most to people in Wales.

Diolch, Cabinet Secretary, and you got the fact that I meant the constituency and not the town of Monmouth, as I assumed you would. Leaving aside whether or not Councillor Peter Fox wants to live in Wales or England, which does creep up in this Chamber every so often, I'm sure you'd agree with me—and certainly Peter Fox has said to me—that he would like Monmouthshire to get a bigger slice of the cake when it comes to local government funding, and that is obviously dependent on the funding formula that we think should be looked at. 

Leaving that aside, though, Cabinet Secretary, one area where the Welsh Government could make a difference in Monmouthshire would be to progress a Chepstow bypass—a solution to the congestion that is currently happening in Chepstow day in, day out and which is causing much misery to the residents of Chepstow and to commuters. I do appreciate that only a third of that bypass would be in Wales, so we do need to see support from the UK Government and, indeed, cross-border co-operation for that bypass to become a reality. Can you update us on any discussions that you've had with your colleague the Cabinet Secretary for transport or, indeed, with the Wales Office about the possibility of progressing that much-needed project and about the importance of the Welsh Government also getting support from the UK Government for it to become a reality?

I thank Nick Ramsay for that. The discussions with UK Government on this matter are indeed for my colleague Ken Skates to undertake, but I have recently discussed the Chepstow bypass issue with him. It's exactly as Nick Ramsay said: about a third of the distance and a third of the expenditure would rely on Welsh Government sources, and, in order to make that bypass worthwhile, we would have to secure the remainder of the expenditure and the investment from across our border. I know that my colleague Ken Skates is very aware of the pressures that face that town in relation to traffic, in relation to air quality and so on, and I know that he is very anxious to progress those discussions with the UK Government and to make sure that we can bring them to the table so that, between us both, we might be able to make this happen.

Can the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on the total capital investment in the new Grange University Hospital, which will serve the people living in south-east Wales?

I thank Rhianon Passmore. The Grange University Hospital, which is, of course, very important to people living in the south-east of Wales, including Monmouth, is to receive funding of £350 million from the all-Wales capital programme. It is the largest financial scheme, Dirprwy Lywydd, in the whole of the NHS capital programme. It is in addition to the £217 million already provided for Gwent Clinical Futures. It is a recognition by this Welsh Government of the importance of the Grange University Hospital scheme to the future of acute medical services in this part of Wales.