4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's plans for economic development in South Wales West? OAQ53101

Our 'Prosperity for All' national strategy and the economic action plan set out the actions we are taking to support economic development across the whole of Wales. 

Whilst thanking you for your kind words on organ donation, which is a crucially important piece of legislation for us as a nation, and also for all the assistance you’ve provided to my constituents over the years, may I say: the Swansea bay city deal is central to the economic development of the south west, as you well know? Last week, the Cabinet Secretary for the economy made a written statement noting that the UK Government and the Welsh Government had decided to conduct a swift independent review of the deal, which would look at progress to date, and would also look at how the deal is being governed. Now, elected Members across my region want to see the city deal creating the expected jobs as soon as possible. So, can you expand on the statement made last week, and can you give confirmation to Members today of the timetable linked to this review? When do you expect it to report?

At the moment, what we want to ensure is that the review is a swift one, that it’s independent, and, of course, one that will secure a foundation for the next level of action. Everybody, of course, is committed to ensuring that the deal itself is successful and, of course, we would expect very early in the new year that the review will be available. So, it’s crucial that it’s complete but also not too slow.

First Minister, hopefully, the Swansea bay city deal is going to be part of the legacy that you can be proud of, but, of course, we've all been a little bit jittery about the press reports that we've had, as Dai Lloyd mentioned, over the last couple of days. I don't expect you to pre-empt the rapid review, and I'm grateful that both Governments are doing a rapid review, but is there any—? There are two projects of particular importance to me: one being the Swansea digital waterfront and the other being the steel innovation centre, and I'm just looking—. Is there anything that causes you any concern at all—bearing in mind that these particular projects have had good sign-off—that we would need to know about now, or can you reassure potential investors that concerns over one part of the deal shouldn't shake their confidence in the rest of it?

Yes. Of course, that issue is well known to Members and I won't comment further on it, but the deal, of course, remains something that's hugely important for delivery in Swansea bay. But it is important, when circumstances arise, that a review is undertaken, just to make sure that things are moving on as they should, and that, of course, is something that we will work on with the UK Government.

First Minister, the city deal has a big part to play in improving the economy of my region, as does true collaboration between the public and private sectors. The region's small and medium-sized enterprises need a Government that understand their needs when it comes to infrastructure and regulation. What advice would you give your successor when it comes to creating the right environment for Wales's businesses to survive?

I think we're doing that already, and I think what's important is, more than anything else, that business knows that the Government is there to help it, to support it, but not interfere with it. Government works best when it works alongside business and that is something that we have striven to do over the past decade and, of course, the economic figures show that that approach has been successful. Of course, it's for the new Government to decide what direction it takes, but it is hugely important—and this is something that businesses have said to me many, many times—that we work closely. We're a small country; we work closely between public and private sector to deliver the best outcomes for the people of Wales.

First Minister, as Suzy Davies pointed out, one of the aspects of the city deal is the steel institute and, let's be blunt, if it hadn't been for Welsh Government stepping up to the plate under your leadership, we may not have a steel industry here in south Wales to have such an institute—back in 2016. Can you give me assurances that, before you return to the backbenches, you will meet with your successor to ensure that they understand the importance of steel to the industries in Wales, to ensure that it continues to work for the people of Wales, that the plant in Port Talbot is crucial to that sector, including the heavy end, so that we can see, going forward, it's not just the heavy end of steel, it's also the innovative approaches in steel, and how we can—? We in Wales can lead steel production across the world.

Well, I thank the Member for his comments. We all appreciate how important the steel industry is, of course, across Wales. I well remember in March 2016 the announcements that were made then. I think it's fair to say the future looked very bleak at that point, particularly for the heavy end at Port Talbot. There was a real risk that the heavy end would go, and Shotton, Trostre and the Orb—they seemed to be in a better position because they were fed from Port Talbot. When I went to Shotton, one of the points they made me there was that, 'We're supplied from Port Talbot. If we don't get supplied from Port Talbot, we have six months to find another supplier.' And that was a real issue. Even though Shotton itself was doing well financially, actually, without Port Talbot, it couldn't function properly. And that point was made very, very clear to me at the time. We are in a much better position. We're not out of the woods yet. The steel industry is—the market is always difficult and very dependent on currency fluctuations. But it took a lot of work, working with Tata—and, in fairness, Tata as a company were always open to working with us. I think, if we'd had some businesses from other countries, they wouldn't have spoken to us. But Tata had a sense of social responsibility, which I was impressed with for a company of its size. We were able to work with them to first of all reduce losses then, of course, to chart a course for the future and that work is ongoing. I know how important the Abbey, as we all call it, is to the economy, not just of Port Talbot, but—. In my constituency, Cornelly, most of the village was built to house workers working in the Abbey Works, and it will still remain a hugely important part of Welsh industry and, no matter who is in Government, I've no doubt that support will continue in the future.