5. Will the First Minister make a statement on the progress of city deals in South Wales West? OAQ54398

I thank the Member for that. The release of an initial £18 million of city deal funding was agreed by the Welsh and UK Governments in July. Detailed arrangements for the first two projects are now going ahead. I want implementation of the deal to accelerate, delivering economic growth across south-west Wales. 

While I'm very pleased with that last response it was a question about both deals actually, because things look very quiet for the Bridgend area in my region from the Cardiff end of things. The announcement for Yr Egin and the Swansea waterfront digital district, of course, was very, very welcome. I understand from the board that the money will be released. That time is very close. But I also understand that it won’t be released until the recommendations of the rapid review of both Governments have been completed. That review was completed in February. It recommended what’s now being called a programme director should be appointed. I think we all remember that. The job advert for that appeared on 20 August and is actually closing this week. So, I’m wondering what ‘very close’ actually means. This programme is so important to my region, First Minister. It’s a quarter of the way through for the Swansea bay deal, and even further ahead for the Cardiff deal. Is there anything at this stage that Welsh Government can do to pick up that pace, as we both seem to want?

I just want to agree with what Suzy Davies has said. Both the UK Government and the Welsh Government are very anxious to be able to put in the hands of the city deal itself the funding that we have agreed should be made available to us. The rapid independent review that was commissioned in January was a joint review commissioned by both Governments. We are obliged, I think, to abide by its conclusions and to make sure that the city deal has everything it needs in place, including that programme director, so that there can be confidence by both Governments that the money we release will be effectively used for the purposes for which we will provide it. Our officials are working hard alongside officials of the city deal to try and make sure that all those pieces of the jigsaw are there. When I was finance Minister, I wanted this money out of our budget and in the hands of the city deal because it caused some technical issues in the way that we treated that money in our accounts. I’m still very anxious that we do what we can to accelerate the money that has now been agreed for those two projects, but then to accelerate other projects that can come round the same track, and further money, which is agreed, waiting, ready to be released, can be put to good use right across that south-west Wales region.

I've been a cheerleader for the city deals ever since they were being first thought of. I believe in the importance of the city deal for south-west Wales. I welcome the Welsh Government’s support, and, before anyone else says anything, the Westminster Government's support, because I don’t care where the money comes from as long as it comes into my area. What I would say is the city deal has shown us the need for regional policy within Wales. Has the Welsh First Minister given any thought to actually having a regional policy within Wales that can support areas such as the south-west Wales region?

I thank the Member for that, which is a prescient question given the work that my colleague Ken Skates is doing on a regional economic approach, and that we now have leads in all the areas for regional developments working with the Minister for Finance and the Minister for local government, creating those new footprints, doing all the work that our colleague Huw Irranca-Davies is doing to lead a new regional economic approach for funding post Brexit. We need to bring those things together, to have common footprints for them, and to add those different strands together in a way that adds up to a genuinely regional approach. And I absolutely recognise the work that Mike Hedges has done in always supporting the Swansea city deal because of the transformative effect it can have not simply for the city of Swansea, but for the whole region that Swansea helps to lead.