3. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government’s spending priorities in the south Wales Valleys? OAQ54712

Despite cuts to our budget, we continue to invest in public services, businesses and communities in the south Wales Valleys. In Merthyr, we are investing £225 million for improvements to Prince Charles Hospital, and will invest close to £750 million to take forward the next phase of the south Wales metro project.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. I recently visited Elite Paper Solutions in Merthyr Tydfil, who are creating valuable jobs, supported by the Welsh Government. I also attended an event at Idris Davies School in Merthyr; it's a fantastic twenty-first century school in the upper Rhymney valley. And I was with the First Minister to visit the offices of Merthyr Valleys Homes, and to hear about the millions of pounds of Welsh Government money that they've invested in housing in my constituency.

I know that communities across the south Wales Valleys have similar stories to tell as a result of investment from this Welsh Government—record investment has been delivered despite a decade of Tory cuts. So, as the Welsh Government prepares its budget for 2021, and acknowledging the priorities that you have already set out, can you assure me that, within those priorities, meeting the needs of our Valleys communities will remain a key?

Thank you to Dawn Bowden for raising this issue and for highlighting some of the excellent initiatives and excellent investments that Welsh Government is making in the community that she represents. I'm really pleased to see that she's had the opportunity to visit so many of them. For example, Elite Paper Solutions, I think, is really exciting in terms of what's possible through our Better Jobs Closer to Home approach, and I want to see much more of that kind of work being done to support our procurement across Wales as much as anything else. 

I think it is important to recognise that the recent spending round doesn't turn the page on austerity, as the UK Government has suggested. Our budget for 2021 will be 2 per cent lower, or £300 million less, than in real terms in 2010-11. But, that doesn't mean for a second that we're not ambitious for Wales and ambitious for the Valleys in terms of what can be achieved. So, I hope that, when we are able to publish the draft budget following the election, there'll be opportunities to recognise further investment that we'll be making in the community that Dawn Bowden represents. 

Caerphilly council announced recently that free swimming sessions for people aged over 60 had been cut after your Government cut funding for the free swimming initiative by 50 per cent. Minister, do you accept that your inadequate local government funding settlement in councils such as Caerphilly is putting Welsh Government priorities, such as the 'Strategy for Older People in Wales', at risk?

The changes to the free swimming scheme across Wales came about as a result of the work that Welsh Government asked Sport Wales to do in terms of commissioning an independent review to look at how well the free swimming scheme was meeting its objectives, particularly in terms of offering older people opportunities to swim, but also in terms of ensuring that young people, particularly in more deprived communities, were able to undertake swimming opportunities as well. What the review found was that only 6 per cent of older people were taking up the option for free swimming, but it also found, really worryingly, that young people in poorer communities were not taking up the opportunities. So, the review itself seeks to try and change that in terms of ensuring that more young people do get the opportunity, whilst at the same time ensuring that every community does have the opportunity to—or every local authority does provide at least some free swimming for people who are over 60. If Mohammad Asghar wants to write to me with the examples that he has in terms of how the change has impacted on individuals within the community he represents, then I would be certainly keen to explore them with the Deputy Minister.

Given that you want to create better jobs, closer to home, and most people in my constituency are agreed that there's a desperate need to provide well-paid jobs in the Rhondda, it's one of the things that most often comes up on my street surgeries, but people are not convinced that you're going to deliver on that. So, bearing that in mind, can you tell us what is the budget for the Valleys taskforce, and how much of this budget, if there is one, is allocated for stimulating economic activity in Rhondda—specifically the Rhondda?

The Welsh Government is working across Welsh Government to deliver the aims of the Valleys taskforce, so you'll see actions within that taskforce plan that relate to housing, you'll see actions that relate to transport, and other items as well. But what I can say in terms of the specifics of the plan is that the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport has undertaken a stocktake of the delivery plan and he will be making a statement next week, I understand, to the Assembly. But part of that work does include a review of the £25 million strategic hub budget, for example, and he's discussing examples of best practice with Valleys taskforce stakeholders there.

There are a number of other examples across different portfolios as to how we are investing in the Rhondda, but it isn't the case that we'd present our information on a constituency basis as to how those investments are being undertaken. But, examples in transport—because I think that was one area that was being considered by the Member—we're developing integrated transport master plans, working with local authorities in Merthyr, Caerphilly and Rhondda, and we've allocated over £600,000 of funding to commission those feasibility and design studies, because we know the importance of good transport connections in terms of helping people get to good employment.

Minister, the greatest barrier to improving the economic prosperity of the Swansea and Neath Valleys is a lack of infrastructure. Despite the two decades of EU structural funds, people in my region still have no reliable transport. What will your Government do in the next 12 months to improve road and rail links in my region so my constituents can get to work on time? Will your budget be giving priority to public transport infrastructure? [Interruption.] Ignorant. [Interruption.] Yes, you are.

We don't want personal abuse shouted across the Chamber. So, if we can stop doing that, please. [Interruption.] Calling another Assembly Member 'ignorant' is not acceptable, Alun Davies. And I'm going to ask the Minister to respond. Please stop it. 

Welsh Government is really keen to support the idea of the Swansea bay metro, which I think is something that the Member is particularly interested in, in terms of how it can provide a more integrated response to the transport needs of people living in the Swansea bay and wider areas. So, Welsh Government has provided some funding to undertake a scoping exercise to see what would be possible. Obviously, that's a longer term vision for the area, so we need to be looking to see what we could do in the more immediate term in terms of supporting our bus services, for example. So, there's quite exciting work that I know Ken Skates is keen to take forward in terms of improving the power of local authorities in terms of bus services, to ensure that the services in those areas are better able to respond to the needs of local people. But we're very much alive to the importance of public transport, not least because of the pollution incidents that we do see in our particular part of the world as well.

Rhianon Passmore is not here to ask question 4 [OAQ54716]. Question 5, Lynne Neagle.