8. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government’s response to the findings contained within the State of the Coalfields 2019 report? OAQ54734

Llywydd, we value the work done by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, including the commissioning of this report. The report has been shared with the Valleys taskforce members as they develop actions for the remainder of their programme.

Thank you, First Minister. One of the standout findings from the report for me was the link between the former coalfield communities and deprivation, with 42 per cent of communities being amongst the 30 per cent most deprived in Britain, and the figure is even more pronounced for the south Wales coalfields area, where it stands at 52 per cent. How is the Welsh Government ensuring that tackling this link remains at the heart of all areas of policy making?

Can I thank Vikki Howells for that important supplementary question, Llywydd? Here are three ways in which I think we are making sure that that link remains at the heart of all that we do: the work of the Valleys taskforce itself, which is all about bringing new economic opportunities to people in the Valleys area to make sure that those underlying and historic trends as the report identifies can be eroded further into the future. Then we are investing in the foundational economy in Valleys communities: 27 different projects through the foundational economy challenge, found in all parts of Valleys communities, and which will strengthen the indigenous ability of those communities to provide those services and those jobs that cannot be moved elsewhere and go on being such an important part of those localities. Then, everything that we are doing in the child poverty field: the things that we do through the pupil development grant, the access grant that we have doubled and doubled again during this Assembly term, the school holiday feeding programme that uniquely in the United Kingdom we have as a national programme here in Wales. I'm thinking back to Dr Dai Lloyd's question about dentistry earlier this afternoon: the Designed to Smile programme, which is a very unusual programme indeed in social welfare provision, in having closed the gap between those with the best and worst oral health amongst our children. The oral health of all our children is improving, but it is improving fastest amongst those who needed that help the most. And that's a pretty unusual programme in social welfare terms. So, all those things—the economy, the foundational economy, the futures that we are creating for our children—those are the things that this Government is doing to make sure that the findings of that report go on being addressed in all areas of our policy making.

Thank you, First Minister.