Businesses in Blaenau Gwent

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:10 pm on 6 October 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:10, 6 October 2020

Llywydd, I thank Alun Davies for that. I entirely agree with him that our investment strategy has to be a combination of investing in people, in providing them with the skills, with the training, with the opportunities that they need to fashion their own futures, and investing in places as well so that those places are accessible and those places thrive. And through our transforming towns package, for example, which I know has proposals, practical proposals, in Blaenau Gwent, in Brynmawr, in Tredegar, in Nantyglo, those are places that people want to live in and recognise as being valued.

I was very interested, Llywydd, in what Alun Davies said towards the end of his question about the Welsh Government going on investing in superfast broadband and in our railway network. I read, over the weekend, an article by the leader of the Welsh Conservatives here, in which he said that, were he to be in charge at the Senedd, he would be bringing an end to expenditure by the Welsh Government on non-devolved responsibilities. Well, I remind him that, when it comes to superfast broadband, of the £200 million that has been spent in it by the public service here in Wales, £67 million came from the UK Government and over £130 million has come from the Welsh Government, on a non-devolved responsibility, specifically in order to make up for the market failures and the failure to invest of the Conservative Government in Westminster. So, I'm very happy to confirm to Alun Davies that this Government will invest in those things that make a difference to people in Wales, and, where we have to make good the failures of the UK Government, we will step in to make sure that people in Wales have the connectivity they need, whether that is by broadband, whether it is by public transport, that otherwise would be so shamefully neglected.