Thank you. My first initiative on becoming the chair of the Valleys taskforce two years ago was to look across the Valleys for existing good practice to share. There was understandable scepticism when the taskforce was first set up in 2016, that people had seen initiatives to transform the Valleys come and go. There was no appetite for more well-meaning initiatives from outsiders, and great efforts were made for this initiative to be different. Building on the extensive programme of open meetings and consultation that my colleague Alun Davies and other Ministers undertook, I met with every local authority leader in the taskforce area to ask them to identify successful initiatives that had originated in their areas that we could spread across neighbouring authorities.

Rhondda Cynon Taf had successfully developed a scheme to tackle the blight of empty properties. The taskforce decided to scale it across the Valleys. We set aside £10 million for people with houses that had been empty for more than six months to apply for a grant to bring them back into use as homes. We also decided to add to the original project by making an extra grant available for energy-saving measures.

We co-designed a scheme that tackled blight, a lack of affordable homes, and helped achieve decarbonisation, and we did so in a way that supported the foundational economy, with small local building firms benefiting from the regeneration spend that this project has unleashed. So far, over 500 applications have been received. Inevitably, the pandemic has caused delays but I am pleased that the Valleys' local authorities are committed to making this scheme a success—a scheme designed and delivered in the Valleys, and one that offers an example for the rest of Wales.