Diolch. The Rhondda, my constituency, my home, is a place that has struggled for decades. Now, much as many people might like to, we cannot get away from the fact that since the start of the various pit closure programmes, but especially since Margaret Thatcher's attack on our communities in the 1980s, with no plan to replace those lost jobs, life has been a big struggle for many people, and the problems facing people are of course mainly economic.

We are not unique. Most of our former industrial areas have struggled for generations, but the Rhondda is in a particularly precarious situation. In a study of towns in Wales and England most vulnerable to the economic effects of COVID-19, two from the Rhondda were named in the top 20. This, of course, comes on top of devastating floods. The Rhondda could really do with some help right now, but, sadly, little has been forthcoming from the Valleys taskforce. Yes, we have the Skyline project, which is pioneered by the amazing people at Welcome To Our Woods, and, yes, there are good works going on in terms of empty homes. But this isn't enough. We need more job creation.

Take the classic example of the co-operative made up of former Burberry workers, which tried to get off the ground in the last two years. There's been a lot of talk, but, to date, there has been little concrete support, no contracts, and no financial assistance for this group. The Burberry co-operative represents an opportunity to take advantage of world-class clothing manufacturing skills that still exist within our community following Burberry's departure from Treorchy 13 years ago. It could have been an iconic and great success story—yet nothing. In the taskforce's original delivery plan, there are three overriding priorities: good quality jobs and the skills to do them, better public services and community. The example of the Burberry workers in the Rhondda—that co-operative would fit perfectly well with the first priority, and it would meet the other two as well. So many well-spun initiatives we've seen, but how long is it going to be before there's any real addressing of the socioeconomic problems that plague our communities?

Now, I've asked this question many times but I've yet to get a substantive answer, so I will ask it again: how has the Rhondda benefited, in terms of job creation, over and above other constituencies as a result of the work of the Valleys taskforce? What measurable economic progress can you show in my constituency as a result of the Valleys taskforce? I and many other people want initiatives like the Valleys taskforce to deliver what they promise to communities like mine in the Rhondda but, so far, progress has been disappointing to say the least.