8. Will the Minister provide an update on city deals in south Wales? OQ56747

Yes. Both city deals are making good progress. The Swansea bay city deal is progressing well, with five projects approved and £54 million of city deal funding released. In Cardiff, the investment fund has so far committed £198 million across 12 projects, nine of which are already in delivery.

Thank you, Minister, for the answer and I'd first of all just like to declare that I'm a member of Bridgend County Borough Council, and to declare that interest where I'm a member. 

As you'll know, my region of South Wales West consists of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot councils, which form part of the Swansea bay city region deal, and also Bridgend County Borough Council, which is part of the Cardiff city deal. These areas are not exclusive to each other and many residents in Neath Port Talbot—or Swansea, for that matter—would benefit from some of the projects in the pipeline in Bridgend, and the same vice versa. An example of this is the park-and-ride project at Pyle railway station, which is situated in the Bridgend county borough, but it will have a significant benefit for many people living in Neath Port Talbot too, given its close geographical proximity.

So, can I ask what action is the Welsh Government taking to ensure co-operation between the various city deal projects, particularly on border projects that will impact more than one city deal area? And what else can be done to improve co-operation, so that residents, businesses and the wider public are aware of the investment that may not necessarily fall in their region?

I think there's a really pragmatic approach to be taken here, and actually the work that has been done on gathering regions together to recognise their common interests is part of doing this. And, look, we understand very well that Bridgend is in a position where it broadly looks east but not exclusively—that was a conversation we had about health board boundaries, for example—and making sure that Bridgend looks broadly in one direction for its regional strategic partnership does not mean that activity that goes across in more than one direction is somehow forgotten or put to one side. So, yes, I expect we can do more and, in fact, the way that officials from the Welsh Government and the UK Government work with the city deal areas is a good example of looking at how they can positively impact upon each other.

I again reiterate the point that I made to Gareth Davies: there is a good example here of how the UK Government and the Welsh Government can work collaboratively together with stakeholders and partners here in Wales, with an agreed programme of work on boundaries and areas we have agreement on how to proceed. That is exactly what we wish to do for the future and not get drawn into a competitive approach where individual local authorities bid against and compete with each other in a way that I think will deliver less benefit for jobs and businesses here in Wales.

Thank you, Minister.