4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's economic development initiatives in the south Wales valleys? OQ56899

Ministers take a direct interest in the economic development of the south Wales Valleys. My colleague Dawn Bowden co-ordinates actions that continue to flow from the work of the Valleys taskforce. Last week, the economy Minister and I were both separately in the Member’s constituency, pursuing investment in jobs, skills and economic futures.

Thank you very much, First Minister. It was good to see you visiting Ciner in Ebbw Vale and looking at the potential of that £350 million investment taking place in the constituency, and good, then, the following day, to see Vaughan Gething continuing a close relationship with Thales, which is a part of the £100 million Tech Valleys investment in the economy of Blaenau Gwent.

Taken together, of course, what this does is demonstrate once again why the people of Blaenau Gwent supported the Welsh Government last May and continue to support the investment programme that the Welsh Government is leading within Blaenau Gwent and across the Heads of the Valleys.

Would he be prepared to meet with me now to discuss how we can ratchet this up to another level to ensure that the benefits that we will see from the completion of the dualling of the A465 Heads of the Valleys road in my constituency can now ensure that we do get the jobs plan and the economic benefit that can lead to a real renaissance in the towns at the Heads of the Valleys? 

Llywydd, I'm very grateful to Alun Davies for that supplementary question. I was very pleased indeed to be in Ebbw Vale last week. I was there because it was the day on which Ciner, the company that plan to come to invest in Ebbw Vale, were submitting their formal planning application. I was able to hear from them about the pre-application exercise that they'd been involved in and the various views that they had collected as part of it. That application will now move to its formal consideration. It's an enormous opportunity, if it can be made to happen, and I was very glad to be there.

I've heard Alun Davies many times make the point that the Heads of the Valleys road is an awful lot more than a road; it is a catalyst for economic opportunity right across the Heads of the Valleys and the communities there. We do have to—I agree with him entirely—make sure that we use that £1 billion worth of investment that successive Labour Governments have made in completing the dualling of the road—of the A465—and that we then put that to work to make sure that it is that catalyst for economic futures. I'm very happy indeed to meet with him for a conversation about how we can make that happen.

First Minister, I'm pleased to hear you mention roads in your answer there to Alun Davies. I'm sure you'll be aware that 78 per cent of goods moved in the UK are being transported by roads, and I'm sure you'll agree that one of the keys to efficient economic development in the south Wales Valleys is good transport infrastructure.

You'll recall that the UK Conservative Government abolished tolls on the Severn crossings in 2018. So, the news that the Welsh Government is considering introducing tolls or road-charging schemes on Welsh roads is a bitter disappointment. How will you ensure that any tolls or road-charging schemes will not adversely impact economic development, and what assurance can you provide that the aim of these schemes will not simply be to raise revenue?

Llywydd, I could spend some time, really, trying to make sure the Member's understood what is actually being proposed, but I'm sure you wouldn't want me to. Let me try to summarise as briefly as I can: there are no proposals for road charging in any general sense. We are under a legal obligation to make sure that those parts of the network where nitrogen dioxide concentrations are above legal limits—that we are taking all of the necessary actions to reduce them.

We have a plan—a funded plan—to do that, but the law requires us to consider a further range of measures should what we are doing not succeed. And it is a legal obligation for us to consider those further potential mitigation measures. That is why there has been talk of road charging, because that is one of the alternative things that we have to consider in order to demonstrate that we are meeting our legal obligations—not because we plan to do so; there are no such plans. We hope that what we're already doing—the 50 mph speed limits and other mitigation measures—will be sufficient to bring air quality within the limits of the law. But the law requires us, in case that should not succeed, to work through, with local communities, other measures that may be necessary, and that's where this story finds its origin.