4. Will the First Minister make a statement on investment in the Heads of the Valleys? OQ57077

I thank Alun Davies for that, Llywydd. The Minister for Economy will make a statement this afternoon on our approach to supporting the Welsh economy, including further ways in which investment in the Heads of the Valleys will take full advantage of the strategic opportunity created by the dualling of the A465.

I'm grateful to the First Minister for that response. People in the Heads of the Valleys have seen the Welsh Government investing in the future of their people, their communities and our economy. We've seen not just the dualling of the A465, which the First Minister has referenced, but also investment in Tech Valleys, we've seen investment in the railway. Quite often, these investments are made because we haven't seen any of the investment from the United Kingdom Government, and the Ebbw valley railway is a good example of that. When we hear about levelling up, what we see is a conjuror's trick; we see a mirage, we see smoke and mirrors. The only consistency that we've seen from the United Kingdom Government is broken promises. The people of the Heads of the Valleys need and deserve the investment in the future of our communities. Will the First Minister agree with me that that needs to be a constant refrain and a part of the wider programme of investment in Wales led by the Welsh Government?

I thank Alun Davies for those points. I've had the opportunity, Llywydd, since last week, to read his contribution in the short debate last week. I think he put it very succinctly when he described the UK Government's levelling-up approach as a

'lesson in how not to make policy and how not to involve people.'

The Welsh Labour Government will go on making those investments. The Minister met on 11 October with the leaders and chief executives of the five local authorities that have a geographical interest in the Heads of the Valleys to talk about strategic investments—how different to the so-called levelling-up fund. We're still to have the results of the first round of these funds, with, now, four months to go of the financial year in which that money will be able to be spent. It will give us £10 million, we think, in Wales, compared to £375 million we would have had had we continued as members of the European Union

I sat in this Chamber and heard Members on the benches over there say to people in Wales that there was a cast-iron guarantee that Wales would not be a penny worse off. Ten million pounds is what we have; we would have had £375 million. And that £10 million, Llywydd, is in real danger of being frittered away by decisions that will be piecemeal, decisions that will be—and we know this from their track record—politically driven, rather than responding to people's needs. [Interruption.] Oh, yes, the fact that Robert Jenrick is no longer a member of the Cabinet in the UK Government doesn't mean that his approach to politics has gone with him. We, as the Welsh Government, in the way that Alun Davies has suggested, try to make our investments in a way that serves the long-term and strategic needs of those local communities, and we will continue to do just that.

With respect, First Minister, 'pot, kettle, black' springs to mind in that respect. It is clear from Alun Davies's short debate last week, First Minister, that this Government and previous Welsh Labour Governments have merely paid lip service to the deep-seated economic issues in the Valleys. It is all well and good to have set up a Valleys taskforce and enterprise zones, but to achieve real change, there needs to be follow-up support and policy. And, most importantly, as Alun Davies quite rightly pointed out in the short debate, money needs to follow it. When is this Government going to commit themselves—truly commit themselves—to investing in the Valleys, in not just words, which you keep on about, and back it up with policies that are really going to regenerate our communities? Thank goodness for the UK taking the bull by the horns and really asking our communities what it is that they need and investing in them.

Over £1 billion on the dualling of the A465, £200 million to create rail services between Ebbw Vale and the coast, £0.5 million to make sure that Zip World Tower could open to provide jobs and tourism experiences in that part of Wales—that's just three examples of real money making real difference in that part of Wales. If the Member has allegations she wishes to make about political bias in the way that money is spent by the Welsh Government, then she should make them, and she should give us examples to back up what she said. I'll send her the report of the House of Commons inquiry into Robert Jenrick's use of public money in Conservative constituencies. Let her produce evidence of that in Wales, and I'd be prepared to listen to her.