Investment in the Heads of the Valleys

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:19 pm on 19 October 2021.

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Photo of Laura Anne Jones Laura Anne Jones Conservative 2:19, 19 October 2021

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.