4. Will the First Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's progress on an economic strategy for the Heads of the Valleys? OQ59233

Llywydd, we continue to work with the local authorities across the northern south Wales Valleys and the Cardiff capital region to increase the economic prosperity of the region.

Thank you. First Minister, your own personal commitment to the communities in the Heads of the Valleys has always shone through, both as First Minister and prior to that as well. You will remember the visit that you paid to Blaenau Gwent during the last election campaign, where we both stood on the bridge over the A465 dualling project, and where you spoke about your hopes for the future of that project and what prosperity it would help to bring to Blaenau Gwent.

I'm very proud of the investment that we're making in the A465. It's the biggest single investment that the Welsh Government has ever made in an economic development project—nearly £2 billion by the time it's complete. I well remember the work of our good friend, Carl Sargeant, in ensuring that that project went ahead.

First Minister, Blaenau Gwent has already seen the positive impact of this investment. The local authority has already seen an increase in the number of enquiries from businesses wanting to locate in Blaenau Gwent and wanting to develop their businesses in the borough. I'm very pleased that the economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, has agreed to come to Blaenau Gwent to talk about how we can ensure that we maximise the value of this investment. So, First Minister, will you ensure that the whole of the Government works together to ensure that this road to prosperity really is a road to prosperity, not just for Blaenau Gwent but for the whole of the Heads of the Valleys region?

Well, Llywydd, I thank Alun Davies for that. I've heard him on a series of occasions on the floor of the Senedd make the case that the new Heads of the Valleys road must be more than a bypass, as I've heard him say; it needs to be something that generates prosperity across its length. He's right to say that I've been lucky enough to be able to take an interest in the development throughout the time that I've been involved in Welsh Government. During the time that I was finance Minister, we devised the mutual investment model, which, of course, is now the vehicle through which we're able to take the final sections—sections 5 and 6—of the road to completion.

But, our ambition is exactly the ambition that Alun Davies spoke about, Llywydd. It is to make sure that we bring together, across its length, the different local authorities and the other players who have a part to contribute to make sure that the road is an engine for economic prosperity in that part of Wales. I do vividly remember that visit to Blaenau Gwent, because of the two things that are in my mind as a result of it. First of all is the astonishing feat of engineering that that road represents in so many parts of its length. And secondly, the care that has gone into it during its construction to make sure that environmental aspects of that road have been so carefully attended to. The Member, Llywydd, took me to see some of the additional work that has been done to make sure that the impact on wildlife in that part of Wales has been carefully planned into the way in which that road has been constructed. With that level of care and with that level of investment, I am sure that it will continue to do what the Member said, and that is to bring new economic opportunities to parts of Wales where those opportunities have not always been in sufficient supply.

First Minister, there is no doubt that all of us here want to see Wales thrive with a strong economy, an abundance of highly skilled jobs and great opportunities for all. Well, the UK Government's levelling-up fund is just one of the many projects that are actually going to help us achieve that. In the latest round of funding, my region of south-east Wales was awarded nearly £40 million, £9 million of that is being spent directly in Blaenau Gwent with the creation of a new world-leading engineering campus. This campus will help create the next generation of skilled engineers and, hopefully, bring more prosperity to the area. First Minister, will you join me in welcoming this UK Government funding for Blaenau Gwent, which will help create highly skilled jobs and ensure long-term economic growth for the area, which has been needed for so long? Thank you.

I think there are two or three points to make. First of all, the investment in the college in Blaenau Gwent would not have been possible had it not already been for the investment that the Welsh Government had put into that development and, indeed, the European Union investment that has gone into it. The UK Government are the third and final partner to make a contribution, and their contribution would not have been possible without everything that had gone before it.

We know that the levelling-up fund leaves Wales badly shortchanged from what we would have had under any other circumstances. Llywydd, let me make a slightly different point, which is, actually, the way the levelling-up fund has been administered has made it more difficult to bring local authorities together to provide that focus on the economic opportunities that the Heads of the Valleys road provides, because the way the levelling-up fund works is local authorities are invited to compete with one another. They have to come up with schemes within their own boundaries, and they have to compete with their neighbours for funding. The efforts that the economy Minister here has made have been to bring those people together around a single table. They have been diverted and distracted into pursuing what are, in the end, relatively small sums of money and in a way that actually undermines their ability to deliver those collaborative and co-operative ways of working that I believe have a much greater long-term chance of underpinning that local economy.