Ms Dee Ryan:

I thank the Deputy. I understand her concern, which was raised by other speakers, about the rural part of the constituency and the differences between rural and urban needs. From a business community perspective, the amalgamation of the local authorities has been a success. It has allowed us to more greatly harmonise important functions such as where industry is going to locate for the benefit of the entire county. We certainly see ourselves as the sum of all our parts and while there are different emphases and nuances within the county and certain areas of the city, we are facing different degrees of the same challenges across the county. Certainly we feel it has been to our benefit that we have united to address them together. We in the chamber hear this a bit because we are privy to many of the strategic policy committees, SPCs, and we participate on them. There is an ongoing debate, a legacy from the time when the local authority was split, of rural versus urban, which I do not feel is helpful because in order for the county to thrive the city must thrive and in order for the city to thrive we need county support so I would be much more focused on uniting around the opportunities for us all.