:00:00. > :00:13.Who thinks ?280m is a lot of money? It is a lot of money and that's how
:00:14. > :00:17.much it's going to take to make this happen. The Circuit of Wales is
:00:18. > :00:22.making big promises about jobs in one of Wales' poorest communities.
:00:23. > :00:30.I'm that desperate - I know it sounds like begging, but I am that
:00:31. > :00:33.desperate to get the opportunity. There's nothing wrong with wanting a
:00:34. > :00:36.job. But can they make it happen? You don't know if they've got the
:00:37. > :00:40.money, you don't know if they're going to create the jobs. I've no
:00:41. > :00:43.means of knowing that - no. We reveal the company that wants
:00:44. > :00:47.millions from the public purse. But the Welsh Government doesn't want to
:00:48. > :00:49.talk about that. Has she had an opportunity to reconsider our
:00:50. > :00:54.request for an interview? And we meet the man behind the vision. Can
:00:55. > :00:55.you look me in the eye right now and say, yes, you are definitely going
:00:56. > :01:15.to deliver? Plans to build create a world class
:01:16. > :01:19.circuit in Ebbw Vale could certainly attract international attention.
:01:20. > :01:22.Tonight we will be asking whether the Welsh and UK government are
:01:23. > :01:31.right to spend tens of millions of pounds of public money to support
:01:32. > :01:44.such a scheme. Will they create all the jobs promised or is this simply
:01:45. > :01:47.spin? And is everything as it seems? It promises to be the bright new
:01:48. > :01:53.start Blaenau Gwent so desperately needs. So far nothing has replaced
:01:54. > :02:00.the 11,000 steel jobs which were lost when the works closed 12 years
:02:01. > :02:08.ago. Today the site is almost unrecognisable. There's a hospital
:02:09. > :02:15.there, sports centre, colleges, two new schools, completely transformed
:02:16. > :02:20.from when I worked there. Ex-steelworker Hedley McCarthy now
:02:21. > :02:27.leads Blaenau Gwent Council. He says the area needs the circuit of Wales.
:02:28. > :02:30.That's where we'd be looking to be building the Circuit of Wales where
:02:31. > :02:37.it intends to be. I suppose my initial reaction was pie in the sky.
:02:38. > :02:40.Why did you think that? Well, it was such an unusual,
:02:41. > :02:44.thinking-out-of-the-box proposal. Campaigners say it's in the wrong
:02:45. > :02:49.place - on an 830 acre greenfield site next to the Brecon Beacons
:02:50. > :02:56.National Park. But what about the birds and the wildlife? I think the
:02:57. > :03:02.birds will fly off somewhere else. You think? Yes I do. The company
:03:03. > :03:11.revealed its ?280m plans three years ago. They've been the talk of the
:03:12. > :03:16.town. I think it'll bring business. It will bring jobs. Fantastic.
:03:17. > :03:22.Anything that creates job opportunities - I'm all for it. I
:03:23. > :03:24.think that's what we need round here - not so much to get the women here,
:03:25. > :03:36.to get the men here! The developers said diggers would be
:03:37. > :03:41.on site before Christmas, but it hasn't happened. For the company,
:03:42. > :03:44.the race has already begun, to develop the circuit, the hotels and
:03:45. > :03:53.the grandstands on this site in time to host MotoGP in September 2015.
:03:54. > :04:01.Since 2011, the company's made big, bold promises on the streets and
:04:02. > :04:07.online. I'm Michael Carrick, chief executive. What we are confident of
:04:08. > :04:10.is it will make a difference what we are hopeful of, is that it will
:04:11. > :04:14.change the whole of the valleys region. That we can anchor long-term
:04:15. > :04:16.sustainable employment. It's promising more than 1,600
:04:17. > :04:22.apprenticeships, and it's the biggest investment in the region
:04:23. > :04:29.since steel. They say It will generate ?50m a year for the Welsh
:04:30. > :04:35.economy. At the local college it's raising hopes. I get motivation to
:04:36. > :04:39.apply for jobs - go through a phase of applying for a lot, and if I
:04:40. > :04:43.don't hear anything back it knocks my confidence. And I start thinking,
:04:44. > :04:48."what's the point?" half the time. But you got to keep going.
:04:49. > :04:55.19-year-old Jack enrolled on his college course because of the
:04:56. > :04:59.circuit's plans. It would be a future something to look for. At the
:05:00. > :05:05.moment I'm scrabbling around. If this went ahead it's something that
:05:06. > :05:09.could last for life. And fellow student John hopes the development
:05:10. > :05:13.could bring his first permanent job. This could be my lifeline, because
:05:14. > :05:21.there are so many people round here depending on this. And if it didn't
:05:22. > :05:28.go ahead, well... John is 36, and he dropped out of school and drifted
:05:29. > :05:32.from one temporary job to another. At one point I couldn't read or
:05:33. > :05:36.write, so I thought, there's got to be something more than hanging round
:05:37. > :05:40.doing nothing, so I came back to college started from scratch. Six
:05:41. > :05:43.years on, he's is a trained electrician and he's about to
:05:44. > :05:47.qualify as a plumber. With a partner and two children to support, he's
:05:48. > :05:52.pinning all his hopes on the circuit. I'm keen, if I could start
:05:53. > :05:55.up there I'd be up there tomorrow. They're preparing their CVs for the
:05:56. > :06:05.company and an interview for one of the promised jobs. This is the man
:06:06. > :06:08.who'll be interviewing them: Ebbw Vale Rugby club Chair Jonathan Jones
:06:09. > :06:15.is the head of recruitment, and the local face of the company. It's a
:06:16. > :06:18.double-edged sword being local. It's easier to understand people and
:06:19. > :06:22.explain things, but if it does all go wrong, you are the guy who's
:06:23. > :06:32.stood there and said this is going to happen. The company is running a
:06:33. > :06:37.major public relations campaign. It has pledged ?2m to local good
:06:38. > :06:42.causes. And it brought in Lord Kinnock as an advisor. The reason
:06:43. > :06:45.was for their approach to me was fundamentally my local commitment,
:06:46. > :06:59.local knowledge and fact they knew I would kill to get jobs in Wales. You
:07:00. > :07:02.really needed the support of politicians at every level. People
:07:03. > :07:05.like Lord Kinnock can help you access that. If they can believe in
:07:06. > :07:13.you, they can help others believe in you. What have you been able to do
:07:14. > :07:16.to help the company oil the wheels? It isn't so much oiling wheels,
:07:17. > :07:19.obviously I've intervened to try to ensure there's real full
:07:20. > :07:21.comprehension of the character and potential of this project in, for
:07:22. > :07:27.instance, local council, and contacts within individual ministers
:07:28. > :07:33.in the Welsh Assembly. Everybody has been very helpful. The Circuit of
:07:34. > :07:45.Wales is challenging the home of British Motor Racing - Silverstone
:07:46. > :07:51.in Northamptonshire. Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart... Silverstone is one
:07:52. > :07:55.of the oldest and best-known circuits in the world and the UK has
:07:56. > :08:00.some of best fans in the world. It's been built up, and you can't do it
:08:01. > :08:05.overnight. It's drawn thousands of motor industry jobs to the region
:08:06. > :08:09.known as Motor Sport Valley. What was your impression when you were
:08:10. > :08:12.told of this plan to build this new Circuit it of Wales in South Wales?
:08:13. > :08:16.I've got no problem with competition, and a new circuit being
:08:17. > :08:26.built, my problem is, is it viable? Because we know how much we struggle
:08:27. > :08:30.to make money here. People who are supporting the circuit of Wales say,
:08:31. > :08:34.he would say that. Yeah, I would say that, wouldn't I? That's true, but I
:08:35. > :08:38.know events they want to take from us, but obviously we'd love to keep
:08:39. > :08:46.them here, but they won't make a lot of money out of them. The Circuit of
:08:47. > :08:50.Wales with its four tracks promises to be bigger and better than the
:08:51. > :08:53.UK's other circuits. And it's in a bidding war with Silverstone to host
:08:54. > :08:59.the prestigious Moto GP rally in September 2015. Last month I met
:09:00. > :09:12.Jonathan Jones on the site. It's fair to say the weather was against
:09:13. > :09:14.us. The vision is to create a spectacular race circuit utilising
:09:15. > :09:18.the natural topography of the land There are people who will look and
:09:19. > :09:26.say are you serious - why on earth are you building a racetrack here?
:09:27. > :09:29.You have to have a little vision and imagination. Ultimately we have got
:09:30. > :09:33.enough weather evidence to say during the race season it's no worse
:09:34. > :09:37.than current tracks in the UK. Wouldn't it be just a easier if we
:09:38. > :09:44.were three to 400 feet lower we are on the same altitude as the Brecon
:09:45. > :09:47.beacons here. Maybe it would be easier, but
:09:48. > :09:55.sometimes easier isn't always the best solution. The circuit is
:09:56. > :09:58.crucial to the plan - without it there'll be no development on the
:09:59. > :10:01.site and therefore no jobs. In 2012, Welsh Government gave the company
:10:02. > :10:05.?2m to help develop its plans and secure the right to host the
:10:06. > :10:11.prestigious Moto GP motor bike race by 2015. Last summer, having won
:10:12. > :10:15.outline planning permission, Michael Carrick told BBC Wales he'd have no
:10:16. > :10:21.problem finding the money to start building. Are you sure to get it?
:10:22. > :10:25.Yes. Absolutely? Yes. Have you got it? We've been talking to our
:10:26. > :10:28.investors for years this is an important step in moving us forward
:10:29. > :10:33.with the documentation and the decisions about committing the
:10:34. > :10:43.investment. But the company has never named those investors. How
:10:44. > :10:46.usual is this, especially when it has already had public money and is
:10:47. > :10:51.seeking more? It is actually very unusual. Justin Urquart Stewart is a
:10:52. > :10:54.leading city investment expert. The one thing you need to do to
:10:55. > :10:57.encourage people is confidence moving ahead in terms of the time
:10:58. > :11:00.scale and the money and actual investors - who is participating?
:11:01. > :11:04.The reason that's important is you need to have some lead people in
:11:05. > :11:07.there to encourage the second group. The company has encouraged Blaenau
:11:08. > :11:11.Gwent MP Nick Smith to support them. He's been championing their case.
:11:12. > :11:18.But he admits, he doesn't know where they're getting the money from
:11:19. > :11:21.either. Whenever I speak to Michael Carrick I say, $64,000 question,
:11:22. > :11:28.every pun intended, have you got the money yet? And he tells me, Nick,
:11:29. > :11:32.we're speaking to investors, I say who are they, he says can't tell you
:11:33. > :11:36.cos it's commercially confidential but we hope to get that money. I
:11:37. > :11:40.have to take that on his word and trust he gets stuck into it and gets
:11:41. > :11:46.it. What's the most recent conversation you had? I spoke to him
:11:47. > :11:51.two days ago. A week later I met Michael Carrick.
:11:52. > :11:57.Why can't you tell us who the investors are?
:11:58. > :11:59.Until the gone to their internal processes they are not going to
:12:00. > :12:08.disclose and we are going to disclose.
:12:09. > :12:14.Need ?200 million from investors. And you have a money in place?
:12:15. > :12:18.No, we have people who are going through that aggregate process. You
:12:19. > :12:22.don't actually have agreements in writing?
:12:23. > :12:26.We have agreements, they are taking their agreements through their
:12:27. > :12:31.processes. You're not ready give encouragement
:12:32. > :12:33.if you just say, I can't tell you at the moment. What sort of
:12:34. > :12:42.encouragement is that for anyone else?
:12:43. > :12:47.In Ebbw Vale, the company's PR machine has been in overdrive,
:12:48. > :12:53.touring schools, telling pupils what all this could mean for them.
:12:54. > :13:00.Good morning, I'm from the Circuit of Wales project. Who thinks ?218
:13:01. > :13:05.million is a lot of money? It is a lot of money. That is the amount it
:13:06. > :13:13.will take to make this happen. That is the cost involved in bringing the
:13:14. > :13:18.Circuit of Wales to life. It will be 3,000 jobs on the construction site.
:13:19. > :13:23.There'll be 4-6,000 jobs created in this area. No longer will you have
:13:24. > :13:26.to leave Blaenau Gwent to find a job and an opportunity, they'll exist on
:13:27. > :13:33.your doorstep. The company likes to think big. The figure of 6,000 jobs
:13:34. > :13:37.is theirs. They asked economists at Cardiff Business School to compile a
:13:38. > :13:42.report that would examine how many jobs would come to the development
:13:43. > :13:49.and in spinoffs across the region if the company gets all the investment
:13:50. > :13:53.it's looking for and if it got major events like MotoGP. But what the
:13:54. > :13:59.authors of the report were not asked to do was to test the likelihood of
:14:00. > :14:05.those things happening. So, the question remains - how
:14:06. > :14:10.accurate a picture was it? To open the door to Welsh Government and
:14:11. > :14:14.public finance, the company asked the influential Welsh automotive
:14:15. > :14:20.forum for help. Professor Garel Rees is its chair.
:14:21. > :14:25.We do have lines of contact into the departments and so on. So we said
:14:26. > :14:30.we'd try and do what we could. They then did get access to the highest
:14:31. > :14:36.level, the top civil servants to the minister, if you like. So what we
:14:37. > :14:40.were were, if you like, the conduit and the initiators of the scheme
:14:41. > :14:45.itself to try to get people to look at it but make sure that you are not
:14:46. > :14:50.being sold something that's not worth it. What about the forecast
:14:51. > :14:53.that it will create 6,000 jobs? It increases expectations to an
:14:54. > :14:59.incredible height and where are those going to come from? You need
:15:00. > :15:05.incredible multipliers to get to 6,000. So I've thought when that was
:15:06. > :15:11.said, this is silly. If you could have 1,000 plus on the heads of the
:15:12. > :15:19.valley, fantastic. But really, a figure of 6,000 does no good to
:15:20. > :15:24.anybody. Between 3,000 and 18,000 is the forecast. I mean, you can pick a
:15:25. > :15:30.number. Professor Garel Rhys has told us that that's a silly figure.
:15:31. > :15:35.Well, that's disappointing. I think we are going to deliver many, many
:15:36. > :15:38.more jobs than that. Can you name any other business in the motor
:15:39. > :15:42.industry that wants to buy into this project? There are a number of
:15:43. > :15:46.businesses that are in discussion with us and the Welsh Government
:15:47. > :15:50.that are coming to Wales because we are talking about doing this. Such
:15:51. > :15:55.as? I'm not going to say them. If they want to disclose them, we can.
:15:56. > :16:02.We are under dialogue and discussion with them. With the construction
:16:03. > :16:08.course coming to an North End a few months, students Jack and John need
:16:09. > :16:13.to find work fast. It's hard going but you can do things but no-one's
:16:14. > :16:18.giving you the opportunity to do anything about it. Today, they are
:16:19. > :16:20.preparing to meet the company's Head of Recruitment, Jonathan Jones, to
:16:21. > :16:24.see if he'll give them an opportunity to use their
:16:25. > :16:29.qualifications. I'll be telling the gentleman when I
:16:30. > :16:36.see him, I'll willing to start at the bottom and work my way out up,
:16:37. > :16:40.you know what I mean. I'm I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty,
:16:41. > :16:45.whatever they put towards me, I'll do. First impressions. Thought I'd
:16:46. > :16:51.better make myself look all right, otherwise if I turned up in a
:16:52. > :16:57.tracksuit or something... I'm trying my hardest really to impress him.
:16:58. > :17:01.Just prepared my CV for the interview rsmt I'm genuine,
:17:02. > :17:10.trustworthy, focussed and hard-working when it comes to work.
:17:11. > :17:18.Work experience is empty. It's an informal meeting at the rugby club,
:17:19. > :17:22.but they are still nervous. A firm hand shake, say thank you for taking
:17:23. > :17:28.the time to meet us. I'll get my point across at how bad I want some
:17:29. > :17:34.work. Hi, Jack, nice to meet you... Thank you for taking the time to
:17:35. > :17:39.meet with us. You are doing a plumbing course. Did you do any of
:17:40. > :17:45.that in school? Just at college. I heard about this so went straight up
:17:46. > :17:50.to the college then. Hopefully it will be local firms doing a lot of
:17:51. > :17:54.the work at the circuit which should give you as a local person recently
:17:55. > :17:58.qualifying a really good opportunity to get an apprenticeship. It's one
:17:59. > :18:05.of the key reasons we use to give people a chance. OK, thank you very
:18:06. > :18:12.much. Nice to meet you. Cheers. So, how optimistic is Jack?
:18:13. > :18:22.Hm... Jack has made big decisions about his future because of the
:18:23. > :18:27.promise of what the circuit might deliver. So what has the council
:18:28. > :18:30.done to test these promises? Its officials looked at the company's
:18:31. > :18:33.business plans and, because the Welsh Government supports the
:18:34. > :18:38.scheme, the council has decided to support it too.
:18:39. > :18:42.You give outlying planning permission, they are making big
:18:43. > :18:50.claims. Yes. So you really want to know whether they can deliver, don't
:18:51. > :18:55.you? I'm optimistic that they'll deliver. But what do you actually
:18:56. > :18:59.know? I get the point about being optimistic. Yes. But what do you
:19:00. > :19:02.actually know? A lot of those questions I think should be put to
:19:03. > :19:05.the developers because they are the only ones who can answer them.
:19:06. > :19:10.Because you can't, you just don't know? That's right. As things stand,
:19:11. > :19:13.you don't know if they have got the money and are going to create the
:19:14. > :19:18.jobs and you don't know how real those claims will eventually prove
:19:19. > :19:25.to be? I've no means of knowing that, no. Unless people are checking
:19:26. > :19:29.the figures right the way through, they are just merely signed up
:19:30. > :19:32.because they are signing up and they've signed up and they are
:19:33. > :19:36.working down the line until people say, has he actually got any clothes
:19:37. > :19:40.on. That's where you really need to understand, where is the money and
:19:41. > :19:42.the real strength to it. Back at the rugby club, it's John's
:19:43. > :19:58.turn to ask for a chance. Hi, John, nice to meet you. I'm a
:19:59. > :20:04.hard worker, reliable, I get on with people and that... Sounds like
:20:05. > :20:08.begging but I'm that desperate to get the opportunity. There's nothing
:20:09. > :20:12.wrong with wanting a job so never apologise for being keen to work. We
:20:13. > :20:17.understand the local people are keen to work, just haven't had the
:20:18. > :20:20.opportunity and, you know, there's no reason why, looking at your
:20:21. > :20:24.qualifications, there wouldn't be a chance with one of the
:20:25. > :20:29.subcontractors. Oh, I hope so. Kint wait. OK. Thanks for coming along.
:20:30. > :20:35.Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Look forward to seeing
:20:36. > :20:39.you on the track. Thank you. Thank you.
:20:40. > :20:45.But is the development on track? It's meant to be built in 18 months
:20:46. > :20:50.for motor GP. The race is owned by multinational company Dorna and last
:20:51. > :20:59.year its boss visited Ebbw Vale and was impressed. If it's ready the
:21:00. > :21:06.beginning of the summer, it will be time to be in 2015. If not, we need
:21:07. > :21:12.to think about 2016: But our focus is 2016. Notice he says "if" the
:21:13. > :21:18.circuit is ready. Lord Kinnock has been busy making ssh you are the
:21:19. > :21:22.First Minister is on board. Carwyn Jones is... You have spoken to him
:21:23. > :21:26.personally? Yes, he's up to speed and he's committed. He had a long
:21:27. > :21:32.meeting just weeks ago with Michael Carrick to go into detail about what
:21:33. > :21:36.was potentially possible as a consequence of an enterprise of this
:21:37. > :21:39.kind. Lord Kinnock says he's not being paid by the company but in
:21:40. > :21:44.future he might receive shares if the project succeeds. Pf
:21:45. > :21:50.For other racetracks, the Circuit of Wales is competition. Some say
:21:51. > :21:55.there's too much spin surrounding the development and even if it
:21:56. > :21:59.attracts big event, it could lose millions. Jonathan Palmer represents
:22:00. > :22:03.Britain's circuit owners, he's an ex-Formula One driver. Events like
:22:04. > :22:06.MotoGP, you would have to pay on the international market to the
:22:07. > :22:13.promoters maybe between ?4 million and ?5 million. A good ballpark
:22:14. > :22:18.figure. The events don't stack up financially as a commerce operation.
:22:19. > :22:25.It's going to be a big white elephant -- comeshl operation. --
:22:26. > :22:30.commercial operation. He told Blaenau Gwent about the concerns
:22:31. > :22:34.after hearing about the grant. When we heard about the public funds, it
:22:35. > :22:38.rang alarm bells so we thought we were duty bound to inform various
:22:39. > :22:42.people about the considerations which we felt they probably weren't
:22:43. > :22:46.aware of. Before giving the Circuit of Wales ?2 million, the Welsh
:22:47. > :22:49.Government commissioned a due diligence report to look into the
:22:50. > :22:53.background and assess if it was worth the risk.
:22:54. > :22:57.We asked for a copy of the due diligence report, but we were
:22:58. > :23:01.refused on the grounds of commercial confidentiality. Officials here
:23:02. > :23:06.wouldn't tell us how much more public money the Circuit of Wales is
:23:07. > :23:14.asking for, although we can reveal it's ?30 million.
:23:15. > :23:18.The auditor general for Wales was asked to investigate why the money
:23:19. > :23:22.was given. I don't know what has happened to that money. I don't know
:23:23. > :23:27.what the Welsh Government has seen in return for that money. They are
:23:28. > :23:32.simply failing to disclose the information. The auditor revealed
:23:33. > :23:37.the Welsh Government is considering investing another ?30 million. She
:23:38. > :23:41.also said the due diligence report didn't consider circuits can lose
:23:42. > :23:46.millions a year, or that MotoGP might not come next year. It doesn't
:23:47. > :23:51.look in sufficient depth or detail at whether or not the claims by the
:23:52. > :23:55.company are accurate, whether they are deliverable and actually the
:23:56. > :23:59.Welsh Government and the auditor have identified that it is high risk
:24:00. > :24:02.and if it is high risk, you need to assess how great is that risk
:24:03. > :24:06.because otherwise we are going to lose that money. That's money that
:24:07. > :24:11.could be spent in other ways in Wales.
:24:12. > :24:16.Why does the Circuit of Wales need ?30 million.
:24:17. > :24:19.Less than 10% of public comun. In this economic in Wales it isn't a
:24:20. > :24:24.large amount of public money. Reference to an infrastructure
:24:25. > :24:27.project of ?300 million to ask for a 10% contribution from a public
:24:28. > :24:31.sector. I think it's a modest contribution. ?30 million isn't
:24:32. > :24:34.thele only public money they are asking for.
:24:35. > :24:37.We discovered they are also now chasing after tens of millions of
:24:38. > :24:44.pounds and this time it's from Westminster.
:24:45. > :24:47.They've asked MP Nick Smith to help them apply to the Treasury for a
:24:48. > :24:52.commitment to underwrite ?20 million. What they are trying to do
:24:53. > :24:56.is to say, we are trying to get investors to spend ?280 million, we
:24:57. > :25:00.are trying to get also support from the Government to give confidence to
:25:01. > :25:11.investors. ?30 million from the Welsh Government. I'm not sure I
:25:12. > :25:14.know what they've asked the Treasury for in Westminster and they'll have
:25:15. > :25:18.to persuade the Government to support them. Back in Ebbw Vale,
:25:19. > :25:24.there's no sign of progress on the site. There is a new problem that
:25:25. > :25:28.could delay matters for months. Because the company wants to use
:25:29. > :25:32.this site, hundreds of acres of common land to develop the project,
:25:33. > :25:37.it will only be able to do that by law if it can find and register an
:25:38. > :25:44.equivalent amount of common land elsewhere. That's taking valuable
:25:45. > :25:49.time. The council are providing a portion of the land for us. 470
:25:50. > :25:55.acres. So a major portion of it then, the local authority will find?
:25:56. > :25:59.Have found. Have found? Correct. Blaenau Gwent council later told us
:26:00. > :26:03.it hasn't finalised the deal. It's considering it.
:26:04. > :26:07.These planning issues could take up to 12 months to resolve, so diggers
:26:08. > :26:12.may not move in until next March at the earliest.
:26:13. > :26:15.But that's not what the public relations man was telling local
:26:16. > :26:19.children last month. Construction is starting this year, we are starting
:26:20. > :26:23.to build it this year. That's how close it is. And by September next
:26:24. > :26:28.year, we could have the first races taking place just up the road from
:26:29. > :26:32.here. And he had more good news. There's going to be a leading motor
:26:33. > :26:36.sports race academy, so the aim of the project is to feigned a future
:26:37. > :26:41.world champion from Blaenau Gwent. It could be one of you or one of
:26:42. > :26:46.your children in years to come -- find. Signing a dial with Dorna to
:26:47. > :26:53.bring mow tore GP to Ebbw Vale is crucial to the deal. Have you done a
:26:54. > :26:58.deal -- MotoGP. We are confident. Have you done a deal? Can't answer
:26:59. > :27:04.that question, you know I can't. The answer is no? There are a lot of
:27:05. > :27:09.things that are confidential that I can't put on a television programme.
:27:10. > :27:12.Let me put it to you that the council have said that you don't
:27:13. > :27:15.have an agreement? I would very much doubt that. We were told that this
:27:16. > :27:20.morning, they don't have an agreement with you. ? They are
:27:21. > :27:25.probably saying the same as what I've just told you, which is we
:27:26. > :27:29.can't tell you about the discussions we are having. They are quite
:27:30. > :27:34.emphatic about it. They don't have an agreement with you. I'm not going
:27:35. > :27:40.to go into the detail. Well, it's a fact isn't it? Well, we'll agree to
:27:41. > :27:43.disagree. Dorna has confirmed it has not signed an agreement for next
:27:44. > :27:47.year and it's still analysing the possibility of hosting the event in
:27:48. > :27:50.Ebbw Vale in future. We have been trying to interview the Welsh
:27:51. > :27:54.Business Minister about why so much public money is being earmarked for
:27:55. > :28:00.the circuit. You're the press officer aren't you?
:28:01. > :28:03.I wondered whether she's had an opportunity to reconsider our
:28:04. > :28:06.request for an interview? We'd already been told that the minister
:28:07. > :28:10.doesn't have to give a reason for turning us down. OK, well, look
:28:11. > :28:18.forward to hearing from you. It was still a no from the minister.
:28:19. > :28:21.But today, new questions were raised about further grants to the circuit
:28:22. > :28:26.and more transparency was called for. It's the requirement of me and
:28:27. > :28:30.others and I would say in particular Welsh Government to scrutinise that,
:28:31. > :28:34.to dig below the surface and to not fall for the spin.
:28:35. > :28:39.The auditor general for Wales will also be keeping a watching brief. So
:28:40. > :28:45.will the company build more than hopes in Ebbw Vale?
:28:46. > :28:49.I am not optimistic or pessimistic, I'm simply realistic. I'll believe
:28:50. > :28:57.it when I see it. For now, all that students Jack and John really have
:28:58. > :29:00.are promises. It's good earning the qualmifications, but unless you can
:29:01. > :29:07.use them, what's the point in gaining them? -- qualifications. It
:29:08. > :29:11.will be devil stating. It would. -- devastating. If I was in Ebbw
:29:12. > :29:17.Vale unemployed thinking about my career choice, I might be thinking
:29:18. > :29:23.about doing something else. Tell me what else they are going to do? Just
:29:24. > :29:27.boost everything. Happiness, jobs, money. You know, you can't be
:29:28. > :29:32.certain about it, so... Just got to hope.
:29:33. > :29:36.Can you look me in the eye right now and say, yes, we are definitely
:29:37. > :29:39.going to deliver? We have to deliver. If we fail to do that, that
:29:40. > :29:44.is an absolute disaster.