, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
I think the main takeaway is that we have a vibrant tech sector covering a whole range of areas. It will be even more important in the future to stay internationally relevant, but there'll be a whole range of areas in life where we're going to need to be…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
I think it's a really important point, and, as with 'mid Wales', you could read 'other parts of the country' too. The current infrastructure we have for delivering energy to homes and to businesses isn't actually fit for the medium-term, never mind the longer…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
I think the Member makes two important and distinct points. The first is around the levelling-up fund. There are a range of projects that, individually, people will want to support. But the levelling-up fund, and the way it was actually delivered, does not…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Economy
Thank you. We have released the first tranche of funding to the growth deal. This is a crucial milestone and an important step forward, signalling to investors that the deal is entering its early delivery phase. This should act as a catalyst to secure further…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Regional Economic Development
I thank the Member for the comments and the questions. On the investment zone proposals, it would have been better if we'd been able to work those through before they were announced, but I have approached this in a pragmatic and constructive way with both the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Regional Economic Development
I thank the Member for the points he's made and I agree, it's been a significant investment, and it was all about opening up economic development opportunities. We do need more development land and—the Member's right—a range from larger premises to smaller…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Regional Economic Development
Thank you for the question. I won’t be able to fully answer all of that, because as the Member will know, I am a decision-taking Minister in the future of the free-ports programme. We’re expecting the outline business case for each of the free ports towards…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Regional Economic Development
Thank you for the questions, but I should point out that whilst, from a constituency point of view, Mike Hedges is less interested in Flintshire, constituency Members in Flintshire are very interested and the Welsh Government is very interested in the future…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Regional Economic Development
I'm not sure I could detect many questions within the contribution, but, to be fair, Luke Fletcher has a consistent narrative where he, broadly, does not believe that we will be able to deliver significant economic development in the way we are seeking to do…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Regional Economic Development
[Inaudible.]—for the long series of questions. I'll try and deal with them, and try and deal with them as promptly as possible. Since 2021, of course, the Member will be aware, we've had significant churn at UK level, which has directly impacted on the work…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Regional Economic Development
Looking to north Wales, I am pleased that Holyhead hydrogen hub has become part of the north Wales growth deal. It represents a catalyst for kick starting the region's hydrogen economy, acting as a strategic anchor site inside the proposed Anglesey free port…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Regional Economic Development
I am pleased to have this opportunity to outline the progress that we are making to support stronger regional economic development across Wales. Members will have just heard the latest statement from the Minister for Finance and Local Government outlining the…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
Dim problem. Thank you very much.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
Absolutely. And it's a part of what we're looking to do with the net-zero skills plan we have, about trying to have greater certainty in the areas. And actually, it's one of those areas where having an agreed perspective will help us in understanding not just…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
Well, actually, the potential for the Celtic sea on our side, as it were, but there's also the reality that Ireland have not just one long, windy coastline and one seaboard, but, actually, they've got east and west as well, so they've got real opportunities…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
So, our officials have spoken between the two Governments about the transition board. We understand the offer is there for the Welsh Government to co-chair; I think that would be very sensible. It's not just a project in Wales, but much of what the transition…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
I don't think it was a terribly helpful statement from the Secretary of State for Wales, but the Secretary of State for Wales isn’t the decision-taking lead department in the UK Government either, so I think people need to take a step back from the comments…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
Because we weren't part of the conversations when they went through the detail, we didn't have the preferred technology conversation in those talks. Hydrogen is something for the future, and so the challenge is how you transition to get there. Some of that…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
Those are not factual comments. At official level and ministerial level, no such statements were made. I've been on record saying that we wanted to be engaged in the conversation and were disappointed we weren't. Whether it's a good or a bad outcome, we would…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
Excellent.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
But I haven't had flags raised with me by the trade union side. That hasn't taken place. I know that some trade unions are doing some joint work on opportunities around that as well with some of the players in free ports. I think that's quite helpful…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
That workers forum, which is, in terms that both businesses and trade unions understand the works council, is to understand about the chair and secretary of that side, and how those things relate. What I'd like is agreement from the trade union side about how…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
I've had a conversation with trade unions in the last few days. Some of them were in Liverpool, as you might have expected. But the trade union side are engaging around that. It's a matter for the free-port consortia to make sure they're working through the…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
We're not giving up on investing outside the free-port zones. That isn't the agenda we have. It isn't that the only Welsh Government investment into the economy will take place in the free-port zones—far from it. Each of the city and growth deals have…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Minister for Economy: Border Control Posts in Wales; and Future of Welsh Steel
That all depends on whether free ports are successful in generating additional growth or displacing economic activity, which was one of our concerns at the start. That's why we went through a process in wanting to understand what the offer was. It also…
