, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
We've already set out the £380 million of support that we're providing direct to households. There's money flowing through local authorities. Most local authorities did a really good job in getting that money out of the door to households in need. Our…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
And there's been a press release on that this week.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
I'd expect that we would have a mechanism for the Government to be able to do something if people did not meet the requirements in the bid. You see that in a whole range of areas. I won't mention some of the current issues, but you know that where people…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
Well, I'm not aware that P&O are involved in any of the bids that are coming forward, but we would have to assess the bids as they come in. I understand why you're asking the question, but if I give an indication about a specific company, then I think I'll…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
So, everyone has to meet what the prospectus sets out about meeting fair work, and we've got a definition of that from the Welsh Government. Everyone's very clear that fair work is an essential and non-negotiable part of this, because I won't agree to a free…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
The prime decision maker from the UK Government side is the levelling-up department. It's a matter for them whether they want to involve another Minister, and they have said that they'll speak with and listen to what the Secretary of State for Wales's office…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
No, no; I know you're not. You had a go at it in the Chamber previously. But it is then a choice about whether there's going to be the funding settlement available for there to be more than one free port. It's really very simple in that sense. In some senses…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
That really depends on whether or not there is going to be funding made available to do that. The current wording is 'at least one'—the possibility of more than one. I think some of that will depend both on the strength of the bids that come in, how…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
What we set out in the prospectus: a plan that could maximise genuine economic growth and do so in a way that is consistent with our objectives and the UK Government's ones. So, for us, fair work is part of what's in the prospectus—so, you need to be able to…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
Okay. I should point out: not introduced earlier on, but Helen John, who is one of the lead officials in this area, is with us, in case there are technical points to answer. But, in terms of progress, this has been a point of some frustration. Let's be…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
Morning.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
No, I don't think there's been a specific time frame that's been set, because it really depends on what comes from the negotiations. I think it's a more sensible approach to have a longer run time frame and to understand what that looks like. In all the…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
Well, if a company in Carmarthenshire was trying to set up a process and they'd essentially taken that on board without acknowledging or getting permission on intellectual property grounds, you'd understand that there would be a process to go through. The…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
So, again, I can talk in general terms. I think the India trade deal is another example of where setting a deadline isn't necessarily helpful. So, the Diwali deadline was never likely to reach a satisfactory conclusion. And it's all that stuff. I don't know…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
I'm going to ask Andrew Gwatkin to come in, just to explain. I think it would be useful for the committee. The relationship between the bilateral trade deals and CPTPP and how that will then affect how traders can opt in to one or the other—. Without getting…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
But, whilst the engagement is there, there is always a challenge about whether that engagement leads to a shift in the position adopted by the UK Government, and that's what people then have to assess, when you're able to see the whole deal and what's been…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
And it's about us being able to be part of, not just saying, 'These are our views on the negotiating mandate', but about the fact that, whilst the negotiations are ongoing, we don't then talk about what's in the mandate, the specific representations that…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
Yes, there has been—. I think there has been a helpful move on, in the sense that, I think, information sharing is now better. Frankly, because—and this goes back to why I've not commented on your polite enquiries about direct representations about CPTPP—some…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
But, as I say, those comments about Australia and New Zealand are on the record, and, of course, they're part of the partnership as well. You can always raise the bar, as it were, above the CPTPP, if you have individual bilateral negotiations, but you've got…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
Again, I can't talk specifically about the CPTPP, but we've been clear about our concerns over Australia and New Zealand, and the Australia and New Zealand trade Bill is going through Parliament. It is the deal that's now been agreed. George Eustice, who used…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
If you don't mind, I'll refer to it as CPTPP. I'm afraid I'm going to have to play a straight bat and not get into all of the detail, because the negotiations are live. There's another round of talks, I think, taking place next week, whilst we continue to…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
The cross-Government youth engagement framework—the Minister for mental health, the education Minister and myself jointly launched that in September. That is about building on the experience from previous times. Again, it goes back to the point I was making…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
We've listened to how we present some of the work. We've also made changes to ReAct+ before it started. We've also made some changes to Jobs Growth Wales+ before it started. That directly comes from feedback that we've received. Some of this is in the…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
Our commitment to continue to expand degree apprenticeships is there; I'm keen that we don't try to cap off or end degree apprenticeships. Because what we've seen over a couple of different Senedd terms is you've seen us not just achieve significant numbers…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Economy
There's a core membership, which includes me, the Minister for justice, the education Minister, but actually members are able to attend across the Government. It's very difficult, because having the cost-of-living Cabinet sub-committee has been quite painful…
