Ken Skates: The Member can rest assured that I will not a take a flinty and Thatcherite approach to this project, and against his best efforts, I will not be giving an indication of a decision that may be made within the next 10 days. But the Member is right to say that there are historic structural challenges that need to be overcome, not just in west Wales but in other parts of Wales where we need to...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his questions and say that I am, again, as I mentioned last week, pleased that SA1 and phase 2 of the Yr Egin project have both secured the support of the city region board for development? In terms of providing opportunities, particularly for young people, the creative industries sector has proven to be more successful in Wales in terms of its growth and in terms...
Ken Skates: Yes, the Heads of the Valleys Development Company has submitted a fresh proposal for the Circuit of Wales. We will now consider the submission in detail and commence a rigorous process of due diligence. Members should now have received a written statement in both English and Welsh.
Ken Skates: Can I thank Adam Price for his question and say—I’ll try to avoid motoring metaphors today—that, according to my officials, it does appear that the criteria—the two points that the Member has identified—have been met, so that’s why we’re in a position today to proceed with due diligence and consideration of the proposals before us? Nobody should ever fear due diligence that is...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his question, and also welcome the fact that he recognised that the two-week deadline was significant and important? I decided to issue the two-week deadline for a number of reasons. One was that we were assured that the Heads of the Valleys Development Company, back in July, would be able to come to us within a matter of weeks with a revised proposal. So, I felt in...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Neil Hamilton for his question, and for recognising that the deal that is on the table is certainly better than the one that was presented back in July? I think it justifies the position. I recognise they came under a lot of criticism back in July, but it justifies the position that was taken back then, when we were presented with a request for guarantees amounting to 83 per cent,...
Ken Skates: Moved—formally.
Ken Skates: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I begin my contribution today by thanking the Conservatives for bringing this debate to the Chamber in a week in which I’m pleased to have already announced more than 500 new jobs through Government intervention? The Green Paper released by the UK Government was certainly an interesting read. The Prime Minister herself gives the document and the new policy...
Ken Skates: I take it, then, that the Member is confident that the UK Government has done all it possibly could do in the past 18 months for the steel sector in Wales—everything that it could have done.
Ken Skates: Yes. I and my officials have assisted the Public Accounts Committee at every stage of its considerations of this issue. I have received, and very much welcome, the committee’s report and will be fully responding to it.
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his questions? We are learning at all times and, indeed, my predecessor made changes within the department when she inherited it. Indeed, my predecessor introduced the investment panel procedure to strengthen oversight of investment considerations and to ensure that where risk was being considered an informed decision could be made. The deputy permanent secretary is...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his questions as well? I do believe that the question of ministerial responsibilities is one for the First Minister. I would warn against requesting that all perceived conflicts of interest are dealt with in a way that would potentially cause inertia within Government. We are a small country with—particularly in south-east Wales—a very wide travel-to-work zone,...
Ken Skates: I’d like to thank Nick Ramsay for his questions, and also for overseeing this inquiry as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee. Yes, we will be working closely with the auditor general, and I very much welcome his intention to carry out a broader investigation of business support by Welsh Government. One of the additional procedural changes that are being introduced through a wider level...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his questions, and also for recognising that there are inherent risks in meeting market failure insofar as business support is concerned? I do believe that, as a result of implementing 10 procedural changes that have been recognised by the Wales Audit Office, we have improved the system of monitoring and evaluating the risks applied to requests for business support....
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his questions? I will need to check the details of the final question that the Member has raised, and I’ll write, not only to the Member, but to every Member in the Chamber. With regard to the WIDAB, that was a sponsored body that’s had statutory status since 1975, or, rather, under the Welsh Development Agency Act of 1975. And, as the Member is aware, it...
Ken Skates: Diolch, Lywydd. Can I begin by thanking Members for their very constructive contributions to this important debate today? It’s rare that we have agreement right across the Chamber over the principles of many energy projects, given the contentious nature of onshore wind and nuclear energy, but I think on this issue there has been strong cross-party agreement. As my colleague the Cabinet...
Ken Skates: From an economic perspective, I see the huge potential ahead of us. I recognise how marine energy projects could be a catalyst to securing long-lasting legacy benefits for the economy, and I understand how they could provide the opportunity for jobs and investment in local and regional economies across Wales—those economies that many Members have touched on and represent. I also see how...
Ken Skates: Moved formally.
Ken Skates: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing forward this important debate today and for the many contributions from Members across the Chamber? I’m very well aware of a number of the banks that have been mentioned today. Darren Millar and Llyr Huws Gruffydd both identified the Ruthin bank—the NatWest bank. I recall being told, not too long ago, when a NatWest bank...
Ken Skates: Yes, indeed.
