Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his enthusiasm as well? I share his excitement—I was in Portmeirion on Sunday, and saw the Champions League roadshow attracting a huge number of young people to the mobile unit that they had, and, again, promoting Cardiff, ensuring that the event is relevant to all parts of Wales. And, in terms of previous Champions League finals, I’d agree—the places that...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for her contribution and say that I’m mightily impressed by the way that Merthyr Tydfil FC have rooted themselves so deeply in the community? It’s a place that unites people, it gives people a sense of belonging and it’s always a pleasure to visit that particular club. I know that Merthyr Tydfil FC are also very innovative and host walking football for senior...
Ken Skates: In terms of engagement, I know that the Minister for social services and sport is very keen on ensuring that more young women and girls participate in physical activity and sport. We’ve seen an increase in the number of people who’ve participated in sport in recent years across Wales, but there is still a challenge with maintaining activity levels once a girl reaches about the age of 13...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his contribution and welcome his support for the Champions League final? It is an event that I believe has support right across this Chamber, and one that I know many Members are keen to watch and may even participate in, because there will be thousands of opportunities to volunteer, and even if you’re not volunteering, just being in the city. If you represent a...
Ken Skates: Formally.
Ken Skates: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I’d like to begin by thanking the Welsh Conservatives for bringing forward this debate in the Chamber today. Today, the gap in the employment rate between Wales and the rest of the UK stands at approximately 1.5 per cent. Before the recession it was 3 per cent. At the start of devolution, it was 6 per cent. It has halved and halved again, and,...
Ken Skates: And yet the Tories—. I will in a moment. And yet the Tories borrowed more in the last Government than every other Labour Government in history combined.
Ken Skates: I’d agree with Adam Price about regional equality across the UK, and that’s why we’ve been clear in outlining an intervention in Wales that will be based on place-based solutions at a regional level, creating strong regional economies to spread the wealth in a genuine way, which the UK Tories should look at. The Member calls attention to borrowing too much. The Tory Government between...
Ken Skates: We continue to provide a wide range of support to all high-street businesses in Wales to ensure that they go on thriving.
Ken Skates: Well, can I thank the Member for her question and say that this is an issue that’s close to the heart of many Members in this Chamber? Just because a small business is struggling to operate doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a future in an environment that sees an increasing amount of activity take place online. I think the important factor that will determine the success or failure of a...
Ken Skates: I don’t have that data to hand. This is a responsibility of my colleague, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government. But, if the data are already available, then I shall ask him to liaise with you specifically on that. I think it’s also important to recognise it’s not just car parks that can have an influence over the success or failure of a high street; it’s also whether...
Ken Skates: Yes. We are incredibly proud of our rich industrial heritage in Wales. Over 1,000 industrial structures have statutory protection as listed buildings or as scheduled monuments. Industrial heritage also features prominently in our pan-Wales heritage interpretation plan focusing on ‘Wales: the first industrial nation’.
Ken Skates: Well, I’d be more than delighted to attend that special occasion, and I, too, would like to congratulate those volunteers who are investing so much time and energy in promoting their local heritage. I was delighted to meet some of the volunteers with the Member recently, and, in addition, we know that this particular facility, this site, the Point of Ayr Colliery, is of enormous...
Ken Skates: I’d agree entirely with the Member. I’ve been keen to encourage movement speedily, and with dynamism, in the direction that he outlines. I’d like to see more through-ticketing for sure. I’d like to see greater co-ordination between and amongst the various organisations that are involved in the culture and heritage sector in industrial north-east Wales. And, for that reason, I think it...
Ken Skates: Not at all. The Member is completely and utterly wrong. He asked a series of questions; I gave a series of honest answers. Never before have I seen an opposition spokesperson criticise a Minister for giving honest answers. My duty is to ensure that projects that can create jobs, that are sustainable, get the support of this Government. My job is to make sure we invest our resources where...
Ken Skates: I’m astonished, again, that the Member used the term ‘misleading’. I am astonished—
Ken Skates: In the context that he did. The Member should retract that, because what I stated in those written answers was true and factual—true and factual. And I say it again: my job is to ensure that projects that can gain Government support, that are proven to be sustainable and to create the jobs that they purport to be creating for the communities that they must serve—. My interest is with the...
Ken Skates: I should just suggest you keep digging yourself in, because what you’re essentially saying is that we should, again, ignore the due diligence process. The reason that there have been delays is because the information has not been fully populated in the data bank. That is the reason why. That is the reason why. Do not blame the Government for failing to provide the information that the...
Ken Skates: Ah; well, there we are. There we are, and there’s the point. You’re here to scrutinise me, but you don’t wish to listen. You just wish to give lectures about how to dodge due diligence. That is not your role. [Interruption.] That is not your role. [Interruption.] Your role is to ensure that you scrutinise—[Interruption.]—the information that is presented to you, but you don’t wish...
Ken Skates: Thank you, Presiding Officer. What you do is you wish to butterfly-move from one policy and project decision to another. For example, how would a £12 billion world expo help the people in the Valleys if it were to be based in Cardiff? That was another of your suggestions. It presumably would come with a huge debt burden—[Interruption.] There are many—[Interruption.] I think you’ve...
