5. Will the Minister make a statement on Welsh Government policies to support manufacturing? OAQ(5)0029(EI)

Yes. Manufacturing in Wales is vitally important to the Welsh economy. We offer a wide range of support to the industry, including help and advice on areas such as international trade, research, development and innovation, improving workforce skills, finding new business premises, e-business support and tendering for public sector contracts.

Thank you for that answer. As you’ve highlighted, manufacturing remains a vital sector in the Welsh economy, particularly in the Valleys. However, despite the best efforts of the Welsh Government, the sector continues to shrink in terms of its relative importance to other sectors in the economy. Given the very serious new challenges that Brexit will pose to manufacturing, would you agree with me that it would be timely for Welsh Government to review the performance and prospects for Welsh manufacturing and to develop a manufacturing strategy for Wales to meet these challenges?

I think the time is right, given the vote that’s taken place, for the development of a new economic strategy that takes account of the fact that we’ll be leaving Europe, but also ensures that manufacturing grows and prospers in the future. The Member is right in her analysis that manufacturing is a shrinking sector across the UK. But, here in Wales, it still accounts for 11.3 per cent of all workforce jobs in the country, compared to 7.8 per cent in the UK as a whole. So, it’s a crucially important area of work, a crucially important part of the Welsh economy. We also know that jobs in manufacturing—and this is very significant—in Wales rose 6.3 per cent last year. That sort of progress is something that we should be proud of and that we should be seeking to build upon. Some 165,000 people now, in Wales, are employed in manufacturing as a whole, and that is something that we will be building on by attracting companies such as Aston Martin and TVR to our country.

According to the Business Wales website, Ebbw Vale enterprise zone has ambitions to become a vibrant, high-technology hotspot for manufacturing companies of all sizes. However, between 2011 and 14, only 172 jobs were created at this enterprise zone. Last year, only eight jobs were created there. Cabinet Secretary, what is the Welsh Government doing to promote and to support Ebbw Vale enterprise zone to encourage companies to set up and to create manufacturing jobs there?

There are various ways and means of promoting enterprise zones. They have budgets, not least to promote themselves, to market themselves and the services and the benefits of investors locating within them. The Member may be aware that we will be publishing data on enterprise zone performance very shortly, and the Member may wish to take note of the figures for the latest year.

David Rowlands.

I’m sorry, Presiding Officer; I only have a secondary question.

It’s okay.

I do apologise for that.

Question 6—Lynne Neagle.