We now move on to the short debate. If Members are leaving the Chamber, please do so quickly and quietly. If you’re going to chat, can you chat outside, please? Hurry up. We’re still in session. We move to the short debate, and I call on Hannah Blythyn to speak on the topic she has chosen. Hannah Blythyn.

Thank you. It’s my intention to try and give a minute to Jeremy Miles, Mark Isherwood, Llyr Gruffydd and Michelle Brown.

North Wales is proud of both our industrial heritage—steel, coal, slate and manufacturing—but also of the beauty and culture that can be found at our fingertips, from Snowdonia, Caernarfon castle and Conwy marina in the west, to the Clwydian range, Flint castle and Theatr Clwyd in the east. Just last week, north Wales was the only region in the UK to make the Lonely Planet top-10 best regions in the world. We came in at No. 4, with the way our former industrial landscape has been reinvented to create a series of world-class attractions catching the eye of judges.

The Welsh Government has taken a proactive approach to intervention and action to boost our economy in north Wales—the Cabinet Secretary quite literally by taking to the zip wire in Snowdonia—but the challenge for us going forward is how best to enhance investment opportunities in our amazing heritage and tourist assets in order to create a new economy for north Wales, one which builds both on our regional reputation and offers a sustainable route to prosperity for our people, our communities and our businesses—a new economy that recognises our pride in our industrial past and makes the most of that to boost our heritage offer, but also demonstrates in practice our ambition and hope for the future.

Like many others, my politics and values were shaped largely by the decimation of Shotton steelworks during the 1980s. Whilst I recognise the steel industry still remains in condition critical, the Shotton site has risen from the ashes of the 1980s to become not one, but two profitable, viable businesses of Colorcoat and panels. When it comes to Shotton, it’s not just about saving our steel but innovating the industry. A potential icon of innovation, as, indeed, Shotton steel forms part of iconic constructions such as the Millennium Stadium and the Shard in London.

We have strong economic foundations to build on across north Wales, and the advanced manufacturing sector is a cornerstone in the prosperity of the region, from the manufacturing might of Airbus UK to the industrial and business parks of Wrexham, Deeside, St Asaph and west of Delyn. To drive this forward, we need to ensure that young people and adults in the region are equipped with the skills that not only meet employer demand, but, importantly, provide a personal passport to sustainable and decent employment. Links between FE, business and the labour market are growing. Coleg Cambria has a new aerospace training facility that has benefited from over £2 million of Welsh Government funding, alongside the aerospace centre, a joint venture between Coleg Cambria and Swansea University, which means students studying aeronautic and engineering courses in the region have access to first-class training facilities.

But I believe we should start that one step earlier, and embrace the new curriculum planned in Wales to raise awareness of emerging employment markets and opportunities, and the skills required with school students. An advanced manufacturing centre in north-east Wales would be key to driving our regional skills forward, making sure that we not only equip people with the skills to go into work, but support those already in work to develop their potential on an ongoing basis. And moving slightly west, the port of Mostyn geographically and practically links the advanced manufacturing sector in the east to the energy sector of the west, shipping the A380 wings from the Broughton site to Toulouse, and in recent years becoming one of the main centres in Europe for the assembly and installation of turbines in the offshore renewable energy sector.

Indeed, energy is a high-value economic sector of the future for the north of Wales, with the chance to exploit opportunities as a result of Wylfa Newydd, offshore wind, biomass and tidal energy projects. To do this successfully, we will need to take full advantage of connections with educational institutions and research centres not just in Wales but over the border in the north-west of England. This sector also has a clear potential to open up cross-border supply chain opportunities.

It’s important that we have the mechanisms in place to support projects in aerospace, packaging, advance materials and food and drink, alongside acting to ensure we are ahead of the curve in north Wales in emerging growth areas such as digital and creative industries, but also futureproofing traditional industry to meet the demands of a more digital world—creating the sustainable skills for the future, enabling us to be a world leader and to pave the way.

I kicked off this debate talking about the amazing tourist assets across north Wales. Well, this doesn’t just give cultural value to our region but economic value also. Tourism is the main source of employment in many parts of the region and the visitor economy is significant. It is possible to bring together our history and our hope for the future, taking forward the Welsh Labour manifesto pledge to create a culture corridor across north Wales—a better signage, support and promotion of the jewels in our tourist crown—but combining this with an avenue of innovation bringing decent jobs, opportunities and skills. As an Assembly Member for a constituency where tourism is a great contributor, I will be working in partnership with representatives from industry and community to address any challenges we face and to drive forward locally. I intend to act as a signpost for support for tourist venues and ventures, bringing a fair share to our area.

In building and maintaining a new economy for north Wales, partnership is crucial—partnership between workforce, workplace and Welsh Government, along with other sector and industry stakeholders. We must recognise—in terms of the work we create and support for skills we encourage—the role our communities and trade unions play in generating economic prosperity. As a trade unionist, I’ve long called for procurement and access to financial support to be caveated to community clauses, such as the creation of apprenticeships, upskilling of existing workforces and the maintaining of decent terms and conditions.

The proposed national infrastructure commission has the potential to play a significant part in unlocking a pipeline of projects and procurement in the region that support economic growth and create opportunities for those living in the area. I’d urge careful consideration of the structure and position of the commission to make sure it better reflects and represents the varying needs of our nation.

Economic levers can be used strategically to empower both home-grown enterprises and enable individuals to fulfil their potential in better jobs closer to home. We know that small and medium-sized enterprises are the lifeblood of local employment and of our local economy, and are often a key component to the wider supply chain. Any steps to grow a new economy for north Wales should take into account the value of SMEs and initiatives developed to support their growth and meet our needs in north Wales.

No young person in north Wales should feel they have to leave their family, home and community in order to further their prospects. Or if they choose to go away for work, like I did, it’s for us to ensure that there is a draw to bring people back home—embracing the chances created by devolution and the jobs this has generated, making devolution work better for us and the young people of north Wales, by bringing a greater diversity of decent jobs and opportunities to our area.

Improving our region’s transport infrastructure is a key part of any strategy to grow our economy and ultimately unlock the economic potential of north Wales. Upgrades to the A55, the A494 and the A43 are a crucial part of not just allowing people to physically access work and business but also serves as an enabler to a dynamic, regional economy. We know that the east-west link and vice versa is key to both travel to and from work in the area, but it also allows access to our many amazing tourist attractions, and ease of travel is a core component in boosting our appeal as a tourism destination and is a consequence of visitor economy. It’s with this in mind I welcome the recent announcement by the Welsh Government to press ahead with plans to improve parts of the A55 and the A494, as well as looking at additional ways traffic can be eased and improving the main route in and out of north-east Wales. I know this is something important to constituents, commuters and sightseers alike.

An integrated public transport system that reflects the reality of modern work and life would make a real difference in terms of people’s ability to be able to reach work, but also for investment and visitors to reach us. The advancement of the metro system, as proposed in the Welsh Labour manifesto, offers a long-term solution, but in the meantime we need to take steps to ensure that buses and trains better link up and to take the hassle out of travel with an integrated payment system fit for the twenty-first century.

The ability to work and to communicate on the move, whether that’s through Wi-Fi or charging points, is also key in making our public transport a more attractive option for people to work, play or stay in our region. And turning to the new Wales and borders franchise, we in north Wales are not only looking for resolution to the now well-rehearsed challenges faced in travelling to and from our capital city—journeys that are better connected in terms of travel and comfort—but also better links to airports in the north-west of England and the promotion of enterprise and attractions across north Wales.

It is crucial to make our cross-border connections more competitive and appealing. The Wrexham to Bidston line is a vital vein in our interconnectivity. Improvements to this line and service are much warranted and needed. North Wales is not just physically connected to our near neighbours in the north-west of England, we’re economically connected as well. It’s with this in mind that I welcome the Welsh Government commitment to hold a summit of leaders from the Mersey Dee area and Northern Powerhouse to establish a route-map, taking place, as pledged, within the first 100 days of this Government.

Now is the time to put this plan into action, continuing to work with regional stakeholders and partners, such as the North Wales Economic Ambition Board and the Mersey Dee Alliance, and for the Welsh Government to provide the levers to emancipate economic development across north-west and north-east Wales. This is something that I am personally and politically committed to.

I’d like to make clear today my intention to establish a cross-party Assembly group to take this work forward, as Assembly Members, to add political support and strength to the work that is key to shaping a new economy for north Wales. Cabinet Secretary, may I take this opportunity to invite you to attend an inaugural meeting in the Senedd and also to take part in a launch event in north Wales?

Whilst we in Wales cannot avoid the shadow of austerity and the unchartered waters we find ourselves in post the EU referendum, there remains an opportunity and, I believe, the political will to do things differently; to work together with Government, regional stakeholders, business, entrepreneurs, educators and trade unions for a new economy for north Wales—working together for a new economy that invests in our people, our communities and our country and making devolution work for north Wales.

Thank you to Hannah Blythyn for allowing me a minute of her time. I obviously represent a south Wales constituency, but my contribution to the debate is to say, really, that the priorities that Hannah Blythyn identified in her speech are ones that we should applaud and support in all parts of Wales. They’re vital for our economic development and our resilient economic future, whichever part of Wales we live in.

I just want to mention one aspect, which is common to both my part of the world and Hannah Blythyn’s, which is the development of tidal lagoon technology, which we hope to pilot in the Swansea bay area. But there’s obviously a proposal, which I hope becomes a reality, for that to be rolled out across north Wales as well. It’s absolutely vital, not just for the green economy generally, but in terms of the investment in the Welsh economy—close to half of the investment will remain in Wales. The jobs created by the construction of these lagoons will be good jobs, not only on site, but also, as she mentioned in her speech, across the supply chain, for different parts of our economy. The lagoon in Swansea is estimated to add about £76 million a year to the Welsh economy over 100 years. Imagine what that would be like if we could replicate that across Wales.

The North Wales Economic Ambition Board’s growth vision for the economy of north Wales, supported by all six councils, universities, colleges and the business sector, and submitted to the UK and Welsh Governments this summer, has cross-border co-operation at its core. As it says, this is about developing a strategy for the Northern Powerhouse, complementing the Northern Powerhouse, integrated with the strategy growth bid submission for the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership, and having the Growth Track 360 plan for rail investment at its core. What it doesn’t call for is the metro proposed by Welsh Government. What it does call for, alongside investment, is for the devolution of powers by the Welsh Government over employment, taxes, skills and transport, stating this would boost the economy, jobs and productivity. It would create at least 120,000 jobs and boost the value of the local economy to £20 billion by 2035. So, what they need to know, alongside the UK Government, is whether the Welsh Government is going to agree to talk with them about devolving those powers, parallel to powers being devolved to the Northern Powerhouse, or not. Without that, the rest is candy floss.

May I thank you for the opportunity to contribute and thank Hannah Blythyn for her contribution this afternoon? Clearly, it is important that we develop the north Wales economy as an economic powerhouse in its own right—that’s crucially important. Yes, it’s important that we ensure all possible economic benefits from the Northern Powerhouse in England, but my concern, of course, is that if there isn’t a strong focus on the north Wales economy in and of itself, there’s a very real risk that we could fall between two stools here—between the Northern Powerhouse in northern England and the city regions in the south. The north Wales economy isn’t a bolt-on to those and it’s important, as Hannah has done, to acknowledge that there is a strong precedent in place now to develop the north Wales economy. I know that the Cabinet Secretary would agree with that and that that will be reflected in the Government’s economic strategy.

Cross-border co-operation is a welcome suggestion—in fact, I think it’s a great idea. I probably would say that though, because it was in our manifesto last year. The reality in north Wales is that we’re closely linked with the north-west of England in terms of economics, transport, business and family relationships. Many of us commute daily into England to earn pay that we subsequently spend in Wales. However, we need quality employment in north Wales. The reality for many people is that they will obtain a great education, but then are lost to England because that’s where the work is. Links with England, and more importantly the rest of the globe via our access to international sea lanes, gives us the scope to prosper, but we need to remove the drag factors from small and medium-sized businesses, reduce red tape and allow business people to do business without paternalistic interference by Government. So, I would definitely be in favour of mutually fostering cross-border co-operation, but I’d like to hear from Hannah how she sees that actually working, because it wasn’t clear from your contribution. Thank you.

I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure to reply to the debate. Ken Skates.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I start by thanking the Member for Delyn for bringing forward this very important and very relevant debate today on the economy of north Wales, given that the autumn statement is due very soon? I’m very pleased to have a chance to respond to the comments made by a number of Members, and I think I should start my contribution concerning the future of north Wales by recognising the strengths of the regional economy as it is today.

In many areas, such as aerospace, energy and advanced manufacturing, north Wales is at the cutting edge of industry, and compared to Wales as a whole, north Wales has a higher employment rate, lower unemployment rate and a lower economic inactivity rate than the rest of Wales. Both economic output and household income per head are higher in north Wales than the rest of Wales. I want to build on this strong foundation, which is why we’re taking clear actions to encourage further economic development in north Wales. The Member for Delyn is absolutely right to point to the fact that the Lonely Planet recently declared north Wales to be the fourth best region on the planet, and we couldn’t hope for a better endorsement of the work of the Welsh Government and the work of Visit Wales in enhancing north Wales as a visitor destination. It’s of huge value to the economy and it also enhances a sense of pride in place that north Walians have.

We have long recognised that north-east Wales benefits from a cross-border economic area that extends into the north-west of England and down into the midlands. Indeed, the Mersey Dee area alone generates the equivalent of half of the entire GVA of Wales, and north Wales certainly does not exist in splendid isolation from any of the English regions or from the rest of Wales. So, cross-border connectivity is absolutely essential. Coherent, collaborative working across the border, such as that being undertaken in the context of the Mersey Dee Alliance and Growth Track 360, is a positive example of cross-border partners coming together and pooling resources effectively with pace and with clear purpose. I’m very eager to build upon this type of collaboration on both sides of the border, particularly given the common goals that we have in securing investment in rail modernisation, as well as in our shared sectoral strengths and the opportunities that they present.

When I first took on the economic portfolio, one of my first priorities was to hold a summit in north Wales with key cross-border stakeholders to seek agreement on defining a coherent vision for north Wales that aligns with the Northern Powerhouse. This was undertaken in July and I organised it because I see an opportunity for us to build an arc of economic prosperity from Holyhead in the west that links into the Northern Powerhouse and coherently aligns the economies of Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds with the economy of north Wales. Recently, I’ve been undertaking fact-finding visits in the north-west to meet with key individuals and to see what opportunities there are to share strategic facilities. For example, I recently visited Sheffield university’s advanced manufacturing research facilities and other strategic facilities across the Northern Powerhouse.

In addition to this, I’ve been working with our partners across the border, as well as with a broad range of stakeholders across the north Wales region, to develop a proposition to the Treasury for a north Wales growth bid. The economic ambition board in north Wales, working with the north Wales business council, has been developing the proposals, and it’s important that we progress this work at pace. We need to know from the UK Treasury, through the autumn statement, whether the door will be opened for negotiations.

In terms of investment, I believe a strong pipeline of investment projects is being planned, which means that energy and advanced manufacturing will continue to be key growth drivers for the north Wales economy and provide long-term local employment for many decades to come. Jeremy Miles is absolutely right to point to the significance of the tidal lagoon project in Swansea bay, because if that is a success, we would see as a consequence of that, in the future, the development of more tidal lagoons around Wales, including, importantly for north Wales, in Colwyn Bay.

As part of a wider transport modernisation programme, officials have started work on developing the vision for a north Wales metro, identifying a range of potential interventions for the short, medium and longer term. This is absolutely critical if we are to genuinely maximise the benefits of cross-border connectivity, and this has been identified by those who put together Growth Track 360 and who agree that the north Wales metro concept is vital for our region.

In April, we submitted the strategic outline business case for the north Wales main line electrification, developed again with the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, which we fund, the Mersey Dee Alliance and the Cheshire and Warrington LEP. We’ve been working with Merseytravel to deliver the Halton curve reopening, which will allow direct trains between Liverpool, Liverpool airport, Chester and north Wales. We’ve also been examining options to increase rail operational capacity at Wrexham General and Chester stations and by introducing new signal blocks to the north and to the south of Wrexham. I’m pleased to be able to contribute an additional £10 million, which was agreed with the Liberal Democrats as part of a previous budget agreement, to support faster routes between the north and the south.

In addition to this, we’ve taken forward major road improvements such as the third Menai crossing and, of course, we’re assessing options to tackle congestion on the A494 in Deeside, which our colleague Carl Sargeant has been pressing for for many years. I can confirm that consultation on two options for that £200 million road project will begin in March of next year. An investment of around £32 million is also being planned to upgrade junctions 15 and 16 on the A55 as a way of improving safety and journey times.

To continue driving this work forward in north Wales, we need to intensify our collaborative working on both sides of the border, not just in the public sector, but also in the private sector. I welcome this debate in helping us to do that. I also welcome the establishment of the cross-border Assembly group here and suggest that, in the spirit of collaboration, the group, which I will gladly join, meets early with the newly formed cross-border all-party parliamentary group as well.

Thank you very much. That brings today’s proceedings to a close. Thank you.

The meeting ended at 17:58.