4. Will the First Minister make a statement on whether or not the Welsh Government will explore the potential benefit to Wales of a Welsh bid to host the world expo in 2027/28? OAQ(5)0264(FM)

We are currently reviewing the scope for attracting major international business events to Wales and, of course, any decision to bid for such an event would need to take detailed account of the costs and the return on that investment.

Of course, the UK Government has stated that they would support a British bid to stage the Expo for the first time in over 150 years. Manchester has already stated that they intend to submit an application for the main Expo in 2025, with a target of 28 million visitors. That’s almost three times the number that attended the Olympic Games. Considering the benefits, shouldn’t Wales also be submitting a bid?

Well, at present, we must first of all consider the cost for us, and, secondly, the location. Where would you locate the Expo? These are issues that we are currently considering. We know that the cost of the Expo is in excess of £1 billion, so it is a significantly expensive event, but we will consider what might be possible.

First Minister, an Expo in Wales would have to build, of course, upon our business community’s success. We know that there’s a clear gap in young people’s business skills. The UK Government has announced that the apprenticeship levy is to be apportioned to devolved institutions. Will you commit to ring-fencing funding, so that Welsh businesses will be able to benefit from the apprenticeship levy?

Of course, we wait to see what the figure—. Well, we have an idea what the figure will be and we wait to see how that figure will be distributed, bearing in mind, of course, that of the figure of about £130 million, £30 million has already been paid by the Welsh public sector. So, it’s money being returned, in effect, to the Welsh public sector, and we will look to use that money, as we have always done, to ensure that we can create as many effective apprenticeships as possible.