1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the potential economic benefits of a north Wales tidal lagoon? OAQ(5)0114(EI)

Yes. A north Wales tidal lagoon has the potential to create considerable jobs in north Wales. And we have consistently stated our commitment, in principle, to supporting the development of a sustainable tidal lagoon industry right across Wales.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, and I’m sure you would agree with me in welcoming the Hendry review, and the positive support therein for tidal lagoon developments across Wales. For us in north Wales, such a project would provide essential flood protection, deliver significant employment and economic inward investment opportunity, and contribute towards helping Wales to become a world leader in renewable energy. A number of stakeholders have already pledged their support, and I’m glad that you pledge your support in principle. The Welsh Conservatives group pledge their support for tidal lagoon technology in Wales. But will you also back that up, please, with some commitment towards any funding that is needed to make that project a reality?

Well, we are fully committed to this project, and I’ll be meeting with Charles Hendry later this afternoon to talk about the pathfinder project in particular, which would lead eventually to the creation of a tidal lagoon in north Wales. It’s a project that could potentially create 27,000 jobs for the north Wales economy. It would also, as the Member highlighted, contribute to the defence of coastal communities, and this is something that is very much of great concern to the Welsh Government, and it’s something that I’ve spoken with the Cabinet Secretary for environment and natural resources about very recently. So, we are very enthusiastic about this project. We are supportive and, of course, we’ll work right across Government, including with the regional skills partnerships, to ensure that the skills are there to deliver the project in a timely fashion, were it to go ahead.

Tidal lagoons are one manifestation of Wales’s blue economy, which, as well as energy, also encompasses fishing and aquaculture, and tourism and leisure. Wales has a strong advantage in this area against other countries that don’t have the same coast and high tidal reach. What priority will the Cabinet Secretary give to Wales’s blue economy in the new economic strategy, and what steps can he take to ensure that firms, large and small, are able to take advantage of this opportunity?

I’d like to thank Jeremy Miles for his question, and also thank him for a very insightful piece on his website, concerning the blue economy. I think it’s very timely that we’re talking about this particular subject, as we start planning for 2018, which has been designated the Year of the Sea. And, for the purpose of growing visitor numbers, of course, the blue economy will be increasingly important.

In terms of existing opportunities, we are committed to taking advantage of every major blue economy infrastructure project across Wales, including the Swansea bay tidal lagoon pathfinder project, subject, of course, to the necessary consents being in place. I am determined to make sure that coastal communities take advantage not only of initiatives such as the Year of the Sea, but also of major infrastructure projects, and that the supply chain around Wales, and particularly in coastal communities, is able to exploit those major opportunities for economic growth.

It was good to hear Charles Hendry briefing Members of the Assembly at lunchtime, and one of the points that he made, of course, is that it is his recommendation that there should be a delay after the development of the first project in order to learn lessons from it. One understands why that would be beneficial, but there is recognition in that regard that that may create problems for the new supply chains that we intend to develop around the Swansea project. Whilst he is calling on the UK Government to demonstrate a long-term plan in terms of major projects, he’s also suggesting that we need to look at a series of smaller projects in order to maintain the supply chain in the interim, until we reach the point where we can be confident in moving forward with a number of larger projects. Can I ask what work the Welsh Government is undertaking to identify the potential for a series of smaller projects along the Welsh coastline in order to ensure that that supply chain does have the medium-term resilience and sustainability to survive the long term?

This is a really important point the Member raises, and I’ve talked in the past about the need to have a constant pipeline of major infrastructure investments, but one that also mixes in smaller investments that can maintain people and employment whilst waiting or transitioning from one major project to the other. And for that reason, we’re working with local government, with skills providers, and with businesses, to ensure that we’re able to identify a time frame for major projects to take place in, but also one that ensures that, between the major projects, we’re able to identify opportunities for companies to grow and to prosper from smaller scale projects.

One of the key issues that I’ll be raising this afternoon with Charles Hendry, and it’s something that the Member has already touched on, is how long the pathfinder programme is envisaged to last for, because this will have, as the Member rightly says, knock-on effects not just on the Swansea bay project, but also on tidal lagoon projects right across Wales.