2. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline what discussions he has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government in relation to the growth of business in Wales? OAQ(5)0111(EI)

I meet regularly with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, and the wider Cabinet, to discuss a range of economy and infrastructure issues within my portfolio, including, of course, business growth.

Thank you for that, because, as you will recognise, developing and growing a business in today’s climate is harder than ever and there are a number of issues that business owners cite as barriers to growth for their businesses—lack of structured borrowing and capital from the banking sector is one. However, many talk about the barriers from local authorities and other public sector organisations, ranging from Natural Resources Wales to transport infrastructure. Planning is key, and I recognise that both you and the Cabinet Secretary for finance don’t have responsibility for that. But what I’m really trying to elucidate is a sense that there is a coherent strategy around the Cabinet table that encourages and empowers businesses to thrive. The economy is our lifeblood. What else do you think, Cabinet Secretary, could be done to ensure that untimely delays, a lack of vision and disjointed thinking in public services doesn’t impede the growth of our economic health?

I’d like to thank Angela Burns for her question. Since I was appointed to this post, I’ve embarked on numerous engagement opportunities with the business community, and the points that the Member raises today have been relayed to me on numerous occasions. For that reason, I engaged directly and constructively with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government in the drafting of the White Paper, which will be presented shortly, on local government. And I think it’s absolutely essential that we recognise that there are barriers that still exist that inhibit economic growth. For that reason, I’ve asked every department in Government to draft formally a competitiveness plan that can fuel economic growth within the private sector.

Cabinet Secretary, your predecessor introduced enterprise zones as a means of actually growing the economy in particular areas across Wales and, last year, she introduced an enterprise zone in Port Talbot. What are you doing with your colleagues to ensure that the enhanced capital allowances can be extended beyond the time we’ve already been given, so that the enterprise zone, which we all know does not take one year but several years to establish itself, can get established? What he also told me in discussions with him was that capital allowances were needed to build the sites and grow spaces, which is square footage that we haven’t got elsewhere in Wales, to allow businesses to come in and use them, enabling them to grow.

This is one of the points that has been raised by Chris Sutton on numerous occasions with me during, again, the engagement programme that I’ve had with businesses. It’s absolutely central that we recognise that many of the premises that were built to attract investors are now reaching a point where they require either major investment or replacement. So, it’s going to become an increasingly important aspect of the prosperous and secure strategy, as we move forward to a post-Brexit existence.

I think also in terms of enterprise zones and the support that we’ve been able to provide through business rates, we’ve been able to already support 200 businesses with approximately £9 million of funding through the scheme. But there are other ways in which Welsh Government can act as an enabler of economic growth and business growth, and, of course, the provision of modern fit-for-purpose premises is one of those means by which we can encourage economic growth and prosperity.

Minister, as you will be aware, proposals to develop a circuit of Wales have been circulating for some time. Up to now, the project team have been unable to raise the necessary finance for the project. Would you be able to outline what recent developments there have been?

Like the Member, I’m concerned that the circuit of Wales project has been publicly debated for many years without the team yet being able to raise the necessary private finance to bring the project to fruition. The proposals have changed, of course, over the years, since 2011. Last July, I made it clear what our position as a Welsh Government is. I stated clearly in this Chamber that we require a minimum of 50 per cent of the capital and 50 per cent of the risk of the project to be taken by the private sector. Should that happen, we will consider any new proposal against the appropriate value-for-money and due diligence tests. The people of Ebbw Vale, as the Member has already identified, deserve to know if this project is going ahead and, crucially, if so, when. I’m keen to avoid the opportunity costs associated with a project that does not have a final end date. So, I have therefore written to the Heads of the Valleys development corporation today, asking them to make faster progress on this project and asking for evidence to be provided to me of named investor term sheets within the next two weeks.