4. 2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:08 pm on 7 February 2017.

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Photo of Jane Hutt Jane Hutt Labour 3:08, 7 February 2017

This clearly has to have a cross-Government approach. As I said earlier, in response to the question from Andrew R.T. Davies, where we have direct control, in terms of our decision making as to the location of a new body, new functions—. Of course, in terms of the Welsh Revenue Authority, it is not just a new body; there are new functions. There are new skills as well, in terms of the tax powers that we are taking on that have now been devolved to Wales. So, it is a matter of ensuring that we do have the capacity and the skills to develop, and that has a bearing in terms of location. Yes, back in October—. I have already mentioned the fact that the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure did set out his wish that the headquarters, for example, for the development bank for Wales could be established in north Wales. So, where there is an opportunity and there aren’t some of those issues that have been mentioned already in terms of our ability to influence location, we would want to ensure that there was a decentralised presence across Wales. In terms of private sector investment and inward investment, that, of course, has another bearing—the points that have been made about the sectors and the enterprise zones in Wales. Their particular sector focus has a bearing on the private sector location of business and new opportunities. Clearly, this is a cross-Government strategy in terms of the location and the relocation of businesses and services throughout Wales.