2. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the Welsh Government’s plans to promote economic development in west Wales during the fifth Assembly? OAQ(5)0201(EI)

Thank you. Yes, we are developing a strategic approach to economic development based on prosperity for all, enabling all parts of Wales to benefit from economic growth and the opportunity to secure greater degrees of job creation.

Thank you for that, Cabinet Secretary. As you will know, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park covers vast swathes of my constituency, and the decisions taken by them can have major impacts on businesses operating either wholly within the park or partly park and partly the rest of Pembrokeshire. Whilst I understand the need for consideration to be offered to the park’s overriding principles, it is vital for economic development in west Wales that businesses can grow and mature. Can you outline what support your department, along with the department of the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, can offer to businesses to ensure that decisions taken by the national parks are taken in the timeliest manner so as to minimise the economic impact on businesses operating in the area? Otherwise, I fear that a number of businesses will be driven from west Wales.

I’d agree with the Member that our national parks do need to work in partnership with the businesses that are located within them. We do see, in many parts of Wales, very proactive national parks working effectively and very efficiently with businesses in the spirit of partnership. With regard to the national park in Pembrokeshire, I think there has been a concerted effort by the park to take advantage of the Year of Legends and the forthcoming Year of the Sea, working in partnership with the local authority and crucially with businesses.

The Member is absolutely right that the park must be proactive in reaching out to businesses and in assisting businesses to—I was going to say, ‘exploit’—take advantage and work with the park to draw more visitors in and to make sure that visitors stay for longer. There are some phenomenal attractions on the Pembrokeshire coast. That’s why I go there every summer for my personal and private holiday with my family. It’s an amazing place, but we’d like to translate more day visits and weekend visits into week-long visits, and you can only do that by having a partnership approach that brings together all businesses and brings together those providers of attractions and events.

Thank you, Llywydd. The Cabinet Secretary will be aware that publishing books is very important in the west of Wales, and I declare an interest, as is in the register of interests, as my wife and my niece work in this area. So, I’d like to ask him about publishing but starting by paying tribute, if I may, to Tony Bianchi, a gentleman who passed away some three weeks ago, who was from Newcastle, who learnt Welsh and became an eminent Welsh writer and promoted Welsh writing and publishing in Wales and professionalised the art too.

In that context, we have the Professor Medwin Hughes report, which has created something of a headache, from time to time, for the Cabinet Secretary over the past few weeks. I would like to thank him for the way he’s responded to the report and the way he’s brought everyone together to agree a way forward. Can I ask him specifically whether he will ensure that, as we are in a situation where the people who are seen to be criticised in the report are raising their voices, he will also listen to those people who are frankly less vocal but do want to work with him and everyone in the area to secure a prosperous future for publishing in Wales?

Can I thank Simon Thomas for his question? Simon makes an important point that we should all behave responsibly and fairly when we respond to a report of this nature. Can I also pay tribute to Tony Bianchi and the incredible work that he produced and also his commitment to Welsh literature? His passing is very much missed, I’m sure, not just in my colleague’s constituency and region, but right across the country and beyond given the reach that his work had. I think, in terms of publishing, the report was designed and is designed to strengthen literature and publishing in Wales. Now that it has been produced, I think it’s important that all interested bodies work together to ensure that all interested bodies become strengthened in their respective areas, and deliver better what they have been delivering well to date. The arts council, the Welsh Books Council and Literature Wales—they all have delivered magnificent events, services and activities, and do an incredible amount to promote publishing. I want to make sure that these bodies go on strengthening and flourishing in the future.