Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:40 pm on 19 September 2017.
A number of questions there, and specific actions, particularly, were asked about. First things first: the economic action plan will be published during the course of the autumn and that will be available for Members to see.
The UK Government’s industrial strategy is unclear. It’s not the most detailed strategy. We look forward to seeing that develop over time. The big question that’s not answered over that and the shared prosperity fund is how it’ll mesh with the work of devolved Governments. A shared prosperity fund will not work if the UK Government decides its priorities alone. It won’t mesh properly with what’s happening in Wales and what’s happening in Scotland. We wait to see how that will work out.
He talks about the mid Wales growth deal—that’s something, of course, that we would want to look at over the course of the development of this document and beyond. We’re not moving away from inward investment. Inward investment is hugely important to the Welsh economy and, in keeping with that, I have, for some months, been looking at how we can boost our overseas presence given the fact that Brexit is happening. Where else can we look? What new markets can we look at? Where should we put Welsh Government officials working, usually, with officials in what was UK Trade and Investment in offices around the world? This work is important to raise Wales’s profile. We understand that and that work is ongoing, but he’s right to say that raising Wales’s profile is massively important—we know this—in terms of attracting investment. I’d argue that we’ve done that. We’ve had the investment from Qatar Airways coming in, of course, to the airport, along with many, many others from other countries, and it’s hugely important that momentum continues in the future so that the success we’ve had over the next few years is replicated when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment.