7. What legal representations has the Counsel General made on behalf of the Welsh Government in relation to its new economic contract? OAQ51909

I thank the Member for her question. I've had initial discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport and will continue to engage as we develop and implement this flagship policy. 

Counsel General, it's welcome that the new economic contract will require businesses to do the right thing and deliver on Welsh Government priorities like fair work and decarbonisation. It is a legal relationship with these businesses, and they must be clear what is expected of them, and the Welsh Government must also be protected if these are not met. What steps are you taking to ensure that the Welsh Government is able to use these contracts to achieve its aims in developing the Welsh economy and make sure that Welsh Government financing is protected if they do not?

Absolutely. The point of the economic contract, as the Cabinet Secretary himself has said on many occasions, is to ensure that the investment that the Welsh Government makes achieves the social purpose that the Government wants to see, and it's central in that sense to the economic action plan. It will require more of businesses, and it will also require changes in behaviour on the part of the Welsh Government in relation to the particular areas that it seeks to encourage around fair work, promotion of health and promoting the reduction of the carbon footprint, for example.

The economic contract, of course, as you say, has legal dimensions to it, and it's at the heart of the economic action plan. I had discussions with the Cabinet Secretary leading up to the economic action plan around this and since in relation to the legal architecture that supports that contract, and the Cabinet Secretary and I have agreed that, once the contract is up and running in a kind of skeleton form, from this financial year forward, I will work with him to look at innovative ways in which the contract could potentially be extended to other areas of Government, as indicated in the plan as well. So, there's potential for that in the time ahead.

Thank you, Counsel General.