Item 5 on the agenda this afternoon is a debate on the Economy, Infrastrucutre and Skills Committee report 'Selling Wales to the World', and I call on the Chair of that committee to move the motion—Russell George.

Motion NDM6879 Russell George

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

Notes the report of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee on its inquiry, 'Selling Wales to the World', which was laid in the Table Office on 27 September 2018.

Motion moved.

Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to move the motion in my name. 

We are, of course, living in changing times as we define our relationship with the rest of Europe and seek new links with emerging and expanding markets. Following the Brexit referendum in 2016, the First Minister announced that he had made it his intention to prioritise the Welsh Government and sell Wales to the world like never before. So, the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee launched an inquiry to explore how the Welsh Government has been selling Wales to the world so far and what selling Wales to the world might look like. We focused on three areas—trade, tourism and skills—and made 14 recommendations on our findings. I won’t go into all 14 today, but I will highlight a few.

The committee’s first recommendation sought to address the lack of accountability for international trade and Brexit implementation. Currently, these responsibilities are shared between the First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport. There is a clear danger that shared responsibility can sometimes fall between two stools, or three stools in this case. So, the committee recommended that the First Minister, whoever that may be, should create a specific Cabinet post for Brexit and international trade. I was pleased that the Welsh Government was accepting of that recommendation. It's clearly up to the new First Minister to make that post available.  

The committee’s focus on international trade found that, although export performance was strong, there were concerns that some SMEs were being crowded out of overseas roadshows as the slots made available by the Welsh Government are snapped up so quickly. So, it was unclear how ambitious small and medium-sized businesses that were not already on the Government’s radar could get involved. Witnesses asked, 'How could we be sure that we were taking the A team on global trade missions if businesses were selected on a first-come-first-served basis?' I think committee members thought that was a fair question.

The committee recommended that the Welsh Government develops an export growth strategy to prepare companies for international markets and increase the number of companies exporting. The economic action plan prioritises support for companies to export, but I will highlight the need to reach those businesses that are currently unable to secure a place on global trade missions.

The committee considered the Welsh Government’s overseas offices. Witnesses were unable to point to the impact the overseas offices have had on export. In fact, witnesses were unable to even define the role of them. The level of resourcing and personnel varies greatly from office to office, and there appears to be a lack of links between offices and local authorities, which could support each other, of course, in this area of work. Further offices have been opened in the past 12 months and more are planned, although the Cabinet Secretary does report to us that each office is now required to develop a business plan. But those are still not being shared with the wider world at large and, more importantly, key stakeholders. So, I would say to the Cabinet Secretary that publishing the contact details of your offices on a website isn’t enough. If stakeholders are unaware of the remit of the offices and the support they could get from them, why would they get in touch? Maximising the use of these offices will go some way to increasing the value for money that they can deliver, so it’s important that we get clarity on this.

If I move on to tourism, Wales is the most tourism-dependent region of the whole of the UK. The 2013 'Partnership for Growth' strategy recognised the importance of the tourism industry and the need to work together with the private sector and other organisations to develop the industry further. As with the global trade missions I mentioned earlier, witnesses raised concerns that some businesses are being debarred from what they considered to be the Visit Wales family. Businesses felt left out of marketing opportunities and excluded from the brand. So, I am pleased that the Cabinet Secretary has accepted our recommendation to enable Welsh businesses to access that branding, and I welcome the work that had started to bring together a digital hub of guidance, tools and materials for businesses and organisations across Wales to use.

I was also pleased to hear that the Cabinet Secretary will be considering a number of partnership options that are intended to help businesses develop bookable products. We know that bookable products are attractive to overseas visitors and that overseas visitors account for less than 5 per cent of visits but 10 per cent of spending, so it’s important that we are able to compete in that market.

Finally, I will reiterate the committee’s call for air passenger duty to be devolved to Wales. We’re not the first committee or group of politicians to call for this, and I suspect we won’t be the last, but it’s been devolved in Scotland and it should be devolved in Wales. I see that the Welsh Affairs Select Committee has launched an inquiry on this matter, and, of course, I look forward to seeing their conclusions.

Deputy Presiding Officer, overall, the committee’s inquiry uncovered pockets of good practice but they must be better aligned across portfolios and accessible to businesses if Wales is to meet its potential in this area. I look forward to the debate this afternoon.

Firstly—and I speak not as a member of the committee, but as somebody who takes a keen interest in our positioning as a nation—certainly, we welcome the report. It includes very valuable advice going forward, and, of course, what we don't quite know as yet is what Wales's context will be. It looks as if it will be outside the European Union, but, whatever happens next year in terms of our future direction as a country, Wales is going to need a bigger voice than ever.

Russell George, in the introduction to the report, says that:

'It is clear to the Committee that more can be done to sell Wales to the world in a strategic and joined up way. There are pockets of good practice that must be better aligned across portfolios—and accessible to more businesses—if we are to meet our potential in this area'.

In many ways, we can see this as the story of this Government across many portfolio areas: lack of strategic thinking, not enough thinking strategically, not as much joined-up working as we'd like to see, only pockets of good practice here and there. And I think the crisis of Brexit—and it's not too strong a word to use—means that Wales's voice risks being lost, I think, and drowned out, and we really must be doing better, must be thinking more strategically, and I fear that, over two years since the Brexit referendum, the Welsh Government hasn't taken as many steps as I would like—as we would like—to take this as seriously as it should have been.

And in Scotland, I think, we see once again a Government showing what can be done with a strategic vision. For many years, I think the devolved Government there has worked hard to sell a distinct Scottish brand in business and in tourism and so on and to seek out as much influence as possible for their country, in Europe, and, indeed, elsewhere around the world, and this at a time when there seems to be an effort on the part of some, not least the UK Government, of course, to marginalise the Welsh brand, as seen most explicitly, of course, in the Royal Welsh Show, as I've mentioned a number of times, with Welsh produce this summer.

Now, the main recommendation in this report, the top recommendation, is that a specific Minister is created to combine Brexit responsibilities with external affairs, including selling Wales to the world. Scotland has had a similar, actually, Cabinet-level Minister for Europe and External Affairs going back to the dawn of devolution, I think, from the year 2000. It was abolished, then merged with other portfolios, before being resurrected when the SNP came into power in 2007. Europe and external affairs is part of a Cabinet-level position in Scotland, with a junior Minister assisting. Of course, they have more capacity in terms of membership there in Scotland. And I don't think there really is an excuse not to have one now in Wales, given the challenges that we face, and Plaid Cymru has been calling for a Minister to deal with external issues for some time—a specific Minister, of course. It's rolled into the First Minister's responsibilities; we think that there needs to be a stepping up, and the changing context, I think, strengthens the argument for that.

We're a little unclear from the Government response to the report whether or not they're accepting the need for the creation of a ministerial-level position for Brexit and international trade or suggesting that we just stick as we are now with the First Minister and other Ministers currently dealing with those issues. Perhaps some clarity on that point, actually, would be useful now. The current set-up, though, as the report notes, isn't joined-up, isn't specific enough, isn't strategic enough, and a separate Minister would be able to also bring real clarity and accountability, which is crucial, of course, to how we approach our external affairs issues as a country. So, that's what the main recommendation is.

I'd like to pick up on the role of overseas offices too. The report was clear in its conclusions that there was a lack of direction and resources for these officers. More focus is needed; better engagement with businesses in Wales and elsewhere is going to be crucial. I note from the Government response that the offices are now required to tailor specific business plans based on the strengths and opportunities in their respective markets. We welcome that, but there's still, I think, a question of resources here and whether we now believe they are able to carry out the need for an expanded role in that new context.

The main takeaway, then, from this report for us is that, as with so many areas of Government, there's a lack of strategic thinking, a lack of leadership. Highlighted is the work that needs to be done across a variety of departments. This, in many ways, is the beginning of a new era for Wales; it's not an era that we would have invented ourselves, but I think we have in this report a series of recommendations that, hopefully, can lay some foundations at the start of that new period in Welsh history.

I'm grateful to get the opportunity to speak in support of this report into selling Wales to the world. It's a crucial area for our country's prosperity and one that is all the more vital as we face the uncertainty of the post-Brexit world. Giving small businesses in my constituency of Cynon Valley, and across Wales, the skills, confidence and opportunity to engage is really, really important. This report clearly shows what more we must do to get it right. I want to focus on what I believe to be six key recommendations in the report.

Firstly, recommendation 2—now, this notes the importance of an export growth strategy that prepares companies for international markets and increases the numbers of companies exporting. I'm glad the Welsh Government has accepted this recommendation, and that, in doing so, it sets out what it's already doing, such as prioritising exports within the economic action plan. It’s especially good to see mention of our food and drink sector. Several companies from my constituency have already benefited from Welsh Government support to take part in prestigious trade fairs. They told me how valuable this has been in building their success. That’s companies like the internationally recognised Penderyn Distillery—which welcomed the First Minister the other week—also Grey Trees brewery, the Authentic Curry Co, and Welsh Hills Bakery, with their specialist gluten-free products. I hope that we can encourage more of our local companies, especially in a post-Brexit Wales, to participate in this way.

Increasing business involvement is also key to recommendation 6. However, this is more about getting them to buy into a strong Welsh brand identity. We know that countries who do well have strong, recognisable branding. And I do share the concerns of other colleagues that have spoken already that our Welsh brand may not quite be as strong as it could be. I also note from our work as a committee the evidence from stakeholders about brand identity needing time to bed in.

I think the work that Visit Wales does around its various themed years is very exciting, but I do wonder if annual shifts of focus are the right way to build brand identity. Perhaps we need to think about a more long-term theming to really build that globally recognised Welsh brand. I look forward to the outcomes of the work to develop a digital brand hub for Welsh businesses and organisations to buy into, and also to the incorporation of a Wales brand into all tourism signage and labelling. Related to this are our recommendations 7 and 8. Now, when we were doing this work in committee, I was really not happy with the lack of Welsh resources on the VisitBritain web pages, and in particular, the lack of bookable products. I’ve checked again this morning, and it's good to see that things are improving and there are now eight Welsh bookable attractions on there. That's more than Northern Ireland, but still less than Scotland, and a tiny fraction of the 153 bookable attractions for England, including London.

It’s a similar picture for trips and tours and sightseeing passes too. I still can't see any direct link between the VisitBritain web page and Visit Wales web page. So, I welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s evidence that he gave to the committee, and I know that this is something he said he is aware of and he's entered into discussions around. And it's good to see the additional detail set out in the Welsh Government's response to our report, particularly around developing bookable products and strengthening partnerships. It is clear that there is more that needs to be done in this area to give Wales a level playing field.

I also want to fully endorse recommendation 11, on the devolution of air passenger duty. Professor Annette Pritchard, a tourism expert at Cardiff Metropolitan University, made the case to us very powerfully here, as a committee. She told us that failure to devolve APD had suppressed tourism, economic growth, employment prospects and revenue contributions. In addition, it was hampering the ability of Cardiff Airport to expand and operate as a hub for international tourism to Wales. Indeed, modelling submitted to the Welsh Government has estimated that devolution of APD could lead to an additional 658,000 passengers using Cardiff Airport each year by 2025. So, I hope that we can send a strong message that APD should be devolved, and endorse the Cabinet Secretary’s robust reply on this.

I want to close by saying a few words on our first recommendation, and that's the one that calls for a Cabinet-level trade portfolio. While agreeing with this, I also want to applaud the work that Ministers have done in this area to date, in particular the leadership shown by our current First Minister throughout his term of office. A future First Minister may well agree with us that a visible presence focusing on this area is important, but that should not detract from the dedication that our current First Minister and his team have shown to selling Wales. I am happy to endorse this report today.

As the committee Chair pointed out, our inquiry centred on three areas: trade, tourism, skills and training. It must be acknowledged that selling a small country such as Wales on the global market is no easy task. Sadly, our diaspora throughout the world is far smaller than that of either Scotland or Ireland. Consequently, the world's general knowledge of Wales is far less than that of these countries. We are, so to speak, lagging behind these nations. This lack of general knowledge of Wales was witnessed in our recent visit to Brussels, in that the Canadian diplomats and officials we met told us that, until recently, they had little or no knowledge of Wales.

There are, of course, signs that Wales is beginning to gain recognition, particularly from the worldwide sporting events that we have managed to attract—the Ryder Cup and the Champions League are good examples of this. But one has to ask: do they bring a lasting legacy, or is that legacy subsumed by the next venue to hold the event? The Cabinet Secretary, Ken Skates, is convinced that we are beginning to establish ourselves in an international context in such things as projecting ourselves as the adventure tourism playground of Europe, and I'm sure that this sort of specialisation is the key to obtaining global recognition for Wales. 

The first recommendation in our report is that the Government should create a specific Cabinet post to combine international trade responsibility and Brexit policy implementation. The committee sees this as a key factor in drawing together all the disparate strands in the development of the Wales brand. I'm disappointed that the Government only accepted in principle our fourth recommendation that the Cabinet Secretary should publish a detailed remit for overseas offices and report annually on how each office is delivering against that remit. It must be asked: what other way can we scrutinise their performance and make adjustments and strategies to make them more effective? 

I will end by pointing out that in Y Ddraig Goch, the unique flag, we have a ready-made marketing icon far more recognisable than the Scottish saltire or the Irish tricolour or, dare I say, the cross of St George. We should promote it on everything we produce and wherever we exhibit. Companies pay millions to have such a recognisable symbol; we should exploit it wherever and whenever we can.

Can I now call the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport, Ken Skates?

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I begin by saying that I very much welcome the committee's report? I'd like to thank Members for their contributions today and their hard work in compiling the report and its recommendations. I really do think that international engagement and delivery is a vital part of our agenda to grow the Welsh economy.

Now, our relationship with the European Union might well be changing, but with two thirds of Welsh exports currently going to the European market, we will do everything possible to maintain a relationship with the European single market that allows companies to maintain free and unfettered access. Now, we have seen an increase in the value of exports in the last few years, and we need to continue that positive momentum. Our continued support for Welsh exporters will help to achieve this goal, and by making this support one of our five calls to action, we will help Welsh businesses to maintain exports to the EU, as well as accessing new markets in North America, the middle east and beyond. And across Government, but particularly with the assistance of my friend and colleague Lesley Griffiths, we are ensuring that companies—large, small and micro-sized companies—have access to trade missions, and it's particularly apparent in trade missions concerning Welsh food and drink, which is becoming increasingly recognised for the high quality of produce and the strong provenance of the goods that we are able to take overseas. 

Now, I'm pleased to be able to say that we are allocating resources from the £7.5 million business resilience fund recently approved through the European transition fund to support campaigns and activities that help companies to establish the traction that they need in new markets, and that positions us, I think, to keep Wales's international profile as a location for investment strong and positive. Our overseas offices are, indeed, vital to this agenda, and they are multifaceted, covering business, culture, education and tourism. We've already embarked upon a strategic expansion of this network, opening, in recent months and in the past few years, new offices in key markets, which include Canada, and Qatar, and Germany, and, of course, France. Over time, these offices will build upon the existing links that are already established in those territories and their respective markets and deliver even greater gains for Wales.

Now, our relationship with our partners in the UK Government's Department for International Trade, and also the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, ensures that Welsh companies have access to the full range of support to promote their goods and services overseas, as well as promoting the message that Wales is a great place in which to do business, a great place in which to learn, and a superb place in which to live.

The Wales brand now provides a firm foundation for our work to promote Wales in a wide range of markets across all channels and all sectors. It underpins more than £10 million of marketing spend per annum in the tourism and business sectors. It also is used at prestigious events, such as the UEFA Champions League final, the Ryder Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race. It can be seen at iconic locations across Wales, from the airport to stadia. It's also applied to all our food and drink marketing, and it's a major aspect of our international health recruitment campaigns. It's also worth saying, Dirprwy Lywydd, that it is an internationally renowned, award-winning brand campaign. It's delivering tangible results right across the economy. Tourism marketing alone has delivered an additional spend of around about £350 million a year for the economy, and this has doubled since 2013, and it supports thousands upon thousands of valuable jobs in Wales. It's just one example of how raising our international profile and having a consistent, strong and compelling brand has benefited the people, the economy and the country of Wales.

Tourism is often identified as the flag carrier for the country, and the themed years have been carving, I think, a much stronger and clearer and distinctive proposition for Wales, and this is indeed being noticed. Many awards have been bestowed upon Visit Wales for the thematic years campaign, and it's no doubt one of the most successful branding exercises and campaign exercises in the UK in recent times, but we cannot stop here, and our economic action plan sets out the Welsh Government's commitment to building and maintaining European partnerships in areas of common interest. Seventy-seven per cent—I believe it is—of Welsh food and drink exports alone went to the EU in 2017. Therefore, it's vital that we maintain strong links to this important region despite Brexit. We'll also continue to develop new ways to build and maintain European partnerships through investing in networks and bilateral co-operation with partner countries and regions. From our existing support for exporters in Wales to the work that we undertake with our own overseas network and its partners, all of our international activity demonstrates the Welsh Government's commitment to this crucially important agenda. The relationships that we have built in Europe and beyond have been enhanced by the recent commitment to expand our overseas network, ensuring that the Wales offer to businesses, to tourists, to students is visible and as far-reaching as possible. And, we won't stop here, as we continue to help businesses to explore new markets, to attract overseas students and visitors and create lasting partnerships that will meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Can I just say finally, in reference specifically to recommendation 1, every time a Minister travels abroad, they are subject to a freedom of information request, and, consequently, often criticised for the costs incurred in promoting Wales abroad. So, please, if the new First Minister does create a role for international trade and Brexit, as you have strongly recommended, then please, please recognise that their travel and subsistence costs will be much higher than others in Government. So, please don't call today for this, only to tomorrow condemn such a person for the cost of doing the job right.    

Thank you. Can I now call on Russell George to reply to the debate?

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank the Members for taking part in the debate across the Chamber this afternoon? I should also like to thank, of course, the many witnesses who took part in our report—who are mentioned in detail in the report—and representatives of Welsh, UK, European and international businesses, and the cultural and educational organisations that we met with in Brussels as well.

David Rowlands, in his contribution, pointed out our visit to Brussels. It seems a long time ago, doesn't it, David, since we undertook that visit? But, he recalled some of the conversations that we had, and I do remember the conversation with Canadian Government officials, telling us that they had had little contact with Wales before. So, I think that there is a role here for Welsh Government—but not only Welsh Government. I think it's a role for all of us, as an Assembly, in our various committees as well. I think we've all got a responsibility to sell Wales to the world, not just the Government.

I hear the Cabinet Secretary's call, if there is that post created, that we should not be critical if there are expenses incurred by that Cabinet Secretary or that post whilst they travel around the world. I accept that, and you have my assurance that I won't do that. I think it's correct to scrutinise what's achieved from those visits, but I accept what the Cabinet Secretary is saying, and I make a commitment here today that he won't have that from me.

In other parts of the debate, Rhun ap Iorwerth and others correctly pointed out, of course, our call for that new Cabinet post—that loud voice, that joined-up thinking approach that was needed across Government in regard to Brexit and international affairs. We, as a committee, feel that that can be achieved by having that department—that Cabinet post—specifically for international affairs. The Government accepted our recommendation, but clearly it's a matter for the next First Minister, whoever he or she is. But, I accept that, in the response to our report, the Government pointed out that legislation permits only a number of Government positions. We accept that, but, of course, we believe, as a committee, that this is a priority in that regard.

Vikki Howells rehearsed the branding issue actually, which we discussed, in regards to that theme that changes every year, and that question about whether that is good branding. I do remember distinctly the Cabinet Secretary defending that annual theme. But, of course, there's the other side to that debate as well—that annual themes perhaps are not good for branding. So, I'm sure that discussion will continue on as well. I do share David Rowlands's disappointment that the Government only accepted recommendation 4 in principle.

The report looked at, of course, our three areas vital to our economy here in Wales. But, the work doesn't remain static. Wales is changing, and since undertaking that work as a committee, we've also undertaken work on the fourth industrial revolution. And, from our work in that area, it's clear that we just can't stand still and that our work in this area will be a changing feast, if you like, as well.

Can I thank Members for taking part in the debate this afternoon, and can I thank the Government for accepting nearly all of our recommendations?

Thank you. The proposal is to note the committee's report. Does any Member object? Therefore the motion is agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.