Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 2:07 pm on 20 March 2019.
Thank you. I must acknowledge the role the Member has played in championing the concept of the foundational economy. I think it's important as well that he's focusing on this aspect of it, which is not an aspect that is often discussed, but I think there is great potential.
So, there are three different pillars to our work on the foundational economy. One is the experimental fund that we've agreed with Plaid Cymru as part of the budget agreement, where we're looking to see if we can increase the amount of money available for that. The second is the growth of grounded firms and filling the missing middle. And the third, then, is mainstreaming through the public sector the lessons from Preston and beyond through procurement, and that's where I think we can make real progress here, because using the public services boards set up under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, we can give them a challenge to help this agenda that will give meaning to all the principles and approaches of the future generations Act. We've also set up a sub-group of the ministerial advisory board to challenge us and test us as we develop our thinking in the foundational economy, and we're going to be receiving a paper specifically on environmental growth and biodiversity at our next meeting, to see how we can embed those principles into the work we're doing. I'd welcome the continued support and input and challenge from the Member as we develop this agenda.