Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:41 pm on 8 May 2019.
Thank you for the answer, Minister. I'm not aware that there is any recommendation that has come forward yet in terms of infrastructure projects over the next five to 30 years, which is exactly why the commission, of course, has been set up. But a key structural problem, I suggest, Minister, is that, in Wales, planning, funding and delivery cycles of infrastructure and construction projects are often poorly co-ordinated.
For example, right across Wales at present, in a period that the construction sector loosely refers to as 'mad March', local authorities are all at the same time spending money at the end of the financial year. Further still, local government spending cycles are often not in line with the infrastructure delivery strategies of other organisations, including the Welsh Government. So, this uncoordinated approach means that the construction industry in Wales has a stop-start work flow, and uncertainty as to what projects are coming forward in the future months and years. And the whole point of the national infrastructure commission is, of course, to bring some oversight to the problem, ultimately with a view to helping the construction industry to retain skilled workers and to allowing investment and support and growth of our construction industry in Wales.
So, given the importance of the national infrastructure commission, would you agree with me that the resource allocated to support the work of the commission is too little? As I understand it, there is one Government official who's been seconded from Welsh Government to the commission. What are your plans to improve the situation, going forward?