2. Will the Minister make a statement on inward investment in the North Wales region over this Senedd term? OQ55649

As the Member is aware, north Wales has a huge range of strengths that have proven to be attractive to overseas investors over this Senedd term, and we'll continue to use both economic and international levers to ensure those strengths are recognised globally.

Thank you, Minister. I follow the fortunes of the UK manufacturing industry, and there are some fabulous announcements coming out about new factories and technological advancements. In recent months, I've only seen one announcement relating to north Wales, about the excellent Wrexham-based Village Bakery. What is your department doing to ensure Wales, and especially north Wales, gets its share of that inward investment spoil?

Well, the Member will also be aware of the astonishing work that's been taking place at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Cymru, which we opened just last autumn. That centre was designed to deliver opportunities for businesses to collaborate. It was designed to capture the 'wing of tomorrow' for Airbus, it was designed to capture more research and innovation funding from the UK Government, but, during the course of the pandemic, it's also stepped up to the national effort, producing invaluable equipment for the national health service. 

Right across north Wales, we've seen investment levels at a very, very high rate in terms of foreign direct investment. We've seen around about a quarter of the recent inward investment projects secured in north Wales. In 2019-20, there were 15 investments from overseas, creating 348 jobs. I do apologise if the Member has missed any press releases regarding those 15 significant investments, but I can assure the Member that we are doing all we can to land as many opportunities for the region as possible. And that's shown by the employment figures. We have a higher rate of employment in north Wales than we have across Wales on average. And, right now, unemployment across Wales stands at 3.1 per cent, compared to 4.1 per cent across the UK. And that demonstrates the value of devolution and, in particular, the enormous efforts that the Welsh Government have displayed during the course of the pandemic, with the Wales-only economic resilience fund securing more than 100,000 jobs.

I would like to raise my concerns about inward investment in Conwy during this enforced economic lockdown by your Government. You must be aware that these actions are having a devastating impact on my constituents and businesses in Aberconwy: the tourism sector has only had two months to trade to see them through the winter; the queen of Welsh resorts now described as a ghost town; hoteliers and the retail sector bewildered and angry at the threat to their livelihoods by your Welsh Government. Now, no-one is denying that public safety is paramount, but your actions should be considered proportionate and fair. There is an overwhelming opinion, now—. In fact, it's over 1,000 on Facebook—they want to even start a campaign group about your actions. Now, you're bringing the tourism and retail sector to its knees. Yesterday, the First Minister had the audacity to suggest that we, as elected politicians, raising these valid concerns on behalf of our businesses, were suggesting residents should break the rules. I'm sure you would agree with me that was preposterous and it was grossly offensive.

Now, the local lockdown business fund—. A week tomorrow it is since this lockdown was announced—people sent home from hotels, bookings cancelled. The lockdown fund, when I've looked into it, is pennies compared to what's needed to see these people not lose their livelihoods. So, what assurances can you provide this Senedd, today, Minister, with, that you will put in place a fair and proportionate response in terms of funding these hard-pressed businesses so that we do actually have them able to open again next spring? But also—

No, you'll need to bring your questions to a close now.   

Will you be pressing the Minister for Health and Social Services and, indeed, the First Minister to look at the figures again and bring this lockdown to an end ASAP? Thank you.

Well, first, a number of points in observation on what Janet Finch-Saunders has just said in the Senedd Chamber: we're putting lives first, we are prioritising human life and we make no apologies for that; the First Minister was right in what he said yesterday; and, thirdly, the incident management team that met last week, to decide on restrictions in north Wales were unanimous. This was a decision not taken—[Interruption.]

Allow the Minister to respond, please. If you carry on, and we'll have some—. No point of order. Allow the Minister to respond. Carry on, Ken Skates. 

Diolch, Llywydd. I was just saying about the IMT that met last week: a range of stakeholders—local authority leaders, the police, health chiefs—all in agreement that action had to be taken. The reason being that the later you act, the longer restrictions are often in place. Just look at what's happening in Paris right now, just look at what's happening elsewhere, when you fail to intervene early, and look at what's happening in many parts of Wales where we did take action early—the figures are dropping.

Now, I have another number of points I'd just briefly like to make. The Member says that the local lockdown fund amounts to pennies. Well, maybe she could explain what she thinks about the English support, because that is far less generous than what we are offering in Wales. In England, you will only be able to get support if you close your business down; that's not the case in Wales. I'd also invite the Member to look at how many businesses in her own constituency have benefited from the most comprehensive and generous package of support anywhere in the United Kingdom. If we just take Conwy, as a county area, we know that a total of 461 microbusinesses and small and medium-sized enterprises secured funding through the economic resilience fund. That wouldn't have been available to those 461 businesses if they'd been established in England. And, in addition, 83 start-up grants were awarded for start-ups in Conwy. Again, funding that wouldn't have been available to them if they were in England. And, thirdly, in Aberconwy, in the Member's own constituency, the Development Bank of Wales's COVID-19 loans scheme has provided more than £3 million to 68 businesses. Again, support that wouldn't have been available if they had been in England.

We are doing all we can—far more than the UK Government is doing exclusively in England—to provide those bridges for businesses and working people to get through to the point where we have a vaccine or where we adequately suppress the virus numbers. 

Minister, you'll be well aware that the workforce in Alyn and Deeside is the most highly skilled in the United Kingdom. I've worked alongside them as an engineer and I've seen this first hand. Those making investment decisions should be aware of this fact too, and we should be shouting from the rooftops. So, I was very pleased to hear you earlier mention the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Cymru. Minister, can you provide an update on the important projects such as the logistics hub at Tata Steel in Shotton and also the Northern Gateway?

Can I thank Jack Sargeant and say that his question is actually very timely, because I've just come out of a virtual meeting with the local area board, who oversee the AMRC and economic development opportunities across Deeside industrial park and the enterprise zone? I was pleased to receive a comprehensive briefing from Bill Duckworth, the excellent site manager at Tata in Shotton, and also from Andy Silcox, who brilliantly runs the AMRC at Broughton. And I learned today that there is not only potential for Tata Shotton to host a Heathrow logistics hub, but also a logistics hub for floating offshore wind industries and possibly for off-site modular housing—incredibly exciting programmes.

Also, we know that the Northern Gateway is one of the most attractive development sites in north Wales at the moment. I'm optimistic about being able to say something positive in the near future concerning job creation, and what we're doing there complements what we're investing in across north Wales. And I recently announced—Members will be aware—the establishment of a development company for Trawsfynydd to look at all opportunities for that part of north Wales as well. 

We are investing across the region, creating jobs in record numbers, and we have a pandemic to overcome, but we are confident that, by working as a partner to local authorities, we have the strongest team in north Wales to overcome this challenge.