8. What are the Welsh Government’s economic priorities for North Wales? OQ56919

Thank you. Our priorities for north Wales, as with all parts of Wales, are set out in our programme for government, which was published in June this year.

Thank you very much, Minister, for your brief response. As you will know, significant parts of the north Wales economy are, of course, within the construction sector, and I recently had the privilege of meeting with the Construction Industry Training Board, the CITB, who outlined to me some of the challenges they’re experiencing in terms of a skills shortage within the sector. Indeed, in addition to the current skills shortage, by 2025 across Wales the industry will have a further 9,000 jobs that will need filling, and by 2028 a further 12,000 jobs will need to be filled to support some of the work around climate change and the retrofitting work that will need to take place.

Of course, there’s a big opportunity here and we have the potential for tens of thousands of new jobs within a really highly skilled sector, which could support our economy. So, what action will you take to ensure that this part of the economy will fulfil its potential in north Wales and ensure that the future job demand will be met?

Well, this is about working alongside providers in the way we award our apprenticeships, but more than that it’s about our ability to continue to invest in the future. This may sound a bit like a broken record, but it’s really important not to lose sight of this. Certainty on funding to support those apprenticeships is hugely important and to reinvest in the skills of the current workforce as well. That’s our ambition—to be able to do that—because we recognise that in the construction sector, as you say, there are good jobs that are available that require skills and pay above the average wage as well. So, there’s a good career to be had within construction, and we’re looking to broaden the base of people who go into construction. It isn’t just a job for men of a certain size and shape; it’s actually for men and women to be able to work in the sector successfully as well. So, we want to see a broader workforce going into the sector, we want to invest in future skills, we want the certainty to be able to do so, and certainty from our colleagues in the UK Government would allow us to do that and plan together with the industry. And I should say, we’re in a fortunate position in Wales: having very good relationships with the construction sector is a real base to build upon.

Minister, a number of small businesses in the hospitality sector have been in touch with me over the past few months complaining that the financial support in relation to COVID and hospitality businesses has not been fair, because that support is based on the number of people employed by the business, without taking into account the economic value of that business to the foundational economy and the local economy. And despite the good summer they've had, these businesses are still suffering since the disaster of last winter. So, what additional support can you provide specifically to smaller businesses, such as the small rural pubs and restaurants that I'm talking about?

We’ve designed our COVID support through the pandemic to help businesses to survive and to get ready for trading again. We’ve had emergency support, including at times when that trade has been restricted, and we’ve had to do that on a basis that is objective and fair, and to understand the costs that exist for those individual businesses. To try to design that on the basis of a broader, wider social value would be incredibly challenging to run that scheme, which we’ve had to stand up in really short order, and I think it would be complicated to the point of being undeliverable to do what—. I understand why the Member raises the issue, but I don’t think it’s a realistic way to run the support that’s available.

I should say though that in that sector, of course, those businesses should benefit from a year-long period of rate relief, unlike colleagues in England, who will have had that support reduced. It is an undeniable fact that the most generous offer of support has been delivered for businesses here in Wales. And even when I am myself engaged with businesses in the hospitality industry—I have not been able to avoid them in my own constituency—they have been clear that they understand that there is a more generous offer here in Wales than over the border in England, but times are still challenging. It makes it even more important people do the right thing in being patrons of those businesses, to behave in the right way, because we want to see them open and trading. None of us, including me, want to go to a position where we’re going to have further restrictions introduced because we can’t keep on top of the pandemic itself. I do think that when we get to genuinely exiting the pandemic, and hopefully having a much more normal Christmas trading period, these businesses will see that there are real opportunities for the future and help us to recruit more staff into, again, what should be a sector where there’s a real career, and not simply a job to be had.

I thank the Minister.