5. What discussions has the Minister had with the UK Government regarding the implementation of the Kalifa review of the UK fintech sector? OQ56914

The Welsh Government supported the creation of FinTech Wales in 2019. It's a particularly active industry membership body and meets regularly with Ron Kalifa, the City of London and the City Finance team to monitor the Kalifa report's implementation and opportunities for the fintech sector here in Wales.

Thank you. As the Minister will be aware, Cardiff capital region has been identified by the Kalifa review as a place for emerging clusters of financial technology companies. The UK Government, through Her Majesty's Treasury, has appointed a fintech envoy to Wales who has been very successful in helping start FinTech Wales, an organisation, as you mentioned, that helps financial technology start-ups and promotes the region as a go-to place for businesses. I'm sure there is cross-party support for the UK Government's commitment to this, especially since financial technology has the potential to be one of Wales's most valuable sectors, and on average pays 11 per cent higher wages. There's also a strong positive correlation between quality science, technology, engineering and mathematics talent and the number of fintechs in a region. Locations that do not have a ready supply of STEM talent are much less likely to have a prevalence of fintech, with at least three higher education providers required for an area to be able to provide a big enough talent pool. Wales needs more geneticists, therapists, chemists, engineers, STEM teachers, environmental scientists and computer programmers, to name a few roles we are desperately short of. In your remit, you are responsible for science and science policy, as well as day-to-day liaising with the chief scientific officer. The Government has had some initiatives for STEM, such as the STEM awards and the Focus on Science programme, and I acknowledge that the Welsh Government has identified STEM as a key priority. However, we are still chronically short of this talent pool. Can the Minister explain what specific action he will take, going forward in his new role, to make funds available to address this shortage? Thank you.

Well, there are a couple of things there that I'd point out. I've had a number of conversations with our chief scientific adviser, and, actually, the value generated from scientific research here in Wales is really significant and we do really well compared to other parts of the UK. Where we don't do so well is in winning funds from competitive bidding processes. So, there is something there about—again, a point about making sure we do generate our fair share, because when money comes to Wales it is well used. That's a conversation, because we do understand the UK Government is looking to invest more in science, innovation, research and development, and we want to make sure that doesn't go to the golden triangle around the south east, but actually it comes to across the UK, where the money will be well used.

And your point about skills more broadly—well, we've had conversations yesterday and a bit today about investing in skills and some of those challenges. I've already met with the Welsh Contact Centre Forum, who run a graduate programme focusing on financial services, data and artificial intelligence, and I'm really clear that we're providing something, together with the industry, that is of real value and valued by the sector. That's part of the reason why the cluster here, in and around Cardiff, is recognised as a potential growth area, because we already have higher education institutions providing a range of skills and opportunities and a willingness from the sector to engage with those institutions to further develop new skills, and the graduate programme itself is well regarded within the sector. So, I look for more opportunities to grow this sector, with the jobs that will come, but also well-paid jobs, to see those people have clear routes in Wales and help us in the broader Welsh economy.