1. What is the Welsh Government doing to support major events in north Wales? OQ57277

Thank you for the question. We're committed to building on Wales’s success in hosting major events. We work proactively with event owners across the whole of Wales, and I was pleased to see events like Focus Wales and the Curtis Cup delivering economic, cultural and social benefits to north Wales this year.

Thank you, Minister. Indeed, the Curtis Cup was a huge success, likewise Focus Wales, and of course we have some wonderful annual events that the Welsh Government supports in north Wales. And indeed, major events such as the Tour de France and the UEFA World Cup have the potential to hugely transform for the better communities in which they are located. Minister, what's your assessment of how a successful City of Culture bid by Wrexham Country Borough Council would help the entire county borough attract more major events and inward investment to the area?

Thank you for the question. And I should say, Wales has a good track record of not just attracting but gaining real benefit from major events, and there is real credit to the Member for his time in Government in helping to move that forward. We see the events that we help to fund having a return on the investment of around about 10:1, so it does provide significant economic benefit, but also, as we said, cultural and social. And I'm enthusiastic about Wrexham's bid for the UK City of Culture; they're the only Welsh entrant still left in the race. And we've seen from other UK cities of culture that it can be a catalyst for more investment and a greater understanding of that city and its near neighbours, and what that can do in terms of attracting more investment from both inward investors in business terms, as well as looking to build on a record of a sustainable visitor economy. So, I think it's a really positive aspect, and my officials will be happy to explore opportunities to collaborate to showcase events for 2025, should Wrexham be successful. And I hope that every Member in the Chamber—north, south, east and west—will wish Wrexham well in their bid to be the UK City of Culture in just a few years' time.

Minister, it goes without saying, really, that the past couple of years have been tough for major events in north Wales, and across Wales as a whole. Events have had to be cancelled at short notice. There is now some reluctance from events organisers to put on events because of the uncertainty over COVID reduction measures. But it hasn't all been that bad, really, because the pandemic meant more people holidaying in north Wales, which is great. We even saw major tv productions like I'm a Celebrity coming to the region—and it was good to see them back on ITV last night after a few days off because of storm Arwen. These events showcase what the region has to offer, and have increased visitors to my constituency. Minister, what assurances can you give to the events organisers in the Vale of Clwyd, and across the north Wales region, that there will be no more lockdowns and they should carry on organising events throughout 2022?

Well, I could agree with much of what the Member said and support it, until the last 'Give me a guarantee on the future.' Look, the reality is that if we see the new omicron variant, and if it is something that spreads much more rapidly than even the Delta variant, and if it has the same level of harm over the population and for each person, then, actually, by the fact that it spreads more rapidly, it is going to be a more dangerous variant. It's why every Government across the UK have implemented a series of new measures. 

I want, though, to be able to support the visitor economy across north Wales, across the south and the middle of Wales, to understand how we generate more activity and have the confidence to build on improving the visitor economy more broadly, because I certainly recognise it's an important economic sector for the future. And I want to build on the fact that more people have come to different parts of Wales over the last two years, and to have a genuinely sustainable visitor economy—one that is year round, and with good jobs within it and not simply seasonal jobs.

So, we will do everything we can to support the visitor economy, and the broader economy, and we will take all reasonable steps we can to avoid further measures that may need to be taken in the course of the pandemic, because we recognise that, if we go backwards, there's real harm to the economy, as well as physical and mental health. So, the Government will continue to be clear, consistent, balanced and open in the choices that we make.