3. Statement by the Minister for Economy: Progressing the Economic Resilience and Reconstruction Mission

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:56 pm on 22 March 2022.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:56, 22 March 2022

Thank you for the comments and the constructive tone of the response from the Conservative spokesperson. There are many things that we agree on as outline challenges that the country faces. We've talked regularly about the climate and nature emergency and the labour market inequality that the Member mentioned in his opening introduction, and our challenge is how we can address that, and the range of other priorities that he set out in his question. That's why the vision covers such a wide area, but it also points to lots of areas of opportunity and challenge for us to address.

On your specific points around the foundational economy, I'm sure the Member will be pleased to hear that, as a Government, we've had a Cabinet discussion around the foundational economy and the next stage of moving that forward—so, not just the money allocated in the budget to further support the foundational economy, but to do as the Member has suggested, in how we share good practice that exists already, but then how we reset a level of ambition. Foundational economy officials and our procurement officials are working together, and are looking to examine different parts of the Government and our activity alongside public services and the private sector. We're especially interested in what we've already done within the food sector. We're also interested in what more we can do with the food industry in its broadest sense, through the whole chain from growth, delivery and also food manufacturing as well, where we've added significant value already. 

We're also looking to build on work that's already taking place within health and social care. Having been on the other side of this conversation not that long ago, I do know that work has carried on for a period of time to look at what the health service and social care can do as very large employers, as well as people who spend significant amounts of public money. There's really good practice already taking place, for example, in Hywel Dda. We're looking to learn what has worked well to further increase what we've been able to do by embedding social value as part of procurement contracts in the health service, and then to do more in both health and social care. I'll be more than happy to provide updates to the Chamber and perhaps the Member with another hat on, when he's chairing one of the scrutiny committees.

On the transition plan that we're working through about how to transition to the next stage of living with COVID, there are regular conversations with all of our stakeholders, including business groups as well, both with me directly, but also with officials. It's not just been the regularity of the 21-day review process in reviewing our regulations; it's the nature of the conversations we continue to have about how we can understand with as much predictability as possible what we're going to be able to do if we do continue to have a stable environment with COVID, and, as I said in my statement, the balance of harms—the direct harm from COVID with an increase in cases balanced against the alternative harm of the significant measures we've had to take in the past. That is very much what we're looking to do when we set out the balance of that in the rest of the forthcoming period. 

That's also been part of the context in the conversation we've had, for example, about the retail strategy, and the position statement we published last week. I expect to be able to have the full retail strategy where we've been able to work with both trade unions and employers to be ready, hopefully before the end of May, for publication. We're also working together with the visitor economy, having moved from 'Let's Shape the Future', the recovery plan through COVID, to want to get back onto the longer term strategy to provide people with a welcome to Wales where we do properly take advantage of economic opportunities in a way that is sustainable for both communities and our environmental impact. 

On town centres, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change is leading that work. We've maintained a 'town centre first' approach, not just in the economy, but across a range of other areas too. And you will no doubt look forward to hearing more from the Deputy Minister on the town centre delivery group, with a focus on restraining edge-of-town development and reuse, looking in particular at town-centre development in clusters and corridors and how the redevelopment of town centres and neighbourhoods can make sure that we really do have vibrant high streets and town centres.

And on your two final points—and I'll be as brief as I can, Dirprwy Lywydd—Cardiff capital region, I have had, as indeed have my officials, a range of conversations with them about their ambitions, and I think the way it has been reported has perhaps been miscast. I think that the Cardiff capital region are serious about saying that there are tens of thousands of graduates being produced every year from universities within the capital region. At present, graduate rates of pay are lower. Our ambition is to attract graduate employers to the capital region to raise rates of pay and to raise investment within this area. Those people, wherever they've come from previously, have a real experience of having lived and studied in Wales for a period of time. And as I said in my statement, I am keen that people who graduate from university in Wales see their story continuing in Wales, not just in their first job but indeed their longer term future. And who knows, they could be future Luke Fletchers, looking forward to get married in Wales in the near future. 

And finally, on renewable energy, I have always been very clear about not just the potential to decarbonise the way that we generate and use power but the significant economic opportunity that comes alongside it, and that is very definitely part of the work I am already doing with the two Ministers for climate change, and I look forward to providing further updates with my colleagues in the near future.