Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 1:42 pm on 23 March 2022.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 1:42, 23 March 2022

Well, the regional economic frameworks actually set out how partners are going to work together and the priorities for investment in improvement in those regions. And they're not imposed by Welsh Government—far from it. It's joint work that's been undertaken between those economic regions, between the different partnerships that exist together in Wales, and, in each of them, there's been a different level of political leadership in each region with local authorities, but they've all recognised they can gain more by working together and having a sense of priorities. And the regional skills partnerships on the same footprint are helping to do that in a way that I think is consistent and adds value to each other. 

For each of the regions, you'll be able to see not just the areas of priority, but whether we are making progress in each of those areas as we go through each year. I'm not sure that a report from me annually is necessarily the right way to go, but I do think it would be helpful, between the Welsh Government and each of those economic regions, to be able to provide an update on a basis that would be shared, because this is the part of the challenge, isn't it—there's often a demand that the Minister does everything, and, in this area, we recognise we have to work alongside local authorities and the powers that they have, and it's actually about the Welsh Government not simply directing everything in this area, but working in a much more cohesive and effective partnership. I'd be more than happy to discuss with each of those regions how we provide a regular update so that the people that local authorities are accountable to, which is obviously a subject on everyone's mind given the elections at the start of May, together with the Government, know what we are doing together to improve economic fortunes and to make sure you can see the sort of progress that we are making.