Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:56 pm on 4 October 2022.
Thank you for the questions, and I'll try and deal with as many of them as I can promptly, Dirprwy Lywydd. On enterprise zones, I have previously announced a statement on the refresh of enterprise zones, some of which have come to an end, some of which are continuing. So, I won't go through that again.
On infrastructure and the point the Member makes, this Government has an ability to invest in infrastructure. Of course, that's denuded by the reality that we had a cash-cut in our capital budget. It's really challenging to do that. We have more opportunity to derive benefit than our budget allows us to do. It means the choices are difficult, but that means it's even more important to make choices that can actually deliver a significant benefit. And I do welcome the Welsh Conservatives' relatively recent conversion to making the case that there should be a proper direct consequential from HS2. That would give us a significant amount of room to make proper investments in our infrastructure. And on that point, at least, I'm sure the Member would join me in wishing for a u-turn in the current UK Government's position.
On research and innovation, we're out to consultation. The consultation just ended on our innovation strategy, so I'll be able to report back at the end of that, once the views are in, on a new strategy and our approach. When it comes to the resource for that as well, I pointed out in my statement that our budget is now worth £4 billion less than it was at the time of the comprehensive spending review.You can't wish that away. There is real pressure not just across my department, but across the whole of the Government, on how we'll be able to find funds for each area. So, we're not going to have all of the direct resources we'd want to in every single area of the economy. It makes it even more important, and it really highlights the challenge of having lost EU funds that we did put into research and innovation in Wales. It also highlights the fact that we, collectively across Wales—businesses and universities too—need to be better at not just gaining more from the research and innovation that takes place within higher and further education and how that leads into the world of business, but, actually, that we need to be better at gaining more from UK-wide innovation funds. One of the things I do think has been welcome is that the UK Government has set aside a fairly chunky amount of money to go into future research and innovation—it's more than £20 billion. Our challenge is that, in a number of decades past, we haven't done as well as we should have done in Wales in gaining money from UK-wide funds. So, the south-east of England does fairly well, and parts of Scotland do fairly well; Wales gets, I think, 2 per cent to 3 per cent of UK-wide funds. Actually, we're going to need to do a great deal better than that, and part of what that innovation strategy's going to need to do is bring us together to make sure that we are tooled-up to do that successfully.
When it comes to Business Wales and the decarbonisation advice they already provide, that's already part of the mission. I'm sure the Member will recall my written and oral statements on this. One of the three future aims is actually to support productivity, resilience, growth and to decarbonise. On the decarbonisation and sustainability of micro, small and medium businesses, the advice is already there, and we're looking to do more of that in the refresh of Business Wales.
When it comes to business organisations in growth deals and collaboration, I think it's important to recognise that, actually, we do deliberately want to plug businesses in within those regions to the work that is being done. When it comes to business organisations, they do have relationships with those regions. They definitely have relationships with the regional skills partnerships that exist as well, and it's helpful—in one of the few things that made sense and a difference with the shared prosperity fund—that we persuaded the UK Government to have the same regions for the shared prosperity fund that we'd already created. Our challenge is going to be about how we continue that collaboration with some of the alternative headwinds. I'm actually, though, encouraged about the buy-in from all of our local authority leaderships, both before the recent elections and afterwards. You'll see cross-party leaderships in each region of Wales who want to make it work.
There is, though, a challenge about the skills budget, because, again, that's directly affected by the loss of EU funds and the broken promise on making up every single penny of that. That gives us a real headache, but when it comes to the way that those organisations are working, I think we're in a pretty good place, but there is always, of course—I think each region would recognise—more that they could do.
Finally, on your broader point about working with the UK Government, I've given in my statement examples of where we've managed to do that. That has required, though, the UK Government being prepared to work with us, because on the areas where we haven't been able to work together it isn't because we've said, 'We won't talk to you.' The shared prosperity fund didn't reach agreement because the UK Government took our powers and has taken over £1 billion of our money that was promised to Wales in the last general election. I continue to talk with UK Ministers in areas where we can work together, and I'll continue to be constructive in those conversations. There's no lack of willingness from our side to have a conversation, but it is, 'Work with us,' not, 'Decide for us,' not, 'Take our powers and our budget.' 'Work with us and there is a constructive way forward,' but I make no apology for calling out those occasions that have happened in the past if they happen again in the future, where the UK Government has refused to be a willing partner in growing regional and national economies here in Wales and across the UK.