4. Will the Minister provide an update on the innovation strategy for Wales? OQ58571

Yes. The consultation closed at the end of September of this year, with over 150 written submissions being received. Analysis of consultation responses is now under way and we will continue to work with Plaid Cymru designated Members, in line with the co-operation agreement commitment, to jointly develop a new innovation strategy.

Diolch, Weinidog. Welsh universities are, of course, vital to the economy, generating over £5 billion and almost 50,000 jobs. I'd like to draw attention to some concerns raised regarding the draft strategy. In the STEM cross-party group meeting last month, it was suggested Welsh Government does not intend to earmark any new money for the strategy, with the Reid review recommendations off the table and science not seen as a priority. The Institute of Physics notes the draft strategy acknowledges Wales now needs to win more UK Research and Innovation funding to compensate for the loss of structural funds but does not include practical measures to help Welsh applicants win more money, with their research and development blueprint noting quality-related funding has not kept pace with inflation for a decade. The British Heart Foundation points to the current £18 million shortfall for funding R&D within our universities, which is drastically limiting their ability to apply for UK-wide funding streams, hampering Wales's ability to allow research to drive a thriving economy. And Cardiff University have said there is a lack of specific priorities and of vital financial commitments included in the current draft. Minister, do you agree that Welsh Government's innovation strategy should ensure Wales is able to additionally capture resources for the benefit of innovation in Wales, such as UKRI funding and charity funding for medical research? And how will this happen without an uplift in QR funding? Diolch.

Thank you. So, there has been an uplift in QR funding that the education Minister provided to higher education institutions. You're right that we have a real challenge in the removal of structural funds and identifying a replacement. It is absolutely essential that Wales is much more successful at gaining funds from UKRI. That's a case that is being made directly and has been made successively. Part of my frustration is that I felt that some progress had been made with a previous science Minister who is no longer in post; I've yet to meet the current science Minister, but I do look forward to doing so. This isn't just a point about geographic equity. Geographic equity is actually a big challenge outside the south-east of England. So, if you were having this conversation in northern England, you'd have the same problem about not actually having the quality of research being recognised in the way that funding is delivered. It is also then about, actually, not just the funders recognising the quality that exists, but actually us not just submitting bids but having good bids submitted. There's a regular challenge of needing to pass the test and the test not necessarily reflecting the quality of the work. We need to be better at both the quality of the work, at promoting that, and then at making sure that we get through the gates on making sure that we have successful applications. There is some work the Government can do around that, but actually it's about the whole sector getting behind that and recognising they've got to put some resources into getting more out of UK funding pots, which actually have been increased. There's more money available for research and innovation, and we need to do something about gaining additional funding. Yes, when the strategy comes out, I expect it will have a clearer view set out on how we expect to gain additional funding. We actually held a very useful and constructive round-table discussion, hosted by Cardiff University, with a range of people about how to piece together the new innovation strategy. I and the leader of Plaid Cymru attended, and I'm looking forward to having not just a summary of the consultation responses but actually being able to deliver a statement on the future of the strategic approach here in Wales. 

According to your consultation document, between 2014 and 2020 there were over 450 corporate investments into Wales across a broad range of sectors and businesses, many of which involved R&D activity. They delivered over 21,200 new jobs, with a further 18,300 being safeguarded, representing a capital investment into Wales of £3.8 million. What does this tell us about the scope for further and future investment of this sort, and how do we ensure that those communities who have not benefited so far can do so in the future? Thank you.

We're optimistic in our ambitions about our ability to both attract new businesses to come to Wales as well as businesses that were already founded here to grow and expand. A good example of that is in the compound semiconductor cluster. I recently attended the groundbreaking ceremony with Jayne Bryant in her constituency for the KLA Corporation—750 new jobs being created with an expected average salary of £45,000. That includes manufacturing and R&D as well. I'm always interested in how we can have R&D functions located in Wales, and not simply those functions that aren't R&D specific. It definitely does add value, and we look for that in each of the projects that we seek to support, from small businesses as well as medium and larger enterprises.