2. How will the Welsh Government support the development of advanced technology in the defence sector in north Wales? OQ58704

Thanks for the question. North Wales has a strong manufacturing base and is home to some of our most productive companies, not least in the aerospace and defence sector. We continue to support these businesses in their creation of high-quality, high-skilled and well-paid jobs, and that includes the plans we are leading on for the development of an advanced technology research centre, in partnership with the Ministry of Defence.

Can I thank the Minister for that answer? You will have seen the recent statement from the Minister for Defence Procurement about the Defence Electronics and Components Agency site in Sealand, and, of course, your plans for the advanced technology research centre are something I've spoken about a number of times in this Chamber. Can I ask you for some particulars of how the Welsh Government can support the development of an advanced technology research sector, with the support of the UK Government?

I think this is a good example of an area where, actually, the Welsh and UK Governments are able to do things constructively together. We're taking a lead on a range of the development areas, with the site itself, with some of the investment we even made in getting that ready. We need to work on what the future development partnership will look like. But we do know there will be opportunities here, because Minister Chalk's recent statement reconfirmed plans to go ahead with this development, and there's a point about skills in the wider region, significant employers and their interest in the product that will be taken, but also we've already appointed to take those matters forward in stages technical consultants, who are progressing with the master-planning of the preferred site. And we've concluded another round of detailed industry engagement, which, again, gives us more insight to help inform the design of the building and, actually, the jobs that will take place in and around it, and not just the centre of course, but the impact it will have on the wider economy.

Like Jack Sargeant, I welcome very much these developments in north-east Wales, and feel very much that we ought to be doing much more in Wales to try and attract as much procurement opportunities as possible for the defence sector to our nation. What action are you taking, in conjunction with the UK Government, to try and ensure that Welsh businesses actually get a better share of the defence spending and procurement that's currently taking place at a UK Government level?

Well, that actually depends on choices that UK Ministers make, of course, in terms of some of the settings they make, but it also underscores why this development is important, and it does require us to work in partnership across a range of areas. And we're very clear, in our regular conversations with wider defence sector companies, but also ministerial colleagues in the UK Government, that we want to see a local return on procurement spend. Of course, it's a matter of public record that there's interest in future procurement around helicopters as well. So, we're very interested in supporting not just headline companies but the broader supply chain in getting as much work as possible. And that's why our responsibilities in the area of skills, to make sure the right workforce is there, is a key part of it. But I think we have a very good offer, not just in north-east Wales, but across the country, and I'm certainly keen that we get a good share of future procurement spend and the good jobs that that will bring with it.