Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 2:06 pm on 16 November 2022.
The freeports discussion was difficult, but it did ultimately conclude in agreement between the Welsh Government, with our responsibilities, and the UK Government. It's a model where there's shared decision-making responsibilities between equal decision makers, and the good thing about that is it moved on from a very unfortunate and unproductive scale of shouting, saying, 'It's all the Welsh Government's fault this hasn't happened.' When we actually had genuine decision-making Minister to decision-making Minister conversations, we were able to reach an agreement we could all live with, and that includes, of course, devolved concerns around fair work being part of the framework, and that's in stark contrast to the shared prosperity fund.
On your specific point and question around a specific bid for the freeports programme, I'm sure the Member will understand that I can't give him any kind of indication of support, because I will be the decision-taking Minister from the Welsh Government point of view, and I won't prejudice my decision, because I am aware that other bids are being made, and I look forward to seeing the detail of them.