Part of 3. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 2:39 pm on 31 January 2023.
Thank you, Ken Skates, for submitting this important question here today. I certainly share some disappointment regarding decisions not to be able to support the bid for the levelling-up funding for the Wrexham Gateway project. But I'm pleased to hear the Minister's positive response in terms of the ongoing discussions with the Wrexham Gateway partnership, and that engagement with the football club in Wrexham, to see that important project become a success for the city of Wrexham. I'm also pleased to note that Wales received over £200 million worth of levelling-up funding, supporting projects up and down Wales, with nearly £50 million of that in my region of North Wales. I'm also pleased to see that Wales received the highest amount of money per capita, compared to the rest of Great Britain, through the levelling-up funding. I'm also pleased to see that Wrexham, through the shared prosperity fund, received £22.5 million, as well as being very much engaged with the growth deal in north Wales as well. In light of all that, Minister, and in light of all the positivity that we can see in Wrexham and the opportunities that are ahead for us in Wrexham, what specific plans do you have to ensure that Wrexham is able to grasp hold of those opportunities over the coming years, to make sure that Wrexham is able to be the economic powerhouse that it is?