Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 1:31 pm on 8 March 2023.
Thank you, John, for that supplementary question. I think probably it would be helpful if I set out initially some of the support that Creative Wales has been giving to the sector. We've got a strategic objective of ensuring that there is a good supply of studio space throughout the nation, for the incoming and indigenous productions. And we've recently supported capital investment projects in Aria studios in Anglesey, the Wolf studios in Cardiff, and Seren studios in Cardiff. In addition, the Creative Wales production funding is regularly used in conjunction with projects that have been delivered from studio sites in Newport, which you've already highlighted. And I thought it was particularly interesting you talking about the cross-over with education, and that fits very much with our support for the national film and tv studios that we have based in Cardiff as well. Skills and training are absolutely crucial and central to everything that Creative Wales is trying to do. We've recently supported 17 projects through our Creative Wales skills fund. One of those projects is supporting three new screen academies, alongside studio complexes.
But, to deal specifically with the support that we could potentially give for the organisation that you're talking about, GD Environmental, what I would say is that Creative Wales do consider business cases for new investment and are happy to review those in detail when they're submitted. So, they can be approached for initial discussions, and it sounds as though, from what you're saying, that that's exactly what has happened thus far. Any formal application for support would obviously have to be assessed on its individual strengths and the impact to the industry, and we require an initial and, later, a full business case—all of that which I'm sure you and GD Environmental would fully understand. But we do have a huge ambition for this industry in Wales. It's one of the fastest growing sectors in Wales. It has a huge impact on the economy. And I'd be more than happy to come along and visit GD Environmental, talk to them about their plans and see what they're proposing to do, because this is very much the kind of investment that we're looking to see grow.