Simpler approach to government strategy
ANEW simpler approach to business support and an emphasis on driving innovation lie at the heart of the Welsh Government’s new economic strategy announced yesterday.
The strategy will also include a new regional approach to economic development and steps to make sure that more of the £16bn spent on public procurement in Wales benefits local businesses.
Economy Secretary Ken Skates also announced that a new Economic Action Plan will be published later this autumn.
In a speech to members of Cardiff’s business community last night, he was also expected to give more details about the new ‘economic contract’ between the Welsh Government and business revealed in the Welsh Government’s new strategy document Prosperity for All published earlier in the day.
Mr Skates was speaking at the Deloitte offices in Cardiff’s Central Enterprise Zone, home to Wales’ thriving financial and professional services sector.
His speech focused on the major challenges facing Wales in the next decade, from Brexit to productivity, inequality, automation, an ageing population and climate change.
Ahead of his speech he said: “Our new overarching strategy Prosperity for All, which the First Minister launched today, sets out a whole government approach for a competitive and fairer economy that can help us increase health, wealth and wellbeing in all parts of Wales.
“And this autumn I will be launching a new Economic Action Plan that will help us work with the business community to respond to these key challenges.
“The Plan will be based around six elements including supporting people and business to drive prosperity, with a new economic contract between government and business, a simplified package of business support and an emphasis on driving innovation.
“It will focus on Wales’ place in the Britain and the world, building on the successful Wales brand, and helping to develop new international markets and support our exporters as we exit the EU, whilst strengthening cross-border economic links.
“It will outline our plan to deliver modern and connected infrastructure to meet the productivity challenge, set out how we move to a more regional model of economic development and, importantly, drive sustainable economic growth that helps combat climate change.
“Our future is intimately tied up with the success of our economy and it is only by working with the business community that we can build a stronger, fairer and more inclusive economy and country that benefits everyone.”
Earlier in the day the Welsh Government committed itself to a new economic contract with business to boost productivity and make Wales “fairer and more competitive.”
In its new strategy document Cardiff Bay also pledged to use the £16bn of public sector procurement in Wales to support local businesses and to harness the opportunities of major infrastructure projects such as Wylfa Newydd and the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon.
The document, called Prosperity for All: The National Strategy, sets out the Government’s long-term vision for both encouraging growth and making sure as many people as possible benefit from it.
The strategy looks beyond the present Assembly term and describes how the Welsh Government intends to lay the long-term foundations for future wealth and wellbeing.
Although short on details and specific targets, it does identify a number of directions that the Welsh Government intends to take its policy in.
First Minister Carwyn Jones said: “Yesterday we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Yes vote that brought devolution to Wales. Devolution has been a journey of political maturity, a story of growing confidence and a firm determination to deliver for Wales.
“Today we publish a new national strategy designed to bring together the efforts of the whole public sector towards this Government’s central mission of delivering prosperity for all.
“Prosperity is about far more than material wealth and cannot be delivered by economic growth alone. It is about every person in Wales enjoying a good quality of life, living in a strong, safe community and sharing in the prosperity of Wales.
“This strategy takes our commitments in Taking Wales Forward, places them in a long-term context, and sets out how they will be delivered in a smarter, more joined-up way that cuts across traditional boundaries, both inside and outside government.”
CBI Wales director Ian Price said he welcomed many of the pledges in the document.
He added: “The strategy rightly identifies the need for ‘radically different ways of working’ in the public sector to meet the Government’s aspirations. We would welcome more information on what this will entail.
“Wales currently has the lowest productivity rate of any UK nation or region and improving productivity is rightly identified as ‘central to our economic future’.
“Productivity – in both the public and private sectors – is key to remaining competitive and doing more with less. We would welcome more targeted action to address this issue and look forward to working with the Welsh Government as they develop their ‘new economic contract between business and government.’
“While the strategy identifies many of the right priorities, it does not say how progress will be assessed. We look forward to [the] Government releasing more detail on how they intend to track progress against these measures, similar to the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework.”