New agency could rise from the ashes
THOSE who have been around for a long time will recall the scandals that beset the Welsh Development Agency in the 1990s and later, involving extravagant expenditure and, in at least one case, fraud.
Yet some insist the decision to shut down the WDA and transfer its functions to the Welsh Government was a major error that has cost Wales dear in terms of lost inward investment projects. Others will have none of that, saying the WDA had lost its way by the time it was abolished.
As we report today, a report due to be published next week by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development recommends that Wales would benefit from the re-establishment of a regional development agency like the WDA.
Such a proposal is bound to evoke strong passions on both sides of the argument.
For Welsh Labour and other pro-devolutionists, the idea of sweeping away largely unaccountable public sector bodies in a “Bonfire of the Quangos” was a cause that inspired many at the time of the referendum in 1997 that led to the National Assembly’s establishment.The Conservatives had been in power at Westminster since 1979, and political appointments of their supporters to leadership roles in Welsh quangos were a major gripe. It was understandable that a newly created democratic institution would seek to dismantle the edifice of patronage that had been erected by a Tory government that had little support in Wales.
But it’s 14 years since the WDA was disbanded, and in light of the recommendation in the OECD report, it’s the right time to consider whether the nation would benefit from the establishment of a new development agency.
There’s no doubt Wales is facing tough times. The Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with the approaching departure from the Single Market and Customs Union, is providing our country with a compound challenge that we can’t avoid facing. Many people have already lost their jobs and more will do so as the furlough scheme comes to an end.
Whatever the resolution of trade talks with the EU, there will be economic disruption to an as yet unpredictable degree. When we cut our remaining ties with the EU, we will need to deploy all our resources wisely to attract new jobs.
The Senedd should consider carefully all the OECD’s recommendations, including the potential establishment of a new development agency.