: Thank you, Minister,
for bringing forward today's statement. I certainly welcome the
ambition to build a stronger, greener economy here in Wales. A
key part of making and seeing that green economy a success is the
role that local authorities can play in achieving this. In light
of this, I was disappointed to see that local authorities and
councils were not mentioned in your statement today, so perhaps
you'd want to mention them in response to my points. Indeed, I
heard you mention some of the hydrogen opportunities in north
Wales, and I note today the excellent announcement by the Mersey
Dee Alliance that they've been awarded funding by the UK
Government for Carbon Capture and
Underground Storage infrastructure. I'll quote from the
release:
'The implementation of CCUS from 2025 will
safeguard the future of thousands of high value manufacturing
jobs in the Mersey Dee and
connected economic areas in North Wales'.
They go on to say that it'll create around 6,000 new jobs because
of this investment in hydrogen infrastructure. I think it's an
excellent example of four councils working together with other
organisations to help deliver a thriving, greener economy in
north Wales. So, Minister, what discussions have you had with
local authorities in relation to a greener economy, and what role
do you think they could play in achieving this? Thank you.
(Minister for
Economy): Thank you for the question and the points. I've
mentioned several times, during not just the statement but
questions, the welcome for the further investment in the HyNet
project they're looking to deliver across north-west England and
through north Wales. I've had regular conversations with both the
English authorities as well as the Welsh authorities involved in
the Mersey Dee Alliance, and I'm pleased that that appears to be
something that is additional and not competitive with the wider
work the North Wales Economic Ambition Board is undertaking,
where the six local authorities have agreed on a range of
priorities to help support and grow the Welsh economy across
north Wales. I have a very good relationship with local
authorities. I see them as integral to our ambitions for the
economy, including greening the economy, and that is part of the
work with each of the regional partnerships that exist.
Both the regional skills partnerships and each of the growth
deals, and the new corporate joint committees that exist, I think
are a practical expression of our willingness and our desire to
carry on working on a regional basis. Local authorities are
essential partners in doing so. It's why I've commissioned the
OECD, as one of my early actions in post, to carry on working on
the future for regional economic development, and I certainly
think that we'll see more to come in the partnership between the
Welsh Government and local authorities. It would of course be
better if we were able to have more certainty in the framework as
to how we can work together with the funds that have yet to be
made clear from the UK Government—the levelling-up funds. But I'm
sure we'll have lots of opportunities to talk about those in the
future.
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