Plaid leader and Economy Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones AM has today set out his plans to radically transform the way the government supports the Welsh economy. Ieuan Wyn Jones outlined a vision of making Wales “one of the best places in the world to live, to work and to thrive”.
“Economic Renewal: A New Direction” sets out the role the One Wales government should play in providing the best conditions and framework to enable the private sector to grow and flourish.
In future government resources will be targeted at tackling wide systemic issues within the Welsh Economy – investing in infrastructure, research & development and improving the conditions within which businesses operate. Economic Renewal will see a fundamental shift away from the culture of grants to a focus on creating the right environment for businesses to succeed. Plaid leader and Economy Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones described this change of direction is an opportunity to help build a stronger future for Wales.
Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones said:
“’Economic Renewal: A New direction’ is a radical re-think of the way the Welsh Assembly Government supports economic development. Our actions are based on a shared vision and ambition of what needs to be done to create a more prosperous Wales
“In the current economic climate our investment needs to be smarter. We must concentrate our efforts and our resources on areas where we have the greatest degree of control and where their impact will be most widely felt.
“We asked for the opinions of business and wider society and we have listened. We want to create a high quality infrastructure so that businesses, large and small, are well connected within and beyond Wales. Our people, businesses and communities need the right facilities, skills and services where they live and work if we are to compete in the global economy.
“We recognise that, over the long term, the performance of the Welsh economy has not met expectations. This new approach sets out a clear, defined role for devolved government.
“It is not our role to get involved in the day to day running of business – but we do have a significant part to play in creating the right environment to encourage entrepreneurship and allow our private sector to grow and flourish.
“The culture of direct business support through grants has run its course. Our aim will be to encourage a stronger culture of investment and therefore the finance we provide will be through repayable investments administered in a swift and responsive service. We will establish a new framework for measuring the performance of this approach and we will publish this in the autumn.
“Our Single Investment Fund will be reallocated to serve our two key economic development priorities: infrastructure and our key sectors. However, we also believe that we still have a role to play in working with regionally important growth businesses. We will make some of our funding available for this purpose. Wales will also continue to be open to good ideas across the wider economy and we will retain the flexibility to fund strategic projects outside the key sectors that will deliver jobs and growth. We reserve the right to continue to be open to strategic projects, including inward investment, outside the key sectors. High-quality proposals for support, including inward investment will be adopted if they represent significantly better value than projects identified within our six sectors.
“I am determined that my department should become a leader in the UK and the wider world. The new department will have a culture of delivery, proactively seeking out new opportunities, focusing where maximum value can be added. We will become far more business led and able to respond more quickly to the ever changing and evolving world in which we live. The strategic restructuring will lead to difficult decisions being made in the short term in order to ensure that the department is properly and effectively aligned to deliver the government’s priorities. The aim is to ensure that the necessary changes will be in place by the end of 2010
“We are realistic – ‘Economic Renewal: A New Direction’ will not yield immediate results. This is a long term approach taking precedence over short term headlines. This is about creating an excellent team that can attract investment and create an environment for strong and sustained economic growth. It is a vision which requires a whole-government approach and I am grateful to my cabinet colleagues who are fully committed to making this work for Wales.”
For more information on the economic renewal programme go to: www.wales.gov.uk/economicrenewal
