North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has accused the First Minister of “avoiding opportunities” for North Wales after failing to refer to the Growth Deal for North Wales in his Statement on ‘Prioritises for Government’ this week.
The UK Government announced in its March 2016 Budget that it was ‘opening the door’ to a Growth Deal for North Wales and that it would be looking for the next Welsh Government to devolve powers down and invest in the region as part of any future deal.
Mr Isherwood is concerned that the First Minister failed to refer to the opportunity in his Statement on Tuesday.
Responding in the Chamber, Mr Isherwood said:
“We know that the Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Infrastructure held a summit last Friday in North Wales to discuss economic development in North Wales in the context of the Northern Powerhouse, but we haven’t heard reference to the actual Growth Deal announced by the Chancellor in March in the Budget Statement, when he said the UK Government will open the door to a Growth Deal for North Wales to strengthen the region’s economy and make the most of its connection to the northern powerhouse - in other words, a partnership, which I understood actually involved, potentially, more UK money, above Barnett, being on the table, if the Welsh Government engages early with that.
“I welcome the fact that the Under-Secretary of State at UK Government was present on Friday, but could you respond specifically in the context of the Growth Deal that was announced in the budget?”
The First Minister replied: “I can assure the Member we will work with UK Government with regard to the Growth Deal. What is not clear at the moment is whether there is an element of that deal that would have been European funded, and this is at the heart of the dilemma that we face. If, for example, there is a gap in that funding, it has to be made up in some way, and, certainly, it has to be provided for that.”
Mr Isherwood added; “This First Minister now has something new to blame everything on – ‘Brexit’ – when we must all stop avoiding opportunities and start embracing them. His reference to the high costs of energy for the steel industry also ignored the role played by the EU.”