New inquiry into trade and inward investment in Wales
29 November 2013
The National Assembly’s Enterprise and Business Committee is launching a new inquiry to examine the effectiveness of public sector support structures in supporting and promoting Welsh exports and in attracting foreign direct investment into Wales.
The inquiry will also consider how well the Welsh Government is working with its UK Government partners, such as UK Trade and Investment and UK Export Finance.
Questions the Committee will consider during the course of its inquiry include:
What is the scale of Welsh Government resource and funding that is targeted at the promotion of trade and inward investment? Is it sufficient? Does it represent value for money?
How does the Welsh Government monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of its trade and inward investment activities?
Does the Welsh Government’s current in-house approach to encouraging trade and inward investment represent an improvement on the organisations that previously existed to perform the same functions? (i.e. the Welsh Development Agency, Wales Trade International, and latterly International Business Wales)
According to the latest statistical bulletin on exports, published by the Welsh Government, the value of exports from Wales more than doubled between 1999 and the four quarters up to and including 2013 quarter 2.
Yet the latest figures show that for the four quarters up to and including 2013 quarter 2 compared with the previous four quarters:
The value of exports for Wales fell by £0.9 billion (6.4 per cent) compared with a fall of £3.3 billion (1.3 per cent) across the UK.
There were falls in Welsh exports to both EU countries (down 5.6 per cent) and exports to non-EU countries (down 6.9 per cent). Across the UK exports to EU countries fell by 5.5 per cent whilst exports to non-EU countries rose by 3.0 per cent.
“Exports and attracting foreign investment is critical to the growth of the economy in Wales,” said Nick Ramsay AM, Chair of the Enterprise and Business Committee.
“We want to examine how effective the Welsh Government’s approach has been – how strong is the Welsh inward investment “offer”, and to what extent is there a coherent Welsh “brand” for trade and inward investment?
“I would encourage anyone with an interest in this area to contact the Committee with their thoughts, ideas and experiences.”
Anyone wishing to submit evidence can either email enterprise.committee@wales.gov.uk, or write to:
Siân Phipps, Clerk, Enterprise and Business Committee
National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay, CF99 1NA.
The closing date for the public consultation is Friday 3 January 2014.