The Welsh Government needs to evaluate its "in-house" approach to supporting inward investment into the Welsh economy, says a National Assembly for Wales Committee.
Evidence submitted to the Enterprise and Business Committee argued that since the abolition of the dedicated development agency in Wales and the subsequent changes made to public sector support structures there is confusion and lack of cohesion for supporting and promoting Welsh exports and attracting foreign investment.
Members of the Committee have recommended that the Welsh Government needs to commission an independent evaluation to assess whether the current in-house approach to supporting trade and inward investment represents good practice and value for money.
"We wanted 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," said Committee chair, William Graham AM.
"We have received conflicting evidence during the course of this inquiry. Many respondents spoke highly of the support they had received from the Welsh Government, others less so.
"We believe that the evaluation of the current in-house approach to supporting trade and inward investment needs to assess whether this represents good practice and value for money.
"The Welsh Government needs to set out a clear economic development strategy that clarifies its aspirations for trade and inward investment."
The Committee has also made nine other recommendations aimed at helping Welsh businesses expand their international markets, including:
Evidence submitted to the Enterprise and Business Committee argued that since the abolition of the dedicated development agency in Wales and the subsequent changes made to public sector support structures there is confusion and lack of cohesion for supporting and promoting Welsh exports and attracting foreign investment.
Members of the Committee have recommended that the Welsh Government needs to commission an independent evaluation to assess whether the current in-house approach to supporting trade and inward investment represents good practice and value for money.
"We wanted 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," said Committee chair, William Graham AM.
"We have received conflicting evidence during the course of this inquiry. Many respondents spoke highly of the support they had received from the Welsh Government, others less so.
"We believe that the evaluation of the current in-house approach to supporting trade and inward investment needs to assess whether this represents good practice and value for money.
"The Welsh Government needs to set out a clear economic development strategy that clarifies its aspirations for trade and inward investment."
The Committee has also made nine other recommendations aimed at helping Welsh businesses expand their international markets, including:
- the Welsh Government should work with or commission the Office for National Statistics to produce Gross Domestic product figures for Wales, on the same basis and frequency as it does for the UK;
- the Welsh Government should develop and publish annually a set of transparent Key Performance Indicators which shows the annual inward investment performance of the Welsh economy; and
- the Welsh Government should clarify its brand strategy for trade and inward investment.
Report: The Welsh Government's approach to trade and inward investment (PDF, 597KB)