Welsh Affairs

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 5:09 pm on 28 February 1991.

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Photo of Mr David Hunt Mr David Hunt , Wirral West 5:09, 28 February 1991

When I have finished this point.

How have we in Wales moved from being one of the most depressed regions in the United Kingdom to having some of the brightest prospects? I believe that one of the main reasons is that we have had the courage to restructure the traditional industries that were the bedrock of the economy when they had exhausted themselves. We did not try to prop them up regardless of the amount of activity that they could generate, the costs that they incurred and the demand for their products. The day of reckoning was hard, and was made harder because it was postponed by the Labour party in the 1970s. We faced up to it and undertook a restructuring of Welsh industry.

That task has not been completed, but much has been accomplished. The most dramatic aspect of our resurgence has been the amount of inward investment in Wales. Last year, 142 projects were secured—a record number—promising 15,000 new and safeguarded jobs and an investment of almost £640 million. The people of Wales have every right to be proud of that magnificent achievement. In a five-year period, that represents a 75 per cent. increase in the annual number of projects, and a more than doubling in jobs and investment.

In the past five years, the people of Wales have secured an average of no fewer than two projects a week from abroad and the rest of the United Kingdom. Those projects provide good jobs—for example, at Bosch, Toyota, British Airways or the new Imperial college science park at Duffryn. A key factor in our success is that companies that come to Wales stay and expand their activities.

It has become known that Wales is a good place to invest because we—the Government, local authorities, the development agencies and the people—form a partnership in which we all play our part. That is why we have the largest concentration of Japanese inward investment in Europe.

A key role in attracting inward investment is played by Welsh Development International, the inward investment arm of the Welsh Development agency. I am delighted to be able to announce that next year I shall raise financial provision for the WDI by more than £2 million.

However, inward investment is not enough; we must develop the market for our goods. This year, as in former years, ministerial colleagues and I will lead trade missions of Welsh business people to new European markets. Last October, I led a trade mission to Lyon. Next month, 29 business men and women from Wales will join my hon. Friend the Minister of State on a visit to Milan. Later in the year, there will be a visit to Barcelona and I shall shortly visit Stuttgart.

I hope that the House will recognise Stuttgart, Lyon, Milan and Barcelona as the capitals of the four motor regions of Europe, which Wales proudly joins. Our links with Baden-Wurttemberg are the most developed, and they encompass a wide range of activities. Since the formal declaration between Wales and Baden-Wurttemberg was signed a year ago, more than 20 joint activities have been planned or are under way, ranging from industrial collaboration to joint research projects and from collaboration and research in health management to co-operation in maintaining and protecting our countryside.

People think of inward investment in terms of industry, but initiatives for encouraging new business in Wales range far beyond just manufacturing. For example, under the financial services initiative, which was launched by my predecessor, local authorities in south Wales joined the Welsh Development Agency to undertake a focused campaign to draw in projects in that high-growth sector. I pay tribute to everybody involved in that initiative, which has been successful in securing more than 20 new projects and promising more than 3,500 new jobs. Employment in the sector has grown by 20 per cent. Rothschilds' decision to open an office in Cardiff—only its second regional office in the United Kingdom—was clear recognition of Cardiff's increasing status as a major financial centre.