1. What plans does the First Minister have to support the pharmaceutical industry in Wales? (OAQ51217)

Our plans are to be found, of course, in the national strategy. We have a strong presence of companies providing pharmaceutical services, and we have a proven track record of supporting clinical trials and pharmaceutical services here in Wales, and that will continue in the future.

Indeed, you do have a proven track record on that, and I really welcome it. I recognise that your Government has attracted considerable investment into the whole life sciences business, which, in our country, employs some 11,000 people. I’m very concerned though about what might happen as a consequence of Brexit, and I wondered what—[Interruption.]

Allow the Member to ask her question, please. Angela Burns.

Thank you. I just wondered what discussion your Government has had with its Westminster counterparts around the future of regulatory frameworks post Brexit, and are you intending to feed into the House of Commons Health Select Committee inquiry, which is looking at post-Brexit arrangements to guarantee the supply of medicines, devices and products, and particularly in relation to our ability for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the All Wales Medicine Strategy Group—. We are exemplars throughout Europe and European Medicines Agency countries, and if we are no longer able to hook into the European exemplars, then we might lose some of that money that’s coming currently into Wales for some of these pilots, and I’d just like to know what you’re going to be able to do about that.

The Member is very much correct to raise that issue. This, amongst many other issues, is not yet worked through in terms of clarity as far as the public are concerned. It makes no sense at all for the UK to have a different regulatory regime to the rest of Europe, and one of the things that we’ve urged on the UK Government is that there is no need for divergence where none is required. Why would we have a separate system that is different from everyone else, in effect? So, I very much agree with her comments. We have made the point on this and in other areas, such as chemicals for example. The registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals directive—what application will that have after we leave the EU? Does that mean that chemicals will be less regulated in the UK? All these issues will form part, and continue to form part, of the discussions we’re having with the UK Government.

First Minister, Andrew Evans, upon his appointment as Wales’s chief pharmaceutical officer, stated, and I quote:

‘Pharmacists in Wales are taking a central role in the Welsh government’s drive to provide patients with high-quality care promptly and closer to home. I look forward to working with pharmacists and other health and care professions, building on the significant improvements we have already made.’

Can the First Minister reconfirm that the pharmaceutical industry in Wales is key to the Welsh Government’s drive for equipping the Welsh national health service to serve its patients in the years ahead, and also update us on how that work is progressing?

Absolutely. We support the pharmaceutical industry, for example, through the life sciences investment fund. That’s made 11 investments into nine companies, including those that serve the pharmaceutical industry. It’s attracted considerable levels of co-investment. A life sciences hub has been delivered to provide a physical focus for the sector in Wales, together with a company to implement and deliver key elements of policy, and that hub is one of the cornerstones of what the sector will need to build on in the future. We’re working on the development of a brand with international reputation. Our trade missions, for example, to Medica, have consistently been the largest single trade event for Wales over the past three years. And, of course, we see the continued growth of BioWales, which is the signature event for the sector, and something that I attended a few years ago. It’s the vehicle for Welsh life sciences companies and academic departments to exhibit their expertise to an international audience. So, the work is being done not just in terms of supporting pharmaceutical companies who are here, but ensuring that they have a pipeline of skills for the future.