5. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the impact of the UK Government's industrial strategy on the Swansea bay city deal? OAQ51425

I thank the Member for the question. The emerging thinking about the UK Government's industrial strategy has been taken into account by those developing the Swansea bay city deal over recent months. Now that the industrial strategy itself has been published, I look forward to discussing it with city deal representatives over the coming weeks.

Thank you for your answer, Cabinet Secretary. The UK Government's industrial strategy places a renewed focus on growing a data-driven economy and expanding research and development into artificial intelligence. The Swansea bay city region board are also focusing on the digital economy, and should be ideally placed to leverage the additional investment in future technologies. The biggest barrier facing the region will be finding sufficient numbers of people with the required skills to develop these new technologies. What plans does your Government have to increase investment in developing the necessary skills base within my region? 

I thank Caroline Jones for that important set of points. She's quite right to say that there are a number of ways in which the priorities identified in the industrial strategy also emerge in the 11 projects approved as part of the Swansea city deal; the life sciences are another example where there is a good deal of overlap between the two sets of possibilities.

Integral to the Swansea city deal is a strand that cuts through all 11 projects, which is about providing the skills that are necessary for the jobs of the future in the Swansea bay city region. One of the things that those responsible for the deal will now want to do is to make sure that in developing that strand within the city deal we take advantage of the possibilities that the industrial strategy may also provide. I know that those who are responsible for the deal are very alert to the need to make sure that they are designing that skills strand in a way that maximises all of the possibilities that there are for the residents of this part of Wales.