Date: Tue 29th September, 2009
Venue:
Number of Guests Attended: 50
There was conflict and consensus in equal measure at Insider’s first Business and Government Debate at the Vale Resort on 29 September. Deputy first minister Ieuan Wyn Jones called for a re-think of the way business support is delivered in Wales, and warned that future budget cuts could be much higher than the £416m reduction scheduled for this year. Professor Andrew Henley, head of the School of Business and Economics at Swansea University, made a plea for early stage education to be spared serious cuts.
Asked about the prospect of further powers for the National Assembly, CBI Wales director David Rosser said he spent 90 per cent of his time dealing with “sticks” from the Welsh Assembly Government’s environment department. “The application of those powers is not particularly business-friendly,” he added.
On a question about whether the disbandment of the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) had been effective, Nigel Roberts, managing director of Paramount Office Interiors, said the WDA had employed more entrepreneurial staff than the Assembly’s economy department. But Jones and Rosser faced down audience members who called for the WDA’s return. Jones said the WDA would have been unable to respond as quickly to the downturn or future business needs. He said: “The Department for the Economy and Transport and DCELLS (Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills) rolled their sleeves up and worked together and put in place programmes that the rest of the UK envy.” Rosser urged companies to “move on” and engage with the Assembly Government rather than calling for another WDA.
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