The Secretary of State for Wales has revealed plans he says will deliver thousands of skilled jobs and ensure Wales’ place as a hub for innovation and the green industries of the future
Speaking to an online audience of representatives from Welsh business, industry and tourism today Simon Hart, the Welsh Secretary, explained how the 海角视频 Government will aim to build back better and greener from the pandemic by investing in digital infrastructure, providing financial backing for green industry and supporting jobs and growth right across Wales in the coming months and years.
Mr Hart will also describe how the 海角视频 Government will operate at a community level in Wales, working directly with local authorities and other groups on delivery of funding and major projects.
Mr Hart said: “We have made clear our commitment to level up across Wales and the whole of the United Kingdom and we are now delivering on this commitment with a comprehensive plan of action.
“From improvements in local infrastructure through our £4.8 billion levelling-up fund, to the development of new green jobs of the future, this Plan for Wales brings together an ambitious programme of renewal that will generate jobs and prosperity in our local communities for years to come.
“My mission is to underscore the role of the 海角视频 Government in Wales as a force for good and highlight that we are ready to work with – not in competition against – decision makers in Wales, especially local authorities, in delivering these ambitions.
"They are best placed to determine both how to meet the specific needs of their areas and what will have the greatest impact.”
Mr Hart told the audience he believes that the collective strength of the United Kingdom has been instrumental in harnessing collective scientific, industrial and financial strength to deliver a world-class vaccination programme that has provided a path out of lockdown. Adding that as Wales emerges from the pandemic, the 海角视频 Government has a hugely ambitious plan to shape its economy for the challenges ahead.
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During his speech, the Welsh Secretary outlined a series of projects across Wales to which the 海角视频 Government has recently committed funding and support, as well as reiterating his government’s backing for longer-standing policies like significantly improving Wales’ digital infrastructure and ensuring transformational growth deals cover every area of Wales.
Projects highlighted by the Welsh Secretary includes:
- Investing, alongside industry, more than £40m to support a cluster of industries in South Wales to transition to net-zero.
- Directly investing hundreds of millions of pounds in business and job creation in every area of Wales via the Growth Deals programme.
- Investing £15.9m in low-carbon heavy goods vehicles which will be pioneered in Cwmbran.
- Making almost £5m available for the Holyhead Hydrogen Hub project to pilot the use of hydrogen in the transport sector.
- Investing up to £30m, subject to approvals, in the Global Centre of Rail Excellence to create a world class train testing and R&D facility in the Dulais Valley.
- Supporting the emergence of floating offshore wind, with the Crown Estate holding a formal leasing round for floating offshore wind projects in the Celtic Sea.
- Implementing the new Levelling Up Fund which will invest up to £4.8 billion in local infrastructure across the 海角视频 that has a visible impact on people and their communities.
- Launching Project Gigabit, a £5bn connectivity programme to support the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband in the hardest to reach communities in Wales and across the 海角视频.
- Continuing to improve rural connectivity via the Shared Rural Network, a £1 billion deal with the mobile network operators to deliver 80% 4G mobile coverage from all four operators across Wales and 95% coverage from at least one.
- Investing in Wales’ transport infrastructure including a further £2.7m to upgrade the digital signalling capability on the Cambrian Line.
- Delivering the first-ever Freeport in Wales which could lead to thousands of new jobs.
Mr Hart added: “Our ability to respond to Covid-19, to protect lives and secure our economy, has been strengthened by us all being a part of one United Kingdom. This has been critical in supporting businesses – through the furlough scheme, which supported 466,300 jobs in Wales, and the Coronavirus Business Interruption and Bounce Back loan schemes, which provided loans worth over £2 billion in Wales.
“The Union has also been instrumental in bringing together our collective scientific and industrial capacity, our purchasing power and financial strength, to deliver a world-class vaccination programme which has given us a path out of lockdown.
“As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, it is now time to look ahead to the opportunities and ambitions that will shape our future and we have developed an incredibly ambitious plan for Wales which will deliver jobs, growth and innovation in the years to come.”