Concise Minutes - Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee


Meeting Venue:

Hybrid – Committee room 3 - Senedd

and video Conference via Zoom

Meeting date: Thursday, 30 November 2023

Meeting time: 09.30 - 14.00
This meeting can be viewed
on Senedd TV at:
http://senedd.tv/en/13541


Hybrid

------

Attendance

Category

Names

Members of the Senedd:

Paul Davies MS (Chair)

Luke Fletcher MS

Vikki Howells MS

Samuel Kurtz MS

Mike Hedges MS (In place of Buffy Williams MS)

Witnesses:

Harriet Barnes, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales

Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB

Professor Pete Burnap, Wales Cyber Innovation Hub

Dean Cook, Innovate UK

Lewis Dean, Wales Innovation Network

Alasdair McDiarmid, Community Union

Peter Hughes, UNITE Wales

Professor Justin Lewis, Media Cymru

Dan Shah, UK Research and Innovation

Andy Silcox, Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Cymru

Professor Roger Whitaker, Universities Wales

Amanda Wilkinson, Director, Universities Wales, Universities Wales

Committee Staff:

Lara Date, Clerk

Evan Jones, Deputy Clerk

Ceri Thomas, Committee Support Officer

Sara Moran, Researcher

Lucy Morgan, Researcher

Gareth Thomas, Researcher

 

<AI1>

1       Introductions, apologies, substitutions, and declarations of interest

1.1        The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1.2        Apologies were received from Buffy Williams MS and Hefin David MS. Mike Hedges MS attended as a substitute for Buffy Williams MS. There were no declarations of interest.

</AI1>

<AI2>

2       Papers to note

2.1     The Committee noted the papers.

</AI2>

<AI3>

2.1   Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25 and Cost of Living

</AI3>

<AI4>

2.2   The Plant Protection Products (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2023

</AI4>

<AI5>

2.3   Responses to the Committee's report: Post-EU regional development funding

</AI5>

<AI6>

2.4   Cost of living pressures and the Young Person’s Guarantee

</AI6>

<AI7>

2.5   Protocol Amending the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization - Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

</AI7>

<AI8>

2.6   Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee report: Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (Memorandum No. 4) on the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

</AI8>

<AI9>

2.7   The Habitat Wales Scheme (HWS)

</AI9>

<AI10>

2.8   Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25

</AI10>

<AI11>

2.9   Meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Group for Trade

</AI11>

<AI12>

2.10 The Official Controls (Establishment Lists) (Revocation) Regulations 2023

</AI12>

<AI13>

2.11 The Trade (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership) Bill

</AI13>

<AI14>

3       Inquiry: Research and Development: Funding bodies

3.1     The Committee heard evidence from the panel on research and development.

3.2     The Committee agreed to write to the panel with questions not reached during the session.

</AI14>

<AI15>

4       Inquiry: Research and Development: Higher Education

4.1     The Committee heard evidence from the panel on research and development.

4.2     The Committee agreed to write to the panel with questions not reached during the session.

4.3     Universities Wales advised that they carried out some economic impact work which looked across all Welsh regions down to sub-regional level which showed that Universities have impact even if not located in that area, and agreed to write to the Committee to provide further detail.

</AI15>

<AI16>

5       Inquiry: Research and Development: Business

5.1     The Committee heard evidence from the panel on research and development.

5.2     The Committee agreed to write to the panel with questions not reached during the session.

</AI16>

<AI17>

6       The Future of Welsh Steel: Trade Unions

6.1     The Committee heard evidence from the panel on the future of Welsh steel.

</AI17>

<AI18>

7       Motion under Standing Order 17.42(ix) to resolve to exclude the public for the remainder of the meeting and for items 1, 2 and 3 of the meeting on 13 December 2023

7.1     The Motion to exclude the public for the remainder of the meeting and for items 1, 2 and 3 of the meeting on 13 December 2023 was agreed.

</AI18>

<AI19>

8       Consideration of evidence following the meeting

8.1     The Committee considered the evidence received.

</AI19>

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