Economy Secretary to hold Northern Powerhouse summit in Deeside on Friday

Economy and Infrastructure Secretary, Ken Skates is to hold a summit in Deeside this Friday focussed on driving economic development across North Wales and the Northern Powerhouse Region.

Economy and Infrastructure Secretary, Ken Skates | Wrexham.com

The North Wales summit, which will take place in Coleg Cambria, will consider the role factors like integrated transport, a clear cross-border economic development strategy and a strong cross-border economic team can play in driving economic growth.

The Northern Powerhouse, a brainchild of Chancleor Goerge Osborne proposes to redress the North-South economic imbalance, attracting investment into northern cities and towns.

Prospective Tory party leader and possible future PM Stephen Crabb in his capacity as Welsh Secretary once described the Northern Powerhouse as a threat to north Wales.

However with Deeside having major players such as Airbus and Toyota in the region its the inclusion along with the wider north Wales region makes obvious sense.

The Economy Secretary has invited colleagues and partners from a range of organisations based in both Wales and England.

These include the Wales Office, the WLGA, the IOD, the FSB, the CBI, the North Wales Business Council, the Cheshire and North Wales chamber and the Mersey Dee Alliance.

The news comes in the same week that The Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review was published.

The Review highlights areas in which the North is a world leader and also identifies the measures needed to bring about improvements to the region’s economy.

It says radical change is needed to close skills and productivity gaps but that such changes could potentially result in 850,000 jobs by 2050.

Ken Skates said:

“As Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure I am determined to maximise the economic potential of North Wales.

To that end I will be hosting a North Wales summit to discuss emerging priorities for North Wales and to agree, with our partners, a coherent vision for the region as part of the cross border Northern Powerhouse.

There is no doubt that we face new challenges as a result of the referendum outcome.

These are challenges we can and will overcome and joint working and partnership, both in Wales and cross border, innovation and learning from the success of others will be key to our success.”