UK Government seeks to deflect criticism over low infrastructure investment in Wales

Martin Shipton

The UK Government has moved to fend off criticism that Wales was being deprived of infrastructure investment by confirming that the recently created Wrexham and Flintshire Investment Zone will focus on advanced manufacturing.

Previously Westminster had faced criticism for excluding Wales entirely from an announcement last week that listed projects getting money from the National Wealth Fund, Westminster’s rebranded infrastructure funding vehicle.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves was said to be working with “local leaders across the UK to support places to build pipelines of incoming investment and projects linked to regional growth priorities”.

However, a press release issued by the Treasury failed to mention Wales at all in a list of locations that would benefit from the National Wealth Fund.

Instead the release named Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, and Glasgow City Region as locations that would benefit from the initiative, stating: “These partnerships will provide enhanced, hands-on support with tailored commercial and financial advice to help regions develop and secure long-term investment opportunities.

“This initiative will play a key role in unlocking investment across sectors such as technology, manufacturing, and green energy, helping to fuel the next wave of economic growth. This builds on the positive impact the NWF has already had in supporting regional growth. In the last six months, the NWF has created 8,600 jobs and unlocked nearly £1.6 billion in private investment across various sectors, including green technologies, digital infrastructure, and manufacturing.”

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No mention of Wales

Further projects were planned for the Liverpool City Region and the North East [of England] Combined Authorities, but there was no mention of Wales.

The initiative was launched in Glasgow, whose council leader Susan Aitken said: “This is welcome recognition of the Glasgow City Region’s role as Scotland’s metro region, a vital motor in delivering prosperity and with a track record of securing and delivering on investment.

“Cities and city regions are the vital engine rooms of local and national economic growth and Glasgow’s selection as one of the four strategic partnerships to work with the government on maximising investment opportunities will, I’m sure, contribute to our ambition to become the most innovative, resilient and inclusive regional economy in the UK.”

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said: “It’s fantastic to see that Glasgow has been chosen as one of four areas where the UK Government will develop investment pipelines. The move will see us engage with local leaders and tap into their expertise to find out exactly where we can best put to use support from avenues like the National Wealth Fund and Office for Investment.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP said on returning from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland: “At Davos I’ve been telling some of the world’s biggest investors that the U.K. is a safe bet for their investments, whether that’s in London or Leeds.

“And in our mission for growth, it’s critical that we are growing every region’s local economy, that’s why we are doing things differently. Those with local knowledge and skin in the game are best placed to know what their area needs, and our transformative reforms will put local leaders at the centre of a network that will connect them with investment opportunities, bringing wealth and jobs to their communities.”

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Flood defences 

The only reference to Wales getting anything from the National Wealth Fund was an earlier announcement that it would provide a loan of £92m to support Denbighshire County Council’s improvements to coastal flood defence barriers in Denbighshire, protecting businesses and homes against the devastating impact of flooding, creating jobs and growth in the construction industry.

In fact the project was under development when the former Tory UK Government was in power.

However, the UK Government issued a statement on January 31 which said the aim of the Wrexham and Flintshire Investment Zone (IZ) is to create more than 6,000 new jobs across the manufacturing sector and attract approximately £1bn of investment: “Having confirmed funding for the Investment Zones programme at Autumn Budget, the government can now confirm that the Wrexham and Flintshire Investment Zone (IZ) will focus on advanced manufacturing.

“There are major international businesses in the region including JCB and Airbus, which the IZ will support, as well as the wider advanced manufacturing supply chain in the region. At present the IZ is expected to generate £1bn of private investment, creating up to 6000 new high quality jobs.

“The IZ’s interventions will be focused around sites in Deeside and Deeside industrial estate, which houses Tata Steel and Toyota; Hawarden Airport, where Airbus are based; Llay Industrial Estate, which houses a number of key aerospace businesses; and Wrexham Industrial Estate, which houses a wide range of advanced manufacturing business, including JCB.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said:” I’m delighted that we are moving forward with the Investment Zone for Wrexham and Flintshire with £160 million from the UK Government to drive economic growth in advanced manufacturing.

“In December I met leaders from the advanced manufacturing sector at Toyota in Deeside and visited two hugely successful supply chain businesses. I saw the huge potential for growth and for building on the talent and expertise that already exists in this part of Wales.

“This Investment Zone will super-charge economic growth, create up to 6000 new jobs and generate £1bn of private investment which will have a transformational impact for people living and working in northeast Wales.”

Wealth fund

In the run-up to the July 2024 general election, Plaid Cymru suggested that Wales should set up its own national wealth fund bankrolled by taking over the profits of offshore wind farms owned by the King. It called for the creation of a Welsh Sovereign Wealth Fund which would use the takings of the Crown Estate’s portfolio in the nation to invest in communities across Wales.

The party pointed to estimates which suggest several new offshore wind farms planned in Welsh waters could generate £43bn in rents as the basis for the fund.

The Crown Estate is an independent company which belongs to the monarch for the duration of their reign, and the value of its land and assets in Wales are worth £853m. The revenue from its £16bn property portfolio flows directly to the Treasury, but 25% of the annual profits go to pay for the monarch’s official duties.

The estate owns the UK seabed out to 12 nautical miles and has jurisdiction over new offshore wind farms.

On the wealth fund’s benefits, Plaid’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said: “There is a legacy of poverty that we have had from the other extractive industries.

“If you look at coal, if you look at – as I have got – the slate quarries, we have got granite quarries. We have poor housing, built cheaply, in which people still have to live, and yet we are paying in north Wales some of the highest standing charges for electricity.

“As things are, we are being kept in poverty and denied the means of improving our own lot. From our policy point of view, this is just one serious way of saying ‘OK, give us the tools and we will build a better future for ourselves’.”