EDWINA HART seemed very much in charm-offensive mode in her relatively small office in T Hywel in Cardiff Bay.
 

As she sat behind an impressively clutter-free desk the only thing to catch the eye was a copy of that day’s Financial Times with a front-page story on the prospects of French finance minister Christine Lagarde becoming the next head of the IMF.
 

With only 20 minutes allocated for the interview, it was straight down to business, after an exchange of pleasantries and views on Ms Lagarde.

The minister… on the Civil Service and what she expects from staff in her department

First Minister Carwyn Jones is personally overseeing the establishment of a delivery unit, with a focus on full disclosure on outcomes. He is also looking at Civil Service reform. So what is Ms Hart’s take on the Civil Service having been in ministerial roles for over a decade.

She said: “I find a very risk- averse culture within the Assembly, which is something I have found since becoming a minister back in 1999

“I think that if the risks are always outlined to you as a minister then you should be prepared sometimes to take them as that is the only way you get success for businesses.

“The most successful businesses take risks… not that they might be successful in everything that they do, but if you are successful in something it is worth it [risking taking].”

She accepts that her Government and officials need to improve in terms of clarity of what support they can provide businesses and the time it takes to make decisions.

Arguably Wales’ most successful entrepreneur Sir Terry Matthews, when asked what the Welsh Government should do to support businesses, said: “In one word; velocity. They need to speed up decision-making, whether that be in planning or whatever.”

Ms Hart said: “This is an area I am exploring, looking at how we can be quicker to respond, but also sometimes I don’t think it is clear to business what the role of Government is in this area [support to business].

“I think you have to be quite strategic, starting with what is the role of Government in the economy. We are a small nation on the edge of Europe. The main economic levers are not with us as an administration. We must use what resources we have for best advantage.

“So what we must do is make things clear to everybody. If people know there are no grants, there are no grants. If they know there are loans they must know what is the nature of the loans. We do need greater clarity in those areas and that is what I will be able to do over the summer.”

On her appointment to the key economic role in the Welsh Government – a decision from the First Minister which came as a surprise to the business community with many tipping either of her colleagues Leighton Andrews and Carl Sergeant for the role

Ms Hart said: “I don’t think you are ever surprised at what you are offered. You are always very pleased and honoured that the First Minister has considered you for an appointment.

“Obviously I enjoyed my time in health which was a period of great reform and very much enjoyed the restructuring and discussions within the service… this is a different challenge.”

Ms Hart said: “Speaking to entrepreneurs – and I know quite a few entrepreneurs – it is interesting to see what they want and require.
 

“However, I am also interested in doing other things like support to micro-businesses and whether we are giving them what they require in real terms.
 

“I am doing some work with the FSB around that particular agenda and also what we need to do to attract entrepreneurs to Wales.”

On the Welsh Government having powers to vary corporation tax

Speaking at the annual CBI lunch last week the First Minister was lukewarm on Wales having powers to vary corporation tax. while ruling out again seeking powers to vary and raise personal taxes.
 

Instead he focused on the need for his Government to have borrowing powers.
 

In Northern Ireland there is cross-party support to halve the rate of corporate tax to that of neighbour the Republic of Ireland at just 12.5%.
 

Ms Hart said: “We have to cross every hurdle and bridge when we come to it.

“The First Minister has taken the lead on discussions about what financial settlement there should be for Wales and I don’t want to pre-empt what discussions are going on with my individual opinions.

“The Northern Irish are keen on this particular area, we have to sort out the settlement [funding agreement with the Treasury] to Wales as our first priority as a Government.”

On the six sector approach to business support

As part of his Economic Renewal Programme (ERP) the former Minister for the Economy and Transport Ieuan Wyn Jones opted to focus support on six sectors, including ICT and creative industries.

As reported in the Western Mail last week Ms Hart confirmed she had no plans to scrap the sectors, but will be looking to widen them. This could see sectors added in areas such as construction and tourism. A decision is not expected until after the summer recess. She will also provide clarity on whether to ditch Mr Jones’ move away from grants towards repayable finance.
 

The First Minister has also confirmed that enterprise zones, of which 21 are planned for England, will be taken forward in Wales. However, they could be “virtual” zones so not limited to a geographical area and could be based around specific industry sectors.

On the performance of her predecessor Ieuan Wyn Jones
 

The minister said: “We were in coalition with Plaid Cymru and had agreed lines of policy and I don’t think it is helpful to harp back. The current Minister for Health could say things about me and I wouldn’t like it so I wouldn’t do it to anyone else.”
 

“I think there are a huge range of issues here.” said Ms Hart. She added: “Training is a big issue for employers, as well as the quality of training and the availability of skilled labour to attract the necessary investment.
 

“That is an area we are tackling, but some of the discussions we have had indicate they are very pleased with the direction of travel of the Government in this particular area, but it is obviously not part of my portfolio.

“Another issue that has been raised by industry and comes up quite a lot is planning. They want more flexibility, particularly on the energy front.

On business rates she said: “This we will be returning to in due course, but not immediately.”

On her decision to have sign-off on all financial decisions in her department.

Ms Hart said: “I find it truly amusing, the level of interest on this. I have always signed off everything else in my other departments.

“I would be a very poor minister if I didn’t know where all the money went, wouldn’t I?

“I think it is very important, particularly when you are a new minister of a department, that you look at all the practices that were there previously. There is always need for improvement and you need to know where the cash goes.

“You need to be certain as this is taxpayers’ money that you are talking about. It is very important they know that the politicians at the end of the day, the ones that answer questions and take the blame if something goes wrong, actually know what goes on in their departments.”

 

On where she would like to see the Welsh economy in five years time
 

She said: “I like to see more people in employment, the up levelling of skills for individuals and Wales being seen as a place where people want to come to and invest in.
 

“You shouldn’t tell people things that you cannot deliver. You need to be quite clear on your delivery. If you get criticised for that then so be it, but at the end of the day clarity is what business requires.”
 

On the importance of R&D to the Welsh economy
 

The minister, who has R&D and science in her portfolio, said that this an area where she would like to see greater commercial collaboration between academia and business.

Ms Hart said: “R&D is an exciting role to have in my portfolio and I am lucky that I get good advice in that area, but the important thing is that we have got to do far more with further and higher education and the links made with companies and what products they produce.

“We also have to decide whether there is a marketplace for this much earlier on and what we are good at and where we cannot compete.

“There will be universities elsewhere, whether in Scotland or England, where they are much further forward then us, so we need to look at what we are good and then make the links between the two [academia and business].”

On the UK Government’s Business Growth Fund

The UK Government has launched a £1.5bn fund aimed at providing growth finance to SMEs with growth potential.

It came out of the Rowlands Commission, chaired by Welshman Chris Rowlands, which concluded there was market failure in the £2m to £10m mezzanine and equity funding market for SMEs.
 

The fund has established a regional office in Bristol to cover Wales, but will be run by Paul Oldham who has strong knowledge of the Welsh business community following his time at the Cardiff office of Grant Thornton.
 

One of the criticisms of the fund is that is has identified a turnover requirement of £10m – which would rule out many business in Wales.
 

However, it not expected that in practice Welsh business below that level will turned for funding, providing they can demonstrate real growth potential

Ms Hart said: “An office in Bristol [serving Wales] is not ideal in the very real sense of the word.
 

“Correspondence has gone from this department to the UK Government, which we wait a response on.

“I am great believer, irrespective of the politics of the other Governments in the UK, in that if I can get something for Wales out of it, I will work with them.

“I think that is very important because at the end of the day my job is about the economy creating jobs and creating a prosperous Wales.”