Wales Office Minister urges country to support Northern Powerhouse
Alun Cairns: North Wales is poised to benefit from the growing momentum of the Northern Powerhouse
Mr Cairns spoke as he and Northern Powerhouse Minister James Wharton met business leaders from North Wales and Cheshire.
Alun Cairns said North East Wales was a natural fit to the economic region which now spans England’s northern cities.
The Wales Office Minister was today (Tuesday 18 August) on a day long-tour of thriving North Welsh companies. Among them was KK Foods where Mr Cairns is due to visit the company’s development kitchen and tasted its award-winning Korean vegetarian curry recipe. Mr Cairns will then tour the production line at Toyota in Deeside.
The Wales Office Minister and James Wharton are expected to spend an hour with council and business leaders from the North West of England together with representatives from North Wales Business Council and Flintshire County Council to discuss how to help the Northern Powerhouse grow.
Alun Cairns said:
It’s clear that we are seeing a sustained strengthening of the economy across Wales - last week’s record employment figures illustrate that.
North East Wales is integral to the Northern Powerhouse. It is perfectly positioned to benefit with a raft of big companies - including a number of exporters - based here. I want to champion that and urge business leaders in the north of the country to come together and see how we can benefit from the opportunities of closer links.
The Wales Office Minister is later due to go on to visit a converted Church in Llandudno which is now a hub for high-tech companies. Among those he is due to see are the offices of website Stockomendation, a website that draws together top tipsters on the stock exchange.