Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Welsh Government's representation overseas, specifically outlining costs for the last three years and confirming the number of staff, their respective roles and office locations?
The overseas offices are responsible for contributing to the Welsh Government's activity in the fields of trade and investment, government relations, tourism, culture and education. They are multifunctional in their role representing Welsh Government interests on the ground, building and maintaining relations, facilitating business meetings and strategic engagement with UK Posts and Welsh societies. The overseas offices provide support to Ministerial visits overseas, delivering a programme of activity to promote Wales as a place to invest, do business, work, study and visit.
Our presence overseas is continually kept under review.
There are currently 15 representations across 7 countries: Belgium; China; India; Ireland; Japan; the United Arab Emirates; and the United States of America.
The total running costs of the Welsh Government's overseas offices for the last 3 years is shown in the table below.
| Overseas Offices – Running Costs (£) |
||
| 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 |
| 525,379. 23 | 517,790. 24 | 550,463. 90 |
The running costs of the overseas offices are published in the State of the Estate Report and can be found here http://gov.wales/about/civilservice/how-we-work/facts-figures/our-buildings/state-of-the-estate-report-2015-2016/?lang=en
There are 32. 5 full time equivalent (FTE) Welsh Government overseas posts included in those representations.
| Location |
Number of Staff (FTE) |
| Europe | 9 |
| Brussels | |
| China | 5 |
| Beijing | |
| Chongqing | |
| Shanghai | |
| Ireland | 1 |
| Dublin | |
| India | 4 |
| Bangalore | |
| Mumbai | |
| New Delhi | |
| Japan | 3. 5 |
| Tokyo | |
| United Arab Emirates | 2 |
| Dubai | |
| USA | 8 |
| Atlanta | |
| Chicago | |
| New York | |
| San Francisco | |
| Washington | |
| TOTAL | 32. 5 |