Will the Cabinet Secretary explain how the £33 million funding for the Life Sciences Hub Wales ties in with the Swansea bay city deal and confirm whether this is part of the overall Welsh Government contribution to the city deal or additional one-off funding?
The £33m of funding jointly announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services and I, on 13 June is not for the Life Sciences Hub.
£24m of funding comes jointly from the European Regional Development Fund and Welsh Government for ACCELERATE, a 3 year, all Wales programme that is led by the Life Sciences Hub in partnership with Cardiff University, Swansea University and Trinity St David.
A further £9m of Welsh Government funding is allocated to create additional health innovation centres across Wales, similar to the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre and Respiratory Innovation Centre.
This combined £33m of funding is separate to the Welsh and UK Government’s funding allocation to support plans for the Llanelli Wellness Village and Life Sciences Campuses which form part of the Swansea Bay City Deal.