Select committee: Welsh Affairs Committee
Conclusion 11
2nd Report - Freeports and Wales
Published 8 May 2020
Paragraph 70
Addressed to Wales Office
Welsh Affairs Committee Freeports and Wales All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
If the UK Government chooses to proceed with freeports after the consultation process then it should, as a priority, publish details on the bidding process that it intends to adopt. The UK Government should consider using the bidding process to encourage bids by consortiums (including multiple terminals) and should explain what role bodies such as city regions or enterprise zones could expect to play. The bidding process should also provide clarity about the governance structures that would be expected for freeports and could, for example, include an illustrative example of such a structure.
From: Welsh Affairs Committee, 2nd Report - Freeports and Wales (HC 205), paragraph 70, 8 May 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 22 July 2020 (deadline 8 July 2020).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government thanks the Committee and says it is analysing responses to its Freeports consultation, to which it will respond "in due course", while setting out its aims for Freeports across the UK including Wales.
- On the call for more detail on the economic potential of Freeports and lessons from earlier schemes, the government "notes this recommendation" and says it "will be considered" as part of its consultation response.
- On Welsh bids and any cap on Freeports in Wales, the government says it is "committed to Freeports that work for the whole of the UK" and is working on an allocation process meeting the aims set out in the consultation.
- On the bidding process, the government says the allocation process and criteria "will be published in due course", and that it encourages bids from a wide range of stakeholders including consortiums.
- On customs and infrastructure, it says the consultation sets out the customs arrangements needed at a Freeport and that it will set out "more detail in due course". It also says it is working with stakeholders across Wales.