§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales in which locations in the world the Welsh Development Agency has direct, on-the-spot representation by(a) an employee and (b) an agent; and how these arrangements have changed in the past 10 years.
§ Mr. David HuntThe Welsh Development Agency and its inward investment division, Welsh Development International, have permanent representation at a number of locations overseas. In north America the main office is in Baltimore with part-time representatives in California and Ottawa. In the far east the main office is in Tokyo with another representative in South Korea. In Europe, in addition to the headquarters in Cardiff, there is an office in Stuttgart, a representative in London and consultants are employed in Brussels. Of the above offices employees of the Welsh Development Agency are located in north America, Stuttgart and London. Within Wales the agency has six regional offices staffed by its own employees.
The Welsh Development Agency has had overseas offices since 1983 and the arrangements are kept under continuous review. Changes during the period have included: the opening of the Stuttgart office in 1990 in succession to the employment of agents; the closure of a representative office in Stockholm in 1988; the appointment of consultants in Hong Kong in 1989, an arrangement which ended in 1990; and the rearrangement of north American representation in 1989.