Welsh Affairs

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and congratulate her on the sterling work that she has undertaken on this matter. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State mentioned, we have undertaken a globalisation inquiry and a cross-border inquiry. Both these reports highlight heavily the importance for the long-term economic future of Wales of the need to establish higher-level skills, as the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan) rightly said. In our globalisation report, we recognise the central importance of universities and colleges in building the knowledge economy, and the need for that to be done at local, national and international levels. We were particularly impressed with the role that universities are already playing in this field in Wales by contributing to their local economies. Much could be learned in some respects from more advanced developments, such as the Mondragon co-operative university, in the Basque country; Xiamen university, which I am delighted is twinned with Cardiff university; and other, similar initiatives. In our recently published report on cross-border public services in relation to further and higher education, we highlighted the vital issues, which have already been mentioned, of the funding gap, the research profile and UK science policy.