<p>Improving the Economy</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 1:38 pm on 29 March 2017.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 1:38, 29 March 2017

I should perhaps refer the Member to a speech I gave last Monday at Coleg y Cymoedd—a transformational institution that has been able to improve the pride in the local area, and also improve the skills of people who live there. In that speech, I outlined my vision for a prosperous and secure strategy that will seek to not only grow wealth and well-being in the aggregate, but also reduce the inequalities in both, across regions and across Wales. And, so, it’s my view that not only should GVA be improved, relative to England, and the Valleys relative to the rest of Wales, but that we should also seek to drive up gross disposable household income, because it’s that measure, it’s that money that people have in their pockets, that gives people a sense of control over their own lives. In turn, it’s that power, it’s that ability to have a degree of control over one’s life, that you’re able to judge well-being against. And, so, I would suggest that GVA has to increase as part of the city region approach, but it must increase at a sub-regional level across all communities, because if we see the wealthy getting wealthier, and productivity in areas that are already high in productivity increasing at the expense of the wealth of those who are least well off, and at the expense of productivity in less urbanised areas, then the project will have failed. I think we have to iron out the lumpiness in terms of productivity and in terms of economic growth, and we must find the ways of ensuring that we share opportunities to create wealth right across regions.