Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 7:01 pm on 29 November 2017.
[Interruption.] Yes, certainly. All of us in this Chamber want to see Wales at the forefront of tidal energy, and I hope that the lack of news on this issue from the UK Government is not a signal of bad news to come. Despite the lack of clarity on the tidal lagoon, the autumn budget did deliver some good news for Wales.
We have seen an increase to the Welsh budget as a result of the new fiscal framework and an extra £1.2 billion over the next four years. It is now up to the Welsh Government to maximise the benefits for Wales from both the additional budget funding and the UK’s industrial strategy—and I will be watching this point constantly.
Wales continues to be one of the poorest parts of the UK—in fact, one of the poorest parts of Europe—and I urge the Welsh Government to utilise the additional moneys to fund schemes to tackle the widening wealth gap that exists between Wales and England. Yesterday, the Social Mobility Commission published their 'State of the Nation 2017' report, which highlights that average weekly earnings are much lower in Wales than they are in England, and that a quarter of people in Wales earn less than the voluntary living wage. The report highlights the fact—[Interruption.] Sorry. Yes.