Motion NDM6617 as amended

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes the publication of the Our Valleys, Our Future: Delivery Plan.

2. Notes with regret that:

a) the value of goods and services produced per head of population (GVA) in the West Wales and the Valleys sub-region is still bottom across the UK, at just 64% of the UK average - with the Gwent Valleys second only to Anglesey as the lowest in the UK;

b) the Bevan Foundation 'Tough Times Ahead? What 2018 might hold for Wales' Report states that although UK unemployment is forecast to remain at around 4.3% over the year, 'performance is unlikely to be enough to boost those parts of Wales where unemployment stands well above the UK figure such as Merthyr Tydfil (7.3%) and Blaenau Gwent (6.7%)';

c) the delivery of the Welsh Government’s new Working Wales employability programme has been delayed until April 2019.

3. Calls on the Welsh Government to outline how it will talk, consult, design and deliver its ‘Our Valleys, Our Future: Delivery Plan’ with people who live and work in the south Wales valleys; the UK Government; and the business and third sectors, as the taskforce’s work progresses.

4. Notes that true engagement with the 'Be The Spark' movement, to create more profitable home-grown businesses that generate wealth and prosperity for the whole of Wales, will require Welsh Government collaboration with a culture that links innovation and entrepreneurship together.