Can I thank the Member for his contribution today and for bringing forward the subject to a short debate? It's a subject that I know he feels particularly passionate about, and today, again, he has delivered an outstanding speech, which identifies some of the major challenges, but also the opportunities that can be had if we adapt to the fourth revolution ahead of our competitors. It is interesting; I'm spending a good amount of my time at the moment in the constituency of Alyn and Deeside, and it was brought to my attention by the local Member of Parliament Mark Tami earlier this week that that particular constituency of all across Britain is the fifth most vulnerable to automation in the UK. That's a constituency that is home to some of the biggest employers in the private sector, some of the most innovative companies in the private sector in the UK, but it's an area that we must ensure can be resilient in the future, given its contribution to the Welsh economy.

Now, we're not just developing a new economic action plan to enhance the prospects of Alyn and Deeside and its local manufacturing base, which is home, of course, to Europe's biggest industrial park. We're also rolling out, as a priority and an immediate intervention, the advanced manufacturing research centre that will focus very much on the opportunities of automation for the manufacturing base in that area and, indeed, across the entire region. But I think this debate reflects the importance of this issue and its impact upon constituents we represent right across the country. Lee is most certainly correct to assert that how we respond will determine our future prosperity and the security of our economy. As others have pointed out in the past, our economy and our industrial base have confronted technological change before from the first industrial revolution, through the second, into the third, and now, as we approach the fourth revolution. We've always had to rise to new challenges and face fresh opportunities, but I do think, Deputy Presiding Officer, that it's fair to say that in the past Welsh industry hasn't always kept apace with changing technology.

We're now on the cusp of a fourth industrial revolution, with breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and automation that will transform the very fabric of our economy and the way we live our lives. In the midst of this unprecedented change, Government most certainly has a pivotal role to provide leadership and to develop a strategic response. We simply cannot sit back and leave this change to the markets. So, our role is ensuring that that leadership, that vision and that support for business are available at all times. We can't stop the development of new technologies in the fourth industrial age, nor should we try to prevent the progress that it represents. But we can, and we must, equip our businesses and our people to futureproof themselves against the change that lies ahead. That's why the economic action plan that was launched just before Christmas clearly identifies automation and digitisation as some of the key strategic challenges and opportunities facing the Welsh economy over the coming years. 

The five calls to action contained within the plan provide us with a platform, working together with industry, trade unions and other partners, to respond to the challenges that Lee has outlined. We're focusing funding around supporting businesses to prepare for the challenges of tomorrow, to futureproofing our economy and workforce for what automation is likely to bring. It's why the action plan places such an emphasis on skills, on innovation and on building upon regional economies that are productive and competitive. Deputy Presiding Officer, it's why we want to build our approach in the context of a constructive and mature relationship with business, an approach that is founded upon the new economic contract, where businesses may well ask us to show them the money, but where we ask them to show us their plans for the fourth industrial revolution. It's easy to despair—