I've considered this report very carefully, and with the understanding that I'm sure that all in this Chamber want the Welsh Government to succeed in its stated aim of providing prosperity for all. However, before I comment on this report, I have to put it in the perspective that the Labour Party has been in power in Wales for all of this Assembly's existence, and, in that time, we've seen many strategies and Ministers come and go. My fear is that we still do not have a joined-up economic plan for Wales. It seems that any cohesive—. What comes out of this report is that it seems that any cohesive economic plan is obviated by the various and spatially different layers of delivery bodies charged with delivering this economic plan, a position that is exacerbated by a number of others being envisaged. This is hardly the bonfire of quangos that Rhodri Morgan promised 13 years ago.

One recommendation in this report was that the Welsh Government should put a duty on regional bodies to promote economic development and inclusive growth, with a discretion to spend a substantial amount of funding, whether from Welsh Government or raised within the region. But it is difficult to imagine this happening with the current outmoded 22 local authorities. This is not the fault of the authorities themselves, but is purely down to the size of the budgets they manage and the limited nature of their competences. The recent changes to local government spoke only of cross-regional collaboration, with no direct amalgamation of the authorities, which begs the question: was this strategy simply one of political expediency rather than economic viability? Is it not time to explore regional government based on the five regions of the Assembly, with the possible exception of splitting mid and west Wales into two regions, given the huge geographic spread? Surely this would be more likely to dovetail into the regional concept of the Government's economic action plan.

If the economic action plan is to give prosperity to all it must realise the need to reduce the tax burden on the hard-working families of Wales. This can only be achieved by cutting out the layers of bureaucracy and unnecessary governance that now exist. This multilayered multibodied economic model also means scrutiny of stated goals is made far more difficult. As to whose interventions have led to any success or failure, it will be almost impossible to evaluate. Let us create an economy in Wales that is founded on a dynamic business and manufacturing base, not an overburdened public sector. With the greater economic wealth this brings, we shall be better able to fund the vital services that make up that public sector.

We cannot overestimate the importance of the Development Bank of Wales and Business Wales in bringing about this sea change in Welsh economic policy. They will be fundamental in providing the finance and expertise necessary in building this entrepreneurial, business-led economy. The world outside Wales is changing dramatically and we need to embrace what is now being called the fourth industrial revolution, a range of new technologies that are impacting on all disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Sir Terry Matthews believes we should move towards driving innovation and the focus should be on linking up business with the best research as a means of exploiting this new unknown. We acknowledge that our universities have a major role to play in these developments, so we welcome the £135 million innovation centre for Cardiff University, but would ask: should we be replicating this in north Wales?

Llywydd, if we want a Wales economy fit for the twenty-first century, we must have a delivery plan that is lean, dynamic and free from bureaucratic red tape.