8. Welsh Conservatives debate: 'Prosperity for All'

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:34 pm on 24 January 2018.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 6:34, 24 January 2018

Diolch, Llywydd. It's a pleasure to respond to Members in this debate today and I'd like to thank everybody for their contribution. I'd particularly like to thank Mick Antoniw for occupying the moral summit and for taking some of the heat out of what has been a lively debate and drawing attention to some of the realities that many people in our communities face.

Before I address some of the specific points raised by Members, I'd just like to correct some of the history lessons that one or two Members have attempted to give. I'll do so by highlighting some of the data that is available to all Members—data relating to the period since devolution. Of course, many point back to the 1980s and the 1990s as though it was a glorious past for Wales. In my memory, the 1980s and the 1990s were a deeply grim period. Since then, since devolution, Wales has had the fourth highest increase in GVA per head compared to the 12 UK countries and English regions. In addition, since devolution, we've seen the unemployment rate in Wales decrease more quickly than the UK average. It's decreased by 3 per cent in that period compared to 1.7 per cent across the UK. During that—