Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:30 pm on 20 June 2018.
Cabinet Secretary, obviously, we all share those concerns and hope that families who face the prospect of losing the breadwinner's job get security as soon as possible, because if you've got a mortgage or you've got dependents, you want that security as soon as possible. But what is really concerning here is that this is another financial service provider moving jobs out of Cardiff, when Cardiff, obviously, is supposed to be at the centre—an enterprise zone for financial services. The Member for Cardiff North highlighted at least 1,500 jobs that have moved out of the Cardiff North area in relation to financial services, and certainly in my discussions with providers of financial services here in Cardiff, there is a drift, certainly at senior level, of personnel being moved out of Cardiff to other regional centres—Birmingham and Bristol. And whilst I take at face value what you say about the call centre business being robust, and the vacancy rate that you highlighted was talked about yesterday, there is definite evidence out there that at a certain level within the banking and finance sectors, the senior positions are moving away from Wales. And to hear the analogy you make about Northamptonshire, which has gained from this job announcement—this company has made a decision knowing that it's going to go into a jobs market where it's going to pay a premium for jobs. So, what are we doing wrong here in Wales that isn't retaining these jobs here in Wales, and, importantly, retaining the high-value jobs, the decision makers, that can add so much to a company and the ability of that company to expand here in Wales?