Economic Priorities for South Wales Central

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:08 pm on 18 June 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:08, 18 June 2019

Llywydd, can I thank Vikki Howells for that really interesting question? Of course, we are very interested to learn more about the New Zealand Government's decision. We're lucky we've always had strong links between a Labour Government here and the Labour Government in New Zealand. My colleague, Lesley Griffiths, was in New Zealand not that long ago, looking at other aspects of that Government's work, and we've looked ourselves at the limitations, on the floor of this Assembly, at GVA. We know that, if we're genuinely interested in well-being, then GVA is not a good means of capturing that rounded picture. We know that there are progressive administrations elsewhere looking at well-being economics, and the way in which we intend to pursue that in Wales is through the work that we have commissioned through the OECD—part of our determination that, even in these difficult times, Wales goes on being an outward-looking nation where we learn from others, where we're involved in joint activity with countries in other parts of the world. And the work to which Vikki Howells has referred has come to a fruition in New Zealand maybe sooner than anywhere else, but there is a broader range of countries interested in developing measures that go beyond the narrow range that GVA captures, and we are very much committed, through the well-being of future generations Act and other economic policies of this Government, to being part of that international effort.