4. What assessment has the First Minister made of Wales's economic performance over the past twenty years? OAQ54217

Llywydd, amongst the achievements of economic performance since devolution we have 300,000 more people in work than we did in 1999 and more active enterprises here in Wales than at any time during that period. 

I thank the First Minister for his answer, but when judged by all normal parameters—GVA, GDP or productivity—we see that Wales appears to be performing less well than any other region of the UK apart from the north-west of England. Does the First Minister agree that this runs contrary to the ambitions laid out in the Government's 'Prosperity for All' economic action plan?

Well, I'm afraid the assertions made by the Member simply aren't true, Llywydd. As well as having unemployment down faster than the rest of the United Kingdom, employment rising faster than the rest of the United Kingdom, and inactivity rates down more than the rest of the United Kingdom, Welsh productivity since 2011 has been the fastest in growth of all UK countries and regions. So, I just don't accept the assertions that the Member makes, but I do say this to him: that if the plans of his party were ever to come to fruition and this country were to leave the European Union without a deal on 31 October, then all the gains that have been made during the devolution period will be under renewed and very significant threat.

First Minister, can I congratulate your Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport for the refreshing honesty that he displayed last month when he admitted that your Government and, indeed, the predecessor Labour Governments did not have a clue what they were doing on the economy? Now, I understand that he's since apologised for those comments and backtracked on them. He's not the only person to climb down from comments that he's made previously, and we saw some yesterday in north Wales, but that sort of honesty is what we like from our politicians.

Now, one of the areas that has really suffered quite a lot over recent years is north Wales, and one of the reasons that the economy in north Wales has been suffering is because of the A55 trunk road and its lack of capacity to be able to shift traffic along it, particularly in our peak holiday periods. Can I ask the First Minister whether, given the fact that you have decided no longer to spend significant sums of money on the M4 relief road, you will look at investing in our key artery in north Wales, the A55, to ensure that it is fit for purpose and it can cope with the increasing traffic that we're seeing in north Wales as a result of people being attracted to come and visit us and to do business there?

Llywydd, it's always disappointing to me when a local Member talks down the achievements of their part of Wales. North Wales has higher employment rates than the whole of Wales and the whole of the United Kingdom, it has lower unemployment rates than Wales and the whole of the United Kingdom and its economy in many ways is a thriving economy, from Airbus in the north-east to the very encouraging tourism figures in which north Wales leads Wales this year. Of course infrastructure is important; it's why we carried out the resilience survey of the A55 and are putting into implementation the recommendations of that. We continue to invest significantly in transport infrastructure in north Wales, whether that is the Flintshire corridor in the north-east or the bypass at Caernarfon in the north-west.