4. Statement by the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd: Future Outlook for Public Spending in Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:22 pm on 16 July 2019.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 5:22, 16 July 2019

So, I know that Alun Davies would have read with interest the 'Tax policy work plan 2019' that I published in February this year and will have some detailed questions for me on that. And that set out the programme of work and research that the Welsh Government is pursuing in 2019, building on the findings, of course, of last year's work plan. And that policy sets out our main areas of interest and it's there so that organisations and interested individuals can see what we are examining, they can ask questions and contribute their views, knowledge and experiences to inform our thinking. And, of course, when I published that, I did invite everybody to involve themselves with that tax policy work plan.

He'll also be familiar, I'm sure, with the Wales Centre for Public Policy's research that it's done on growing our tax base here in Wales, and that's something that we're very much focused on. Of course, some of the promises made by candidates for the Prime Minister in policies will not help us grow our tax base here in Wales, but our focus is very much linked with our new national development framework, which the Minister for Housing and Local Government will be publishing shortly. And that sets out how we can use the levers at our disposal to ensure that we are encouraging people to come to Wales who are coming here because they're able to do so because they know that Wales is a good place to do business, a good place to set up business, and a good place to create jobs, which will help people maximise their own income potential. 

And we're also working to develop personal learning accounts, for example. This is part of our budget process, which I'm undertaking a gender review of. Those personal learning accounts will be there for individuals who are in relatively low-paid, low-skilled jobs at the moment but really want to move on, want to gain some skills and have ambition to move into higher paid jobs. Those are pilots that we're looking at through the lens of a gender budgeting approach. And that's a new approach for us, which we're learning from Iceland, which has been working for seven years on its gender-budgeting approach, and we're keen to see how we can take that forward in Wales. 

Certainly, I've spoken to the Member before in committee about Welsh Government's approach to borrowing. I look forward to having further discussions in committee tomorrow, where we'll look at capital funding. But, generally, we will always seek to use conventional capital first, including financial transactions capital, because that's the cheapest kind of capital, and then we will look to more innovative funding models, such as the mutual investment model. But I think it's important to take this opportunity, as we go into recess, to really set out the challenges and the seriousness of the situation that we are facing, with a view to having those discussions, both on the budget tour, where I'll be engaging with organisations, but also with fellow Assembly Members. And I'm really keen to know more about the work that the Finance Committee has been doing in its budget round-tables, to hear priorities from the people of Wales through that particular forum.