Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:16 pm on 9 October 2019.
Can I thank the Member for her questions and say that her party has consistently warned of the consequences of Brexit? Those consequences are now coming to pass, and there is a common cause: it is Brexit. That is absolutely and abundantly clear. It is not because of the Welsh Government's industrial strategy; quite the opposite, actually. We've got more than 250,000 businesses in existence in Wales now, a record number of businesses headquartered in Wales, and unemployment is at an all-time low, inactivity likewise. There is significant churn in the economy, but there is a trend right now because of Brexit that jobs, particularly in manufacturing, are being lost, and are at risk of being lost. Therefore, directly to the Member's question, if there is a common cause, that common cause is surely Brexit. There are other factors at play within the economy. Let's be realistic. There are other factors. For example, the transition to automation is causing difficulties for many businesses, which is why we developed the economic action plan and made one of the key calls to action digitisation and automation and artificial intelligence, to make sure businesses are futureproofed. It's why we ensured, through the economic contract, that businesses need to be able to demonstrate they're investing in the skills of their workforce in order to take advantage of industry 4.0 rather than be left behind. So, whilst there are other factors, the Welsh Government is addressing those within the economic action plan. The big challenge that neither the Welsh Government nor the UK Government under any party—let's be realistic; under any party—can fully deal with and mitigate is a 'no deal' Brexit. That would be catastrophic for the country.