Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:47 pm on 22 January 2020.

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Photo of Russell George Russell George Conservative 1:47, 22 January 2020

Well, thank you for your answer, Minister, but we are on the fourth economic strategy—all of which have sadly failed to improve the Welsh economy, and I say that and I look at your education Minister who has previously said that she was concerned that being the bottom of every public service table is now just becoming a habit. When it comes to economic productivity, we are at the bottom, sadly, of the league table, and when it comes to weekly earnings, we're at the bottom of the league table again. And when it comes to regional inequality, Anglesey languishes way behind Cardiff, and your Deputy Minister himself says the truth is we don't really know what we're doing on the economy.

What I would suggest we need is a fresh and ambitious Welsh Government that is proud of publicly reporting on its progress on delivering the new economic direction that our country needs, rather than hiding behind public scrutiny. We need a Government that supports small business, for example, by scrapping business rates for small businesses, and a Government that will roll out ultrafast broadband for every business, and has the correct rail and road infrastructure to help businesses to grow.

So, would you agree with me that we need a Welsh Government that has the same ambition and positive vision for the Welsh economy as the new UK Government has and to take advantages of the opportunities of Brexit and selling Wales to the world and unleash Wales's potential? Are we—when are we going to have, Minister, I would ask, the kind of business support that the Government itself can be proud of and demonstrate overall value for money of its own financial support for businesses?