Questions now from the party spokespeople. Conservative spokesperson, Russell George.

Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, do you believe that the Welsh Government's support for business represents value for money?

Absolutely, and I'm sure that the Member would welcome the fact that, as a consequence of the hard work by businesses and organisations and, of course, the Welsh Government, we have now achieved the lowest ever rate of unemployment in Wales, the lowest level since records began, just 3 per cent lower than the UK average of 3.8 per cent. Moreover, I'm sure the Member will welcome the fact that gross value added and GVA per head in Wales is growing faster than at the UK level and that we have a higher business birthrate in Wales than the UK.

Thank you for your answer, Minister. My question was specifically about businesses having good value for money when it comes to Welsh Government support. Following the work looking at the Welsh Government's financial support for business, the Public Accounts Committee, of course, questioned the Welsh Government's support for business and has said that it is concerning and unacceptable that the Welsh Government has failed to fulfil its own commitment to report publicly on its progress in delivering its previous economic strategy. The committee was, I think, fairly scathing in saying that the failure has hindered accountability and effective scrutiny by this Senedd. So, I do wonder if the failure is because your Government is embarrassed by its record on the delivery of the economy over the last 20 years. And for the sake of accountability and transparency, can you outline what specific steps that you will be taking in the future to report on the outputs achieved each year by the Welsh Government's business support activities?

Can I just deal with the final point first, Llywydd? We have administered the help of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to examine key performance indicators and to monitor outputs in terms of economic development in Wales. But in terms of looking at the record on employment and the economy over the last 20 years, in addition to us now having the lowest level of unemployment since records began, we also have at or near to record numbers of people in work; inactivity rates have been coming down consistently over the last few years. We now have, in this Assembly term alone, 75,000 apprenticeship opportunities established and taken by ambitious people in Wales. In contrast to that, across the border in England, apprenticeship figures have fallen off a cliff, because they ripped up an established method of providing apprenticeship support and introduced a bizarre mechanism of taxing businesses for employing people.

I'm confident that as a consequence of our interventions, including those by Business Wales, we have been able to establish a strong and resilient business community in Wales that is employing people at record numbers and driving up GVA and productivity rates at a higher and faster rate than the UK.

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?

What the people want is access to high-quality jobs. That's precisely what our economic strategy has and is delivering. We're creating jobs at record numbers, jobs of a higher quality, jobs that people can access. We've got a skills training system that is the envy of the rest of the United Kingdom, and you can take, as I've just mentioned, the apprenticeship completion rates, for example, which remain higher than the English average—far higher than the English average. We have also access to a development bank that, again, is the envy of the rest of the UK. Governments in Scotland and beyond are looking at the Development Bank of Wales, examining how they can replicate the services that are offered here in our country.

I would welcome any expression of optimism in a bright future, but you have to back it up with cash, you have to back it up with investment. And the fact of the matter is that over the past 10 years, there's been a £1 billion raid on rail infrastructure in Wales. Now, as we approach the budget in March, I pledge this, Llywydd: I will work hand in hand with the UK Government in delivering better rail infrastructure in Wales if they do what they are meant to do, which is to invest in it properly. The underinvestment in Wales's rail infrastructure must end, and it can do so in the budget in March.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Helen Mary Jones.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. It's my pleasure to address this Chamber for the first time in my new role as the shadow Minister for the economy, tackling poverty and transport.

I was interested to hear the Minister say in his response to Russell George that he feels that our economy is doing well and we have to accept that, yes, we do have a low rate of unemployment. But I wonder if the Minister would accept that that reflects underemployment—many people doing part-time jobs. It reflects a situation where many families are working very hard for very low wages, and while they may be employed, they are hardly living well when we have a third of our children in poverty. I think one of the things that I very much hope in this role is that we will avoid any complacency from the Welsh Government, because while things may be better than they might have been without some Welsh Government interventions, as I say, we still have a third of our children living in poverty, and the majority of those children living in poverty have working parents, sometimes two working parents.

I want to turn to a specific major recent Welsh Government investment. Given the scale of the Welsh Government investment and stake in Aston Martin, can I ask the Minister what assessment he has made of the recent situation, the developing situation, with regard to the company's position?

Yes. Can I first of all welcome Helen Mary Jones to the role? I believe you are the third Plaid Cymru spokesperson to take this particular role during my time as economy Minister, and I hope it's third time lucky, that you'll see it out in the next election, and that we have many opportunities to debate the economy and transport system in our country.

I would agree that in terms of employment figures, they often mask other challenges, and we still do have a challenge in terms of underemployment and in terms of presenteeism, and that's precisely why this Government is determined to press forward with the fair work agenda.

In terms of Aston Martin, Llywydd, this is an investment that the Welsh Government is very proud of, and I would really wish to see the Member welcome the investment that the Government has made in Aston Martin and the investment that the company is making in Wales, because it will contribute, over the next 30 years, £0.5 billion to the Welsh economy. It will lead to the employment of 1,000 people in south Wales, and many, many more opportunities in the supply chain.

Now, of course, there's been much speculation recently regarding the financial position of Aston Martin, not least because there was speculation that a major stake could be taken in the company. We are constantly assured that the Bro Tathan site is the future of Aston Martin, that it is its main concern right now and will be in the years to come, as it develops the south Wales facility as the home of electrification in Wales.

We also know, Llywydd, that the new model, the DBX, has already secured orders of almost 2,000 units. That's a phenomenal success for a luxury brand so soon after announcing the development of a sport utility vehicle of this type and so soon after unveiling it. The future of the company is very bright indeed. It will be unveiling a new car every year for the next seven years, driving not just the number of units that it produces, but also its profitability.

I'm grateful to the Minister, both for his kind words with regard to my new portfolio and with regard to what he's told us about the position with Aston Martin. But I would submit that there are still some questions for which we need answers and that there are some concerns. I mean, the fact is that Aston Martin sales have fallen overall by 16 per cent from July 2019 to September 2019. The Welsh Government has pledged £18.8 million, which is a very substantial chunk of investment, and, of course, in return, as the Minister has said, Aston Martin has said that they will make the St Athan plant its home for electrification. But we're now seeing reports that the company will be scrapping the flagship electric car, and we need to know whether that is the case because we want, I'm sure, the Welsh Government investment to be supporting the green economy.

I just specifically want to ask the Minister, in the light of the 30-year guarantee given by the Welsh Government that will see Welsh taxpayers' money covering the rent for Aston Martin if they decide to leave the St Athan plant—and I very much hope that the Minister is right and that that will never happen, but if they were to do so—I think we need more transparency in terms of the arrangements and the commitments to Aston Martin, particularly with regard to the 30-year guarantee. What would the cost be to the public purse if Aston Martin did have to withdraw?

It's a superfluous question, because the future of Aston Martin is incredibly bright. I still haven't heard any Plaid Cymru spokesperson welcome the fact that we have Aston Martin in Wales. This was a huge success story for the Welsh Government. It was a historic moment when we were able to announce the fact that Aston Martin were coming to Wales, because it's the first time in over 50 years that cars are actually being produced in our country. Yes, sales were down, but operating costs and higher selling costs also contributed to the profit falling. However, we know from the sales figures of the DBX that the company is turning its fortunes around. And as it announces and then unveils more models, it will further increase the number of sales that it achieves.

Well, I'm slightly disappointed, Llywydd, that the Minister didn't hear what I said, because I said that I very much hope that this would be successful, but I think there are concerns. The Minister has to acknowledge that there are concerns. Aston Martin is saddled with a $1 billion debt, it finished last year with just £138 million in cash, and that doesn't sound to me like a company that we can be 100 per cent sure is secure.

Now, I would put it to the Minister that this type of investment really reflects a kind of old-fashioned approach to where we need to spend our economic development money. Flagship companies may have their place, but surely we should be putting this level of investment—as the Deputy Minister has said in the past, the old-fashioned approach of bringing big international companies in doesn't work terribly well, and I would agree that we need to be focusing our investment into growing middle-sized companies, into looking at the contribution of the foundation economy and the green economy.

So, if the Minister is so confident that the future of Aston Martin is secure—and I hope he's right, let me make that absolutely clear, and so does everybody else on these benches—I must press the Minister to publish his correspondence with Aston Martin prior to setting up the deal. I completely understand that there may be ongoing conversations that are commercially confidential, but once the deal has been sealed, these things ought to be in the public domain so that we can all scrutinise this level of investment and be sure that it is as secure as the Minister would have us believe, which I very much hope it is.

Look, we have heard it now. Plaid Cymru would not have supported an investment in Aston Martin Lagonda. We've heard it here. It's very, very clear: Plaid Cymru would not have invested in 1,000 jobs in a flagship company for the Welsh economy. I think it's important now that the people of Wales recognise that that is Plaid Cymru's position. You would have spent the money elsewhere.

We have already trebled the value of the foundational economy fund, a fund that is designed to drive innovation in the foundational economy, and it does sound to me that rather than welcome—which I still haven't heard—Aston Martin to Wales, there is a wish that it will fail. Now, the fact of the matter is that the Aston Martin Lagonda brand has been with us for decades upon decades. It's regarded globally as one of the highest quality automotive brands in existence, and far from—[Interruption.] It is good news. It is good news, and Members around this Chamber should start welcoming the fact that we have record employment figures in this country, that we have record low unemployment figures in this country, that the productivity rate of this country is rising faster than the UK, and people should stop talking down Wales.

Brexit Party spokesperson, David Rowlands.

Diolch, Llywydd. Well, can I start by saying that Brexit still congratulates you on you bringing such an iconic mark to Wales and you will have our continued support in your operations with that company?

Would the Minister consider supporting the use of co-operatives to rejuvenate our town centres and high streets?

Yes, very much so, and this is something that I know the Deputy Minister is looking at very keenly, as well as my Deputy Minister, with specific regard to growing the foundational economy—those areas of, if you like, mundane economic activity that contribute so much to employment in Wales.

I thank you for that response, Minister. The reason I posed this question is to acknowledge co-operatives as a dynamic, thriving sector of the Welsh economy. Not only are there many individual co-operatives doing well, the sector as a whole is outperforming other types of businesses. Eight of Wales's co-operatives are in the top 100, by turnover, of UK co-operatives. These eight alone have a turnover of more than £165 million.

With the decline of our high streets and town centres, is it not now time to look at promoting co-operatives where there are gaps in a town's retail make-up? The Brexit Party believes the Welsh Government should give financial and administrative support for such initiatives, perhaps even encouraging the Development Bank of Wales and Business Wales to put in place specific departments to deal with co-operative set-ups. There could also be the possibility of aligning co-operatives with credit union organisations.

My Deputy Minister has just reminded me that we are funding the social entrepreneurs academy. We are also funding Business Wales, of course, to take care of the needs of social businesses in Wales. And we also support the Wales Co-operative Centre, where magnificent work is done in supporting co-operatives across the country. My view of co-operatives is that they are absolutely vital in driving inclusive growth—fair growth—across all communities in Wales, as well as contributing to that important agenda that I've already mentioned, which is fair work.