6. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of economic investment in Islwyn since 2016? OAQ54939

We continue to support a number of businesses in the Islwyn constituency, backed by the launch of our economic action plan. We continue to assist Welsh businesses to start, grow and thrive through Business Wales and the Development Bank of Wales alongside the establishment of a dedicated regional office.

Minister, thanks to the interventions of the Welsh Government between 2011 and 2016, the number of people in employment in my constituency of Islwyn has increased by 10.9 per cent, and that is above the Welsh increase of 10.6 per cent. Additionally to this, the number of people unemployed in Islwyn over that time has fallen by more than a half, again exceeding the reduction seen in both Wales and the United Kingdom. Would the Minister agree with me that, in order to build on this important economic performance, high-quality transport infrastructure investment is vital to continue attracting strong inward investment and to supporting more people into good quality high-skilled jobs, such as at Ebbw Vale and in neighbouring communities? Would he therefore give an outline of planned metro investments on the Rhymney line, which also serves Islwyn constituents, over the next five years?

Well, can I thank the Member for her question? The Member is absolutely right—the performance of the local economy in Islwyn is something to be celebrated. A Member earlier mentioned weekly earnings as a concern in Wales. Well, I'm pleased to say that, as a result of our hard work, average gross full-time weekly earnings in Islwyn stand at around about £598. That's significantly above the average for Wales and also the UK average. It's something that the Member, I'm sure, is very pleased about. But the Member makes an important point that in order to drive sustained economic growth that applies fairly to all communities we have to invest in connective infrastructure, and that why we're investing £738 million to upgrade the railway lines to Aberdare, Coryton, Merthyr Tydfil, Treherbert and, of course, Rhymney. We're investing £800 million in new rolling stock by 2023, and we're electrifying something in the order of 170 km of track. We're upgrading all of our stations and signalling, and building at least five new stations for the metro.