Welsh Government Spend

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:27 pm on 25 February 2020.

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Photo of Mr Neil Hamilton Mr Neil Hamilton UKIP 2:27, 25 February 2020

I thank the First Minister for that reply. Does he agree with me that one of the many failures of devolution is that, over the last 20 years, Wales has actually dropped to the bottom of the income table of the home nations and the regions of England, and one of the biggest failures of Labour and Plaid Cymru Governments in the last 20 years has been the failure to attract higher paid employment to Wales? The Government has been strong on road maps and strategies, but actually very poor on delivery. We've had enterprise zones that have spent about £250 million in the last decade, at a cost of about £20,000 per job, but that has only scratched the surface. In the case of the area around Ebbw Vale, the Government turned away the chance of £450 million-worth of private investment for the Circuit of Wales to replace it with £100 million promised of taxpayers' money in 2018, and, as yet, no foundations have been laid for the buildings that were promised, and, of course, no jobs have been created. In the meantime, the Heads of the Valleys road—the Gilwern to Brynmawr section—is £100 million over budget, and much delayed. What we see here is a Government that just hasn't got a grip on the major economic problems of Wales. Is it any wonder, therefore, that more and more people are thinking that this place is pointless and that the Assembly should be scrapped?