The following amendments have been selected: amendment 1 in the name of Rebecca Evans, amendments 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the name of Darren Millar, and amendment 6 in the name of Neil McEvoy. If amendment 1 is agreed amendments 2, 3, 4 and 5 will be deselected.

And that brings us to our next item, which is the Plaid Cymru debate on the economy and COVID-19, and I call on Helen Mary Jones to move the motion. Helen Mary Jones.

Motion NDM7331 Siân Gwenllian

To propose that the Senedd:

Calls on the Welsh Government to: 

a) establish an employment guarantee scheme for young people suffering unemployment as a result of Covid-19;

b) establish a job reskilling and retraining scheme designed to support those needing to find alternative employment following the crisis; 

c) convene a citizen's assembly to discuss how Wales should 'Build Back Better' following the experience of the crisis; and

d) establish a multi-billion 'All Wales Renewal Fund' to finance the rebuilding of our country.

Motion moved.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd, and I'm very pleased and privileged to be able to move the motion tabled in the name of Siân Gwenllian, and commend it to the Senedd.

It has become almost a cliché to talk about the fact that we are living in unprecedented times, and indeed we are. The comparison is sometimes made with world war two, but when our parents and grandparents were fighting that war they could see their enemy, they knew who it was, they knew what the fighting was about, and they could be with one another. We can't do that, of course.

We've known from the beginning that COVID-19 posed a grave risk to lives, but also to livelihoods. And as the immediate risk to health recedes somewhat, though we have much to do and a long way to go, the focus is increasingly now around people's concerns about our economy and about our livelihoods. We've also heard much talk about building back better, but there's less clarity about what that means. We know that for many in Wales and across the world, indeed, our pre-COVID economy was not delivering. And these fellow citizens, of course, are often those who have been the worst impacted by the crisis: people from black and ethnic minority communities; women; lone parents and disabled people. One third of our children in Wales before the crisis were living in poverty, and we must not go back to that normal. This is an opportunity to reset; to build an economy that works for everyone; that creates wealth to pay for the world-class public services our nation needs; that accelerates our road to decarbonisation, and leaves a better world for future generations. We believe that we need a broad debate about how that will be achieved, and my colleague Delyth Jewell will say more about the need for a citizens assembly to drive that work forward and to help us chart the way ahead. And in that context, we must reject the Conservative amendment 4. Although we welcome the opportunity for more cross-party working, and indeed the Welsh Government has been prepared to do that, we need to go further than that. The answers to our crisis are not all in this Chamber held by one party or more.

Now, in parallel to that longer term debate, we will need an immediate response, and the bulk of the motion before us today suggests a way forward. We're calling for an employment guarantee scheme for all young people. We know how hard they've already been hit in this crisis in terms of job losses, and we also know that if young people are out of work for more than six months at this stage of their life, it's likely to have a long-term impact on their careers. Many never catch up and are even poorer as pensioners as a result of missing out on work at this crucial time. Of course, there are existing Welsh Government schemes on which we can build, but we need to be much more ambitious, and we need a comprehensive plan, and we need it quickly. Instead of leaving our young people to rot on the dole, let's use their energy, their passion and their commitment to support things needed for the immediate recovery. For example, we could send graduates into our schools to support teachers to help our children catch up with the learning that they've lost. We could enable our young people to support our care sector, which will be under severe pressure for a long while to come, and we could pay them properly to do so. And we could create an army of skilled young people to retrofit our homes, beginning with social housing, with the insulation and with microrenewables, tackling climate change and poverty at the same time. And we will need a massive national programme to enable workers to train and reskill.

We heard evidence on the economy committee a few days ago that our economy will never be the same. Some jobs will never return, and some jobs will not return in the same way. We can use this as a positive opportunity to refocus. We could look at the businesses that we have that can be reskilled and repurposed. If our aerospace industry doesn't recover quickly enough, could we use some of those skills and some of those technologies to build renewable energy projects, for example?

And of course, there are Welsh Government programmes that we can build on. But, we will again need to be more ambitious, and we will need wider and more radical action. Perhaps, for example, we could give individual citizens a cash sum of £5,000 and enable them to choose, with that funding, how they choose to reskill themselves for a new economy that it's impossible to chart at the moment.

Of course, none of this is entirely new, and it accords with a lot of what others are saying. The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has been saying the same things. We saw the new body Restart Wales putting forward some similar proposals yesterday. And, of course, the Trades Union Congress at the UK level and in Scotland and here in Wales is saying similar things.

Now, Llywydd, this of course will have to be paid for. As we say in Welsh, 'Diwedd y gân yw'r geiniog'. At the end of every song, there's the penny to pay. There are three areas that I want to briefly touch on here. The first is to return to the question of Barnett, and I was able to touch on this in questions to the economy Minister earlier. Research from the Centre for Towns shows that, of the 20 worst affected communities in England and Wales, 10 of those communities are going to be in Wales. I would suggest to this virtual Chamber that that doesn't say very much for the UK-wide solidarity that we often our First Minister speak about. It doesn't appear to have served us terribly well so far, and we can tell that to my constituents in Llanelli and people across south and north-east Wales.

But, be that as it may, we know that the formula was never fair. We know that it's never served us well. And in terms of bringing resources from the UK Government into our response to this crisis, it is imperative that the formula by which those resources come is now based on need and not on historical numbers and not on a simple formula. We really need to make that case again, and in this context—those  20 towns, with 10 of the worst affected in Wales, and much other evidence that shows how difficult it will be for our economy to recover or, as I would argue, to transform—those resources will be needed.

But I'm not sanguine, Llywydd. We have asked this of Governments of the UK of many colours over many years, and we've always got the same answer. So, what are the other options? Well, in the paper that we've produced to support this debate, we are advocating strongly once again the need for borrowing, and I know that this is something that the Welsh Government supports. It has never been cheaper to borrow to invest. All economists would tell us that this is going to be the case for many years to come.

So, we make the case for a £20 billion bond to be repaid over 30 years, and the repayment of that is affordable. I won't detain the Senedd this afternoon, but the paper is published—people can look at the evidence there. It is affordable, and that is the scale of investment that we will need because the scale of the challenge that we face is so enormous. I might ask, perhaps, Conservative colleagues in this Chamber to use what influence they may have with the UK Government to allow Welsh Government to borrow on this scale. It is essential. We recovered from the last crisis on this scale after the second world war by borrowing and investing.

Now, there's another question to be asked, and that is: is it time to have a grown-up conversation about tax? It is certainly true to say that we cannot hope to have Scandinavian-style public services and a United States of America-style taxation system. I'm not necessarily talking here about income tax, for example. We might look at wealth taxes. We might look at property taxes. That, of course, is for the longer term. But I do believe, Llywydd, that we have, through this crisis, overcome the decades-old Thatcherite idea that public spending is a bad thing. You will not find, I think, many people across the UK who are not glad for the scale of investment that has gone into protecting our economy and our public services, and now perhaps is the time to have those discussions. 

I will refer briefly now, if I may, Llywydd, to the amendments. We can't accept the Government amendment. There is a slight sense in it of, 'This is fine, we've got it, it's okay.' Well, they can't have. Nobody has. We need more ideas. We need to think differently. We welcome much, of course, of what is set out in the Government amendment. We welcome the work that the Counsel General is doing. I'm not entirely sure why he's seeking the advice of Gordon Brown, who, for the best part of a decade as Chancellor and then as Prime Minister, refused to reform the Barnett formula, which would have been very helpful to us. But be that as it may, this isn't a time for party political points. We welcome the consultation through the social partnership, but that isn't enough in itself, which again is why we're advocating for a citizen's assembly, and I'm a bit disappointed the Government hasn't seen fit. We need more urgency and ambition.

Very briefly, to the Conservative amendments, we can't accept amendment 2. While apprenticeships will be important, they will not be sufficient. We are happy to accept amendment 3 as a useful addition, and I've explained our position, of course, about amendment 4. Amendment 5, to us, lacks ambition and scope. Now, with regard to amendment 6, we are able to support some elements of what the Member is suggesting, but I think it would be too optimistic to think, for example, that the food and drink industry alone will be able to lead us out of this mess. So, we will abstain on that amendment.

To draw my remarks to a close, Llywydd, this is a time to work together. This is a time for ambition. This is an opportunity, as I've heard the Minister say, to build, I think, not just a fairer, greener economy but a fair, green economy, and for that to happen we need to be taking action now while we look for the longer way ahead. I commend our motion with the one amendment to the Senedd.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Ann Jones) took the Chair.

Thank you. I have selected the six amendments to this motion. If amendment 1 is agreed, amendments 2, 3, 4 and 5 will be deselected. Can I call on the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales to move formally amendment 1, tabled in the name of Rebecca Evans?

Amendment 1—Rebecca Evans

Delete all and replace with:

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes the package of employability support currently available through the Welsh Government including the highly regarded Jobs Growth Wales scheme which has supported more than 19,000 young people into good quality work and ReAct which for more than a decade has helped individuals retrain and find new employment.

2. Notes the Welsh Government's £500m Economic Resilience Fund which is currently helping thousands of small and medium sized businesses in Wales stay afloat and keep individuals in employment and which will in future support recovery.

3. Notes the expert work being coordinated by the Counsel General across Welsh Government on recovery planning including work by the Minister for Economy to identify further skills interventions which can support effective retraining in the coming months and the recovery phase.

4. Welcomes the constructive discussions the Minister for Economy has had with all parties about how we emerge from Coronavirus with the best possible prospects for young people.

5. Recognises the need to work in social partnership with trade unions and business to Build Back Better for the future.

6. Recognises that the Welsh Government has dedicated close to £2.5bn to its Covid-19 response since March 2020, further notes the scale of the economic crisis facing the whole of the United Kingdom and calls on the UK Government to develop a significant economic stimulus package that can support the Welsh Government’s work towards a green and just recovery.

Amendment 1 moved.

Formally.

Thank you. I now call on Mohammad Asghar to move amendments 2, 3, 4 and 5, tabled in the name of Darren Millar. Mohammad.

Amendment 2—Darren Millar

In sub-point (a), delete 'employment' and replace with 'apprenticeship'.

Amendment 3—Darren Millar

Insert at end of sub-point (b):

'and introduce skills retention and development programmes as soon as practical in the most at risk sectors to ensure no loss of capability and the opportunity to upskill the local workforce during this period of reduced activity.'

Amendment 4—Darren Millar

In sub-point (c), delete 'citizen’s assembly' and replace with 'cross party taskforce'.

Amendment 5—Darren Millar

Delete sub-point (d) and replace with:

'establish a Covid Community Recovery Fund to support those towns and communities whose economies are hardest hit by the pandemic.'

Amendments 2, 3, 4 and 5 moved.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the amendments tabled in the name of my colleague Darren Millar. 

Having a skilled workforce in Wales is key for economic recovery, particularly since Wales already has a significant skills gap. Skills shortages cost Welsh businesses some £350 million in 2018 according to an Open University report. As well as the economic cost, many people in Wales are forced to cope with the personal cost of being stuck in low-skilled traps involving a depressing cycle of low skills, low wages and low productivity. 

Apprenticeships and skills provision has been seriously affected by the coronavirus outbreak in our part of the world. Although apprenticeships working in health and social care have been busy on the front line responding to the pandemic, large areas of the economy have been mothballed and many people are missing work. Because of the stay-at-home order, learning has moved online. As well as having an impact on apprentices, this has also had an effect on training providers and their subcontractors. 

We all recognise the impact of coronavirus on the Welsh economy and its workforce has the potential to be devastating. Wales has a higher proportion of workers employed in industries most affected by lockdown measures compared to England and Northern Ireland. The Learning and Work Institute Cymru forecasts that if just one in four of these workers lost their job it would result in unemployment in Wales increasing to a higher level than was seen during the last recession. Young people, women and those with the lowest qualification levels are most likely to face losing their jobs.

Presiding Officer, the Bevan Foundation found that rural Wales and the south Wales Valleys are experiencing a much higher proportion of business closure than the United Kingdom as a whole. Helen Mary earlier mentioned that 10 of the worst parts of the United Kingdom economically are in south Wales, and four of them are in my south-east Valleys. The impact of coronavirus on Wales's communities has been exacerbated by existing structure inequalities. A recent report from the Centre For Towns highlights that the fact that Valleys communities and seaside towns such as Ebbw Vale, Maesteg and Rhyl are among the most vulnerable to an economic downturn caused by the virus.

The Welsh Government supplementary budget only concentrates on the short-term economic implications of the pandemic rather than considering Wales's long-term economic recovery. Money is being reallocated from the apprenticeships, work-based learning and other projects, which will have long-term detrimental effects. This will result in few apprenticeships being provided and a reduction in the skilled workforce at a time when we'll need more. Our amendments 2 and 3 recognise the importance of building up the Welsh skill base to help empower people to improve their lives by enabling them to access new employment opportunities to meet the needs of an ever-changing economy around the globe. Apprenticeships will be vital and fundamental to Welsh economic recovery. Skills retention and development programmes will help to increase the resilience of the most vulnerable sectors of the economy whilst providing new opportunities for people to learn and retain.

Amendment 5 calls for long-term COVID recovery funds to be established to support those towns and communities whose economies have been hit hardest by the pandemic. Coastal communities have been disproportionately affected by the shutdown, with the closures of the tourism and the accommodation industries. It is important that these communities get fair, effective, and targeted support to get them through this crisis.

Deputy Presiding Officer, if we take the action proposed today, I believe we can ensure not only that the Welsh economy recovers faster, but that it will emerge stronger and more dynamic than before. We can lay the foundations of a modern dynamic economy with a highly skilled workforce that not only benefits this generation but will benefit our future generations too. Thank you.

Thank you. I now call on Neil McEvoy to move amendment 6, tabled in his name. Neil.

Amendment 6—Neil McEvoy

Add as new point at end of motion:

In order to rebuild Wales economically as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) ensure that the Covid-19 business rate relief scheme supports businesses occupying premises and not landlords who own the premises;

b) provide support for those in the hospitality industry being charged full rent by pub companies during the crisis;

c) legislate to enable Welsh companies to successfully bid for Welsh public sector contracts; and

d) orientate its economic policy toward a food and drink export-led recovery by creating a fully fledged whisky industry.

Amendment 6 moved.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I support the principle of the motion. So, I'll come to my amendment. First of all, I think it's probably better to maybe listen to what I've got to say before saying that you're not going to support my amendment.

The idea of amendment 6(d), looking at food and drink and creating a fully fledged whisky industry, is totally doable and it can be done really, really cheaply. Wales has got to be one of the only Celtic countries without a whisky industry, and if you're a whisky enthusiast like me, then that's really disappointing. But what is really interesting is that the market worldwide is so, so lucrative. So, within five years of, let's say 20 distilleries being established, you could have a £100 million export industry, which, in year 10, year 15, year 20, the growth would be huge.

I think in terms of quality of food, as well, we should be really looking at high-end products—make Welsh products really expensive in the world because people will pay for perceived quality.

In terms of amendment 6(c), there will be opportunities with Brexit, and what we need to look at with the Welsh public sector contracts, the public money we spend, these contracts must go to Welsh companies. So, for every—. If we reorientated a very large percentage of public sector contracts to Welsh companies, then we could be creating in the region of 80,000 jobs, which would be extremely significant. And I think if a Welsh company, in future, doesn't get a contract off the Government, there has to be a really good reason why. We won't be any longer bound by EU regulations, so that is completely doable.

We look at the hospitality industry, I'm really concerned that lots of people involved in it—pubs, for example—are still paying for rent. It's absolutely outrageous that they're getting rinsed by the pub companies at the moment. Whether or not this motion goes through, or whether the amendment actually goes through—whether it does or not—I really would like the Government to step up to the plate and support the Welsh hospitality industry by, I think, the furlough initiative going on until 2021. We've really got to try and influence those companies to stop making it so difficult for Welsh pubs to survive.

Amendment 6(a), really, is—. We've got to stop businesses being treated badly by landlords. It's happening far too often. There's a case in Cardiff West where a dance studio catering for 120 children—120 kids—with an inspirational dance teacher. The money, by the landlord, has still not been passed on. It's just really, really poor behaviour, and I really feel for Vickie—she runs Rubylicious—because she's told people what is happening, she's not received the money. She's never alleged criminality, she's never alleged fraud, she simply alleged bad behaviour, and now she finds herself in a position where she could be sued. She's received a really nasty, aggressive solicitor's letter from an employee of the First Minister, no less. So, I'd like to use this opportunity to encourage, in this context, the MS for Cardiff West to maybe have a word with their staff member and tell him to stop treating the inspirational teacher of that dance school in such a bullying, aggressive way. I think he's bringing his employer into disrepute, almost. It's certainly embarrassing him, and that's a code of conduct issue, so I'd ask the MS for Cardiff West to look at that. To go back to the substantive point here, it's not right that the money being aimed at businesses is being taken by landlords.

So, what you have there is just a small package, some ideas. It looks at raising money for the whisky industry. We could also have a stock exchange in Cardiff, for example. We need to start coming forward with these ideas. It's going to be a big challenge to get over this crisis, and we've got to have some concrete ideas.

In terms of the expression of the amendments—

Can you draw your conclusions to a close, please?

I will. Thank you. In terms of the amendment, it clearly wouldn't be the only thing, but it's an easy way, so we should take it. Diolch yn fawr.

Thank you. Mike Hedges.

Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. Thank you very much for calling me in to take part in this debate. I'm going to look at the Welsh economy. It can be broken down into five parts: the essential economy, the bounce-back economy, the areas that can flourish with support, areas that require consumer confidence, and areas that will be very difficult to recover in the very short term.

We know the essential economy; it's been running for the last three months. We know it did. Don't confuse it with the foundation economy; they're not the same things. The essential economy is things like health, social care, the utilities, local authority services, including environmental health and refuse collection, Government services, policing, fire, defence, essential maintenance, undertakers, ICT, food and drink, including their production, sale and transportation, life sciences, the media, postal services, financial insurance and certain manufacturing. They are the essential economy—we've had them going for the last three months, because they are essential.

We've got economic sectors such as public transport still working, but at vastly reduced capacity. We've seen the voluntary and third sector provide much needed services, showing that many are essential, not just nice add-ons.

Then we have the bounce-back economy. These are areas of the economy that will return to the previous levels of demand after an initial rush. These include areas such as the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, hairdressers, beauty salons, nail bars, tourists, gyms, tv series, museums, art galleries, construction, car maintenance and servicing, and local coffee shops and takeaway shops. People have been waiting months for them to be open and, in the first few weeks of opening, there'll be lengthy queues and long delays until we return to the new normal. We're already seeing the queues forming outside well-known takeaway outlets. This will be the V-shaped recovery talked about by economists and they'll all make us all feel better. Within this group are professions such as vets and dentists, and also, I would have said, opticians, but we now know that the Westminster Government advice seems to be: if you've got a problem with your eyes, go for a drive to test them.

The third key sector is one we really do need to support, and this includes universities, theatres, other performing arts venues, manufacturing, professional sport and professional services. These are key parts of the local economy, and require support to recover. These are the areas that, post lockdown, we need the Governments at Westminster and Cardiff to concentrate on, either using transaction capital to provide interest-free loans or providing an income guarantee. This will also include those self-employed people, who will need to rebuild their businesses, having been in lockdown since March. These are key sectors in the economy. These are potential growth sectors in the economy and in the short term, they're going to need support.

Fourthly, we have—[Inaudible.]—that will require consumer confidence, both financial and in terms of personal safety. These are the pubs, the restaurants and local tourist attractions, hotels and clubs. These will require confidence that they're safe, and people having surplus income to be able to afford these luxury items. Confidence that you're safe to go in there will be very, very important, probably far more important than the date on which somebody decides they can open, if people don't want to go and risk their lives by having a drink. 

The others are areas dependent on consumer belief in their economic well-being, when they're buying new houses, new cars or investing in house extensions and substantial garden work. These require confidence in the economy and people to be prepared to take on medium and long-term debt. You've got to be confident in having a medium to long-term income before you're prepared to take on medium to long-term debt.

Fifthly are the sectors where recovery will be difficult. Will people and companies have changed how they work? We have seen many people working from home, with productivity no worse, and sometimes better, than when they're working in offices. Will this continue? Because if it does, then roads will be quieter, as will public transport, city centre coffee and sandwich bars, office furniture demand, office space, plus car park income. My belief is that it'll be somewhere in between. Not everybody will go back to work in the office as they did before. Some of it will take place, but some will be working at home, and that will have a huge effect on the economy.

Have people changed their retail habits permanently, with more items are being bought online? If they have, what is the future for the high street? People have got into click and collect and buying online now over the last three months or so. This is the new normal.

Then, there is foreign travel, which will affect not just travel agents but aircraft manufacturers, airports and support services. This area needs support in both the short and medium term from Government to ensure that it can once again thrive and prosper. While none of us can see into the future, the new normal will be very different from the pre-pandemic normal. I would have greater respect for the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru if they could actually produce their own budgets rather than a spending list. I challenged them on the budget, and they didn't. In fact, I was the only one to produce a suggestion for how the budget could be changed. I wanted to put more money into education and less money into the economy.

I support the idea of a citizens' assembly, but we need to discuss its size, its make-up, and how and when it meets. It cannot be a new name for the active, often politically interested citizens who are already engaged.

Can you bring your remarks to a conclusion, please, Mike?

Any decisions that we make now, we must make sure that there are opportunities for everyone to have their voice heard, to take part and to have a meaningful say. Thank you, Deputy Llywydd.

I think however we look at it, the experience we're going through at the moment is a turning point in our history. There will be lives that will never be the same again, families who are grieving, people facing long-term health challenges, and the change has touched upon everything—the way that services are delivered, the way that Government works, even. Of course, the economic impact is immense, and much of that impact is entirely negative—companies going bust, individuals losing their jobs and families losing income. But somehow, out of all of this, we do have to search for those elements that could become positives from this deep rut that we have found ourselves in. We know what some of them are. We've heard reference to some of them, the working at home revolution, doctors holding remote surgeries, the realisation that you don't have to jump into the car quite so often, and the enthusiasm that's created for being greener. But there is an opportunity here to look at our whole economic future, and I'm not just talking about rebuilding and recreating what we had; I am talking about coming back stronger and better, and what Plaid Cymru has today is a plan to establish and start that work.

The two first clauses mention practical steps to assist some of those who have been hardest hit, including young people—Helen Mary Jones has already mentioned those. The third, and we'll hear Delyth Jewell discussing this, is a reference to our belief that the establishment of a citizens' assembly would enable the people of Wales to contribute meaningfully to this work that we're facing. 

I want to focus on the last clause and the establishment of an all-Wales renewal fund worth billions of pounds. Helen has mentioned many elements of what we'd like to do with it, but just bear in mind that this would just be the beginning of the long-term investment that we need. And those among you who have been listening will know that Plaid Cymru have been asking for many years for investment in the future of our country, and the austerity policies of the UK Government went entirely contrary to what was needed. We needed investment; we still need investment more than anything, following this pandemic. We need to invest in our infrastructure, in healthy and green homes, in public transport, digital connectivity, innovative energy projects, in higher education and research, and social infrastructure, too. We're talking about a programme to transform our nation that will create returns—financial returns to pay off these debts and also social returns that we and our children, and their children, could benefit from.

This is the time to do this. We can borrow at very low rates, we could look at alternative ways of funding projects—bonds and so on. But we would need new fiscal powers and new flexibilities in order to allow this to happen: to raise the current borrowing cap, for example, from the current £1 billion to, I would say, around £5 billion, allowing the front-loading of that so that we can commence the work in earnest. I think the Minister for Finance would agree that we need other flexibilities in terms of the ability to draw down reserves and, of course, the Barnett formula needs to be scrapped and funding should happen on the basis of need. 

I will conclude my comments by saying this: we must also, as we heard from Helen, have a mature debate as to how we pay for these investments and for the kinds of public services that we want to see. From reviewing priorities—and Mike Hedges has mentioned some of his own priorities—I'm very confident that we could, within current budgets, repay borrowing, as we've heard, because the cost of borrowing is so very low at the moment. We've recalled during this period just how valuable services such as health and care are, but whilst we want the best possible care services, for too long we've wanted to pay less and less for those services, and we can't square that circle forever.

I attended a virtual conference at the beginning of this pandemic—it feels like a lifetime ago now, but it was a conference organised by the Institute of Welsh Affairs: 'Rethinking Wales'. And that's exactly what we need to do. We need to rethink how we do things and what we're trying to deliver, and, yes, how we pay for those things. I get the feeling that very many of us, and many of us in this Senedd, hopefully, do want to press the reboot button, as Plaid Cymru's paper says, or 'reset', as a new non-party group that has been launched this week has said. 

Can you bring your comments to a conclusion, please?

With these few words.

The time has come to be innovative and ambitious and to set new horizons for our nation. 

I do hope that the Minister has actually been able to check the facts—

No, no; sorry. Will you speak to this motion, please, or I'll call another speaker? This motion, please. 

Nearly one in five jobs in Wales are in shut-down sectors, according to the Learning and Work Institute. If just one of these four workers lost their jobs, unemployment could exceed the levels seen at the last recession. The risk of increased unemployment is clear, as Wales has gone from a record low unemployment rate of 2.9 in November to seeing the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits almost double from March to 103,869 in April. The UK Government has received £2.6 million of claims through the self-employment income support scheme, and is helping 8.9 million employees and 1.1 million employers through the coronavirus job retention scheme. These programmes by the right honourable Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, have seen bold, unprecedented moves to help our constituents overcome the economic turbulence caused by COVID-19.

The retention scheme now presents a brilliant opportunity for bringing furloughed employees and the economy back to business. However, for this to be successful in Wales, we need to see the embers of the Welsh economy become fire. Our economic dragon cannot roar again without action by the Welsh Government. It is time to reopen our housing market, consider reopening non-essential shops, bars, restaurants and pubs, and ensure that Wales is not closed to tourists this summer. Conwy is the top area in Wales and one of the top 20 areas in the UK where the highest percentage of jobs are at risk. In fact, on average, over a quarter of all employed people in coastal towns in Wales are in a shutdown sector, such as accommodation, art, leisure and restaurants. 

I am delighted that we are proposing to establish a COVID community recovery fund to support those towns and communities whose economies are hardest hit by this pandemic. In considering the employment guarantee, I read the Trades Union Congress's new plan for jobs. It is true that this will be delivered at a regional or local level, but there is a huge weakness. To prove that it will work, reference has been made to the future jobs fund. This has not been a success. Of the two years following the start of participation, the net impact of FJF on participants was to decrease the number of days spent receiving welfare support by only eight days, and an increase in the number of days in unsubsidised employment of less than two weeks. 

Therefore, Plaid Cymru's proposal is not the answer. Last week, Professor Ewart Keep stated that, come the end of July, loads of people are leaving school, college and their university courses, and a lot of them are not going to find jobs. He has identified work experience as utterly critical. I agree and believe that young people could benefit from an apprentice guarantee scheme. The looming employment crisis would also be dampened through establishing a job reskilling and retraining scheme, designed to support those needing to find alternative employment following this crisis. 

If the Welsh Government does not act on some of the proposals discussed today, there is a real chance that our Welsh economic dragon and the future of young people will be harmed before we see any economic recovery. And my thanks go to the UK Treasury for the £2.10 million that they are providing for a zoos fund through a Barnett consequential here to Wales, despite what the Minister has, maybe inadvertently, misled me in his response. Thank you. 

'I am so tired of waiting,

Aren't you,

For the world to become good

And beautiful and kind?'

I saw those words by Langston Hughes on Twitter a few days ago. Someone was quoting them in despair at how bleak our world seems, because we are facing many crises. Aside from the scourge of racism, COVID-19 threatens the future of our most vulnerable. So far, the impacts of the virus have been felt in the pain of losing loved ones and losing moments, because of locking ourselves away, but another crisis is looming—an economic calamity that faces us all unless we take drastic intervention. 

We keep hearing the word 'unprecedented'. Well, the economic challenge will be unprecedented, so too must the scale of Government intervention be unprecedented. So, I'm dismayed that the Welsh Government has chosen to delete our motion today, instead of grappling with the suggestions we've made to help the economy. Instead, they've replaced it with a lackadaisical list of what they're already doing. Business as usual will not cut it. 

Helen Mary Jones has ably set out what would be possible if we were bold: expanding borrowing powers to £5 billion and suspending annual draw-down limits. These are radical and necessary steps if we're to save our communities from ruin.

As the Member for South Wales East, I draw attention as well to the report by the Centre for Towns that identifies three towns in my region as being most at risk—Merthyr, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar, the same towns I mentioned in First Minister's questions in March. I said then that they need serious support after battling on, despite long-term neglect and underfunding. We need to prioritise areas like this for reinvestment, and to give people the tools to rebuild their careers and communities. Let's be bold, let's talk more about how we can actually put our words into action.

There's been talk about a green new deal. Let's make that a reality in Wales. Let's establish a reskill Wales fund, specialising in green technology to build a futureproofed industry in line with this Senedd's commitment to tackling the climate emergency. It was 30 degrees yesterday in the Arctic circle. That crisis, too, is deepening. Let's invest in green transport and decarbonised housing, starting with the areas where they have the highest fuel poverty. Let's reinvigorate the foundations of the economy by linking communities and by boosting infrastructure in towns that have been left behind—move Government jobs there and allow people to work from home.

And let's build this new economy on fairer foundations by prioritising well-being. We must ensure fair pay for carers, tackle disadvantages faced by the disempowered and guarantee access to mental health support for everyone who needs it. Chwarae Teg has said that we should build a future economy based on the values of being caring human beings, and put people and planet at the heart of decision making. That Langston Hughes poem I quoted has been shared by many in response to the structural and inherent racism and inequalities in our society. Whatever we build after the virus must eliminate those scourges too.

We've set out what some of Plaid Cymru's ideas are, but we want to hear what the citizens of Wales think, which is why we're calling for a citizen's assembly to be established, so that the voices of those people who often feel neglected by the political system are heard. I was quite shocked that the Welsh Government have deleted reference to a citizen's assembly in their amendment. I would urge them with urgency to reconsider that decision. Let's give the people of Wales a greater voice in our shared future. Citizen's assemblies have proved instrumental across the world in bringing in radical change.

We're facing the challenge of our lifetime, but we also have a chance here to build a world that is good and beautiful and kind. If we are to succeed, we cannot do it alone. The Welsh Government needs to start listening. Please begin today by giving serious consideration to the ideas my colleagues and I have put forward, and be bold: establish a citizen's assembly so that Wales can move forward together as a nation prepared. I am so tired of waiting. Aren't you? Let's build that better world.

Whilst we can agree with many of the initiatives mentioned by Helen Mary in her introduction to the debate, we believe that asking the Welsh Government to effectively underwrite a job guarantee scheme for the young suffering unemployment as a result of the coronavirus crisis is an ill-thought-out concept. Firstly, it could have considerable financial implications, which, given the Government's already stretched resources due to their numerous intervention programmes with regard to coronavirus, is almost certainly practical. Secondly, it raises the question: why should only the young be included in this proposal? There are many thousands of people not considered to be young in this sense, but who have families to support as well as mortgages and other financial demands, demands that are not generally shared by many of our young people. We do agree—indeed, we would call upon the Welsh Government to implement as many retraining schemes as possible, but these should be open to all suffering redundancies due to this crisis, not just the young.

We also cannot support the call for a citizen's assembly to establish how we should build the economy after coronavirus. It is we, as parliamentarians, who should be deciding how to go forward. We are the elected representatives of the people. We are charged by them to put in place the strategies and policies to invigorate the economy, not just after such crises but at all times whilst we exercise the power, whether directly, if we are the Government of the day, or by scrutiny and influence as the opposition. The establishment of a citizens' assembly will, of course, be an expensive exercise, and such expenditure cannot be justified in these times of extreme financial pressure.

The last proposal in this debate seems to be part of an unattainable Welsh wish list. Where will the billions come from—raising taxes, borrowing, or, as Helen Mary suggested, the issue of Government bonds? We all acknowledge that the youth of this country will be facing tax increases for years, maybe decades, to come as a result of the coronavirus lockdown strategy. So, despite the assurance outlined by Delyth Jewell and Rhun ap Iorwerth, we cannot burden them with even more debt in order to rebuild the economy. I agree with Rhun's call to push the restart button, but unfortunately, all too often, the billions spent by Government has resulted in very little value for money. The economy must be built by hard work from the bottom up, not by the largesse of Government money.

The elements of this motion do give us some of the foundations for what is, in its essence, a new green deal for Wales. We've heard the example of retrofitting homes regularly, and, of course ,it's a perfect example of that triple bottom line that we need to focus on as we restore our lives in the post-COVID-19 period. It provides benefits and gains in an environmental sense, as we reduce the carbon footprint of our homes across Wales, it brings economic benefits by creating new jobs and new businesses in all parts of the country, as well as social benefits, which will help to resolve fuel poverty, improve the health of people, who will no longer be living in damp, cold housing, and hopefully it will save lives, as it reduces the excess winter deaths that we hear about every winter.

Now, the term 'green new deal', of course, has its origins in Roosevelt's New Deal in 1930s America. And in the throes of the Great Depression, his New Deal had three aims: to provide relief for the poor, to provide economic recovery, and, of course, to reform financial systems so that economic depression wouldn't happen again. It was relief, recover, reform. And Congress subsequently invested in programmes that put the unemployed in work, and work that served a purpose to society, such as constructing roads, building schools, hospitals et cetera. And those underlying ideas are just as valid today. But first we have to resist that urge to cut spending—this can't be the start of austerity mark 2, because we know exactly what that means, and what the price is that people have to pay for that kind of approach. The green new deal has to see us invest, and invest specifically, of course, in projects that help tackle the climate and nature emergency.

And I would draw people's attention to a recent study from University of Oxford that compared green stimulus projects with traditional stimulus schemes, such as some of the measures taken after the 2008 global financial crisis. That research found that green projects actually create more jobs, they deliver higher short-term returns per pound spent by the Government, and they lead to increased long-term cost savings. And, of course, none of this has to wait. We have shovel-ready schemes out there now in Wales, be they energy efficiency programmes, which we've already touched upon, renewable energy projects—the Swansea bay tidal lagoon is an obvious example, with, potentially, subsequent projects around other parts of the Welsh coast as well—finally putting in place the electric vehicle charging networks that we need across Wales, redesigning roads for more active travel, flood protection, tree planting. Wales is ripe for that kind of investment.

Now, I'd like to say a few words as well about the food and drink sector in Wales, not just whisky, by the way, but the whole sector here. Because I think now is the time for us to rethink, to reset and to rebuild our food supply system in Wales, from the ground up. Over recent decades, we've allowed our food retail industry to become evermore concentrated, to a point where we now see just four companies controlling 70 per cent of the UK food retail market. And that concentration of power amongst a few large food retailers has given them unprecedented power to dictate ever-lower prices to farmers, continually sapping the financial health of domestic agriculture, and, of course, the wider rural economy. And as a result of this, our food security has actually worsened, with the UK now importing nearly 40 per cent of all the food that we consume. And that model is flawed. And it was already on a dangerous trajectory, even before COVID-19. And I haven't even mentioned Brexit, which gives us another imperative to drive the reshaping of our food system and to create greater resilience in the face of further uncertainty.

So, we need to focus anew on developing processing capabilities to add value to raw produce. We've seen the loss of abattoirs and dairy-processing plants, particularly here in north-east Wales in recent years, which means, of course, that hundreds of jobs have been lost, thousands of food miles have been added, and primary food producers have become even more exposed to global markets.

So, we need to move away from a just-in-time system to a just-in-case system, and by supporting the development of local processing capabilities, we need to start to decentralise food production. We need to make it fairer, we need to make it more sustainable, and subsequently, of course, help build a stronger local economy. But Government needs to make it happen, and if we learn one lesson from this pandemic, then it's that Governments can actually have a transformative effect, but only when they will it. And that transformation, of course, isn't just about economic growth, it's about tackling climate change, it's about equality, protecting livelihoods, putting an end to foodbanks, preventing suicides, being globally responsible—it's about all of that—and this is the moment to do it.

Thank you. Can I now call the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates?

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and my thanks to all Members for their contributions, and I certainly welcome this opportunity to respond to them. Since publishing our road map and plans on how we propose to return to normal, or as best as normal, here in Wales, on 15 May, we've been planning the next stages, and it's important that we prepare for the future ahead of us. I think all Members in the virtual Chamber today are agreed on this.

We've always been clear that our approach to easing restrictions must be based on science and also that workers' safety must be at the forefront of decisions that we make. I've been meeting with the shadow social partnership council regularly, and I'll continue to do so, in order to discuss our shared issues and measures that we can introduce in order to continue our response to how we deal with COVID-19. And my task, of course, is to ensure that, when the time is right, our businesses, our transport network and our skills system are ready, not only to adapt and transition for the post-coronavirus world, but, crucially, that we are ready and able and wanting to build back better for the sake of this and future generations.

Now, as I've repeatedly said, in Wales we've put in place the most generous package of support for businesses in the UK—in total, £1.7 billion-worth of support. But a recession is unavoidable, and so unprecedented support for people who are going to be affected in the longer term from coronavirus must be needed.

We know that, currently, around about one third of the workforce is unemployed or furloughed here in Wales, with further jobs at risk, depending, of course, on what sort of shape the recovery ultimately takes. And as in previous recessions, as Helen Mary Jones identified at the outset, it will be the most vulnerable people in the labour market who will be hardest hit, and young people are one of the groups most likely to be disproportionately impacted. 

Now, employability support is vital in times of economic uncertainty, and so our vision is to support the return of the current workforce, to restart an individual's employment journey and to reskill individuals to return to new sectors, whilst preparing the future workforce. We'll prioritise support for young people to mitigate a rise in youth unemployment and to protect young people from the long-term scarring effects that a long period of unemployment can have.

Through Jobs Growth Wales, I think we've fairly and adequately and proudly demonstrated our willingness and ability to help young people to avoid long-term unemployment. In some parts of England, between 2010 and 2015, we saw long-term youth unemployment rise by thousands of per cent, whereas here in Wales, because of Jobs Growth Wales, in some parts of our country, we saw a fall during that period in long-term youth unemployment. So, we'll use that scheme and other schemes to support this generation of young people. 

We'll also deploy our re-employment interventions now. We'll be using ReAct, Job Support Wales and the Employability Skills programme to swiftly support people back into work, whilst our community employability programmes will provide intensive support to those further away from the labour market. 

We'll also grow and support jobs for the future through upskilling and reskilling to support employers to adapt and transform their skills base to maintain and grow employment. And, just one year from its official launch, Working Wales has directly assisted more than 31,500 people, and over 6,000 young people, who were looking for employability support. That service has, of course, as a consequence of coronavirus, changed, but it's not the only change that we are making. 

On 20 May, the Minister for Education outlined a COVID-19 post-16 sector resilience plan to give education providers a clear framework for planning and delivering our employability and skills response. For apprentices, we've developed online learning modules to ensure that they're able to continue to progress through their learning. And for our traineeship learners, we've developed digital learning packages and maintained their training allowances.

Our community employability programmes are, of course, adapting as well. In terms of their delivery, they are changing in order to provide outreach to our most vulnerable communities, supporting those who are furthest from the labour market, including disabled people, those with low skills, and individuals from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background. And, to date, they've supported 47,600 people; 17,900 of those have moved into employment. And for those in work, the Union Learning Fund, with support from the Wales Trades Union Congress, is delivering immediate—[Inaudible.]—and support to workers during and after the coronavirus crisis.

I'll just pick up on some specific points that were made by Members: first of all, the question of a role for a citizens' assembly. Now, here in Wales, we have very unique models of social partnership and we must protect the contribution that our social partners make in helping to inform and shape policy. We should not inadvertently undermine our social partnership model. We also have commissioners. And, through the work that Jeremy Miles is leading on, we are calling for ideas, innovation and creativity from all—all—of our citizens and organisations. And, therefore, whilst we are not ruling out the potential role for a citizens' assembly, it shouldn't undermine or duplicate the social model of partnership that we have been able to develop here in Wales. 

With regard to the pub sector, I couldn't agree more that pubs are, in many of our communities, right at the heart of those communities. And I'm determined to make sure that we support independent pubs, independent breweries and those institutions that bring people together. We're equally determined to make sure that we support the food and drink sector; that has been identified by a number of Members. There has been staggering export growth in recent times within Welsh food and drink businesses, and we're determined to make sure that that success story continues, because many of those businesses are amongst our most prestigious brand carriers and flag carriers for Wales. 

Now, Mike Hedges rightly identified the role that social infrastructure will play in the recovery and he identified, in particular, theatres. Now, we are committed to using the recovery to unite people, to improve social cohesion, and so we went into coronavirus committed to the twenty-first century schools programme, to new health centres, to enhancing cultural institutions, such as the renewal of Theatr Clwyd and others, and we remain committed to our enormously ambitious programme of restoring, renewing and creating new social infrastructure. 

I'd just like to touch upon a point that Janet Finch-Saunders made regarding the job retention scheme and the self-employment support scheme. I welcome—let me be absolutely clear; I welcome—both these schemes. They have been vitally important in supporting people and businesses through this incredibly difficult time. But they cannot be withdrawn prematurely. We cannot allow people and businesses to face a cliff edge in terms of the support that is offered through these schemes. 

In response to David Rowlands, support will be made available to people of all ages, not just to young people, but to people of all ages. And specifically on this occasion—and this was not available back in the post 2008 period—we have Working Wales, a single point of contact that will offer bespoke and tailored support for all individuals that are affected by unemployment or by the threat of unemployment. 

So, Dirprwy Lywydd, we do not wish to bounce back from this pandemic; we want to build back better by creating a national economy that sees employment, wealth and prosperity spread more equally, more fairly, across Wales, and none of this would be possible without the support of our social partners in the work that we are doing. The principles of social justice, fair work and environmental sustainability guide the decisions of this Government. COVID-19 will fundamentally reshape the economy, and so this means there is no going back—nor should we go back. Policy mistakes of the past—above all, austerity and privatisation—inflicted upon Wales in the years before devolution, and indeed since, have left us more vulnerable to shocks like coronavirus.

Whilst ensuring we support businesses and household incomes during this crisis, we intend to seize this moment as a unique window of opportunity to rebuild our society and our economy as we wish to see it. So, in building back better, our long-term goal is a resilient economy that has the well-being of people and the environment at its heart.

I very much welcome the ideas that have been proposed today. This is only the beginning of what I hope will be a constructive dialogue across parties and with a plethora of organisations, institutions and citizens across Wales.

Thank you. There have been no requests for any interventions, so I'll call Helen Mary Jones to reply to the debate. Helen Mary Jones.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I'd like to thank all Members who have contributed. In the few minutes available to me to close this debate, I can't possibly respond to them all, but I do want to respond to some points.

To the Conservative Members here, I would say to you: the most useful thing that you can do for your constituents now is to go to your Westminster Government and advocate for this Parliament—our Government—to be able to borrow money like any other sensible national institution at this time, so that we can build back. This is not about saddling future generations with debt; this is about ensuring that we rebuild our economy in such a way that that economy generates enough wealth for us to be able to pay the debts we have, and that is just what every normal country does.

I was touched a little bit by what Janet Finch-Saunders said about the dragon roaring, and I've reached the point where I don't want the dragon to roar so much—I want the dragon curled around her eggs, nurturing her nest, building and making her future generations safe, and that, of course, is what the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 requires us to do.

I don't disagree with anything that the Minister said. It would be really difficult to disagree with anything that the Minister said. But what I'm not left with is a sense of urgency, and that is what concerns me. But I will take what he said on face value, and we will contribute our ideas. This will need to be resourced. We will need the borrowing powers, and we will need to look again at the funding formula, because it doesn't work.

I want to respond a little bit too, if I may, Dirprwy Lywydd, to some of the points about a citizen's assembly. Now, Mike Hedges said in his contribution, and I thought that was very valid, that we didn't want just another talking—he didn't quite say these words, but just not another talking shop for the people who always participate to be able to speak. And then the Minister went on to say we must ensure we mustn't undermine social partnerships. Well, it's the people who are in the social partnerships, who are in those meetings, who can already articulate their concerns, and the point of a citizen's assembly is to add to that. There are models, there are effective models—Extinction Rebellion Wales has one, for example, a blueprint—that are based on international examples that will ensure that it's not only the usual voices, not only the people who can already speak up. And Members have also said that this is a matter for us as a Parliament and for our Government. Well, of course it is, but I don't think that any of us here in his room think that any of us have got all the answers. We can't have, because we don't even yet fully know what the questions are.

Dirprwy Lywydd, what we're proposing today are some emergency measures to start getting things moving again. We need to get our young people working. And 'Why young people?' people have said—well, that's because they are the most likely to be made unemployed at times like this, and, if we don't get them back into work, there is a lifetime effect on their prospects if they're out of work for more than six months.

We need to reskill the economy, we need proper investment to do it, and we need new and innovative ways of consulting with our fellow citizens about how that can best be done. As the Minister has said, Dirprwy Lywydd, I'm sure this is only the beginning of a conversation, but I think the people of Wales require from us more than a conversation; I think they require action. They need us to work now. The first steps need to be taken while we look to what the longer term steps must be. So, with those few words, which is all that time allows me, and with thanks again to all the Members who've contributed—there have been many valuable and interesting contributions today—I would say I will commend this motion, with amendment 3, to the Senedd. It is not enough for the Government to list what it is already doing. We need more. The people of Wales expect more. Diolch yn fawr.

The Llywydd took the Chair.

The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] I see that there are objections. I've both seen and heard those objections, therefore we'll defer voting until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.