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.