Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for European Transition (in respect of his European transition responsibilities) – in the Senedd at 2:36 pm on 11 November 2020.

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Photo of Jeremy Miles Jeremy Miles Labour 2:36, 11 November 2020

Well, I'm happy to repeat the point I made earlier, Llywydd. The question on the order paper will be absolutely clear in what capacity I'm answering questions today, and I direct the Member to the observations of the First Minister in relation to this in the committee appearance that he and I both made very recently.

But the point he makes, in relation to the document itself—I think the document outlines some of the significant risks that the Welsh economy faces as a consequence of COVID and anticipates significant job losses, in particular to certain cohorts of people in Wales. And that's exactly why one of the priorities in there is about ensuring the Government does all it can to ensure people stay in work, where they have work, or are best placed to get new work, when that's the route available to them. Some of that is about significant investment in jobs and employability of the sort that the economy Minister has already announced. Some of it is around stimulating the economy through initiatives that have other positive consequences in the context of COVID. So, some of the interventions around green housing and housing construction will be in that space. And that thread, I think, runs entirely through that document in a way that shows, I think, that the impact of COVID is, unfortunately, very multifaceted on our society.