As we know, in the weeks that followed, omicron turned economies back into emergency mode as we responded to the latest wave of COVID with actions delivered in partnership, based on evidence. This included a further round of business support with packages only available in Wales, such as the economic resilience fund. Similar funds, of course, were not available in England. Despite this setback, we have continued to move ahead with our mission to help create a stronger, greener and fairer Welsh economy. Earlier this month, I published a new plan for employability and skills backed by major investment in a more inclusive labour market, and Members will be familiar with that given the oral statement I made at the time. Against a difficult financial backdrop, I've had to make tough decisions to prioritise the job of narrowing the skills divide, helping more people to find work and boosting the career prospects of those already in work. We are investing £1.7 billion in the young person's guarantee. This package includes £366 million to help deliver 125,000 all-age apprenticeships within this Senedd term.

As you know, Deputy Presiding Officer, accessible childcare is crucial to a stronger, fairer economy. The Deputy Minister for Social Services has confirmed that we will expand our childcare offer to support more families. This means that more families, and women in particular, will benefit from improved employment prospects. We've also provided an additional £5 million for personal learning accounts, to help workers on low pay upskill in sectors experiencing labour market shortages, with examples ranging from HGV drivers to health and social care. I'm also working closely with my colleague the Minister for Education and Welsh Language on the progress of the establishment of the commission for tertiary education and research. This should put us in a better position to prioritise investments that improve educational attainment, develop the skills needed for good jobs, and inspire more ambitious career plans for people of all ages. Wales continues to have the most progressive student finance scheme in the UK, and we're keen to maintain this whilst considering how best to support an improved lifelong learning offer.

As I said in October, we want to ensure that our whole-Government approach allows more people to feel positive and ambitious about planning their future here in Wales. Graduate retention can help us in this mission, and we're working with partners to more effectively link students with the right opportunities at Welsh businesses. The new work route initiative offers international students the ability to stay in the UK and work for two years after they graduate. My ambition is that we can find ways for these workers to move on to full skilled worker visas so that we can go on benefiting from their contribution in a more dynamic Welsh economy.

As I have noted, this progress has been made in spite of the urgent response that omicron demanded of us. As CBI Wales have recognised, the Welsh Government’s approach to the pandemic has treated public health and economic growth as two sides of the same coin. Since the start of the pandemic, we have pulled every lever possible to back Welsh businesses. We reprioritised our budgets and repurposed funding to make sure financial support was available where it was needed most. As we move ahead, the new transition plan sets out how we will approach the task of living with coronavirus. We will continue to work on the basis of evidence, and that means working intensively this week to understand what the latest increase in cases means for the balance of harms that we currently face.

In recent months, we've also delivered schemes designed to support individuals and businesses to look ahead, including: the backing local firms fund, progressing our commitment to the foundational economy; a £1 million business start-up fund, focused on those not in employment, education or training; an extra £0.5 million to support and promote the social enterprise sector; and a £116 million package of non-domestic rates relief for retail, leisure and hospitality ratepayers in Wales. This is in addition to the publication of new regional economic frameworks to strengthen Wales’s distinctive economic regions and the refreshed economic contract.

Our economy has emerged from an unprecedented downturn due to the pandemic, and our unemployment rate continues to track lower than the rest of the UK. However, I remain deeply concerned by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and we are already seeing GDP forecasts for the UK being halved. Tomorrow, the Chancellor will make his spring statement, and I urge him to do more before the crisis spins completely out of control. The Welsh Government has stretched its budget to provide a further package of support worth more than £330 million, but the UK Government holds the key levers through the tax and benefit system.

Rising energy and fuel costs must now spur action to accelerate the transition to net zero. Tackling the climate and nature emergency as part of a just transition to net zero is also the overarching ambition of our new £8.1 billion infrastructure investment strategy. Our progress also risks being further held back by the UK Government's determination to deny Wales our promised share of EU replacement funds in full. At least £375 million per year should have been provided to the Welsh Government, but UK levelling-up plans will leave the Welsh budget £1 billion worse off by 2024.

Deputy Presiding Officer, in the coming days and months, we'll also be publishing a new remote working strategy followed by a strategic vision for retail, among wider actions. Our social partnership approach has a crucial role in everything we have achieved, and I look forward to working in partnership to support a team Wales recovery, built by all of us. Thank you.