Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 23 March 2022.
Well, I just don't think the Cardiff capital region are promoting a low-wage economy in what they're saying. I haven't read the exact text in the brochure, so I'm not going to say that I absolutely endorse or condemn what's there. I know from my conversations with the varied leadership of the region that they are not looking to promote this part of Wales as an area of cheap labour. They recognise there are significant skills. We have lots of graduates coming out of the universities, and that's very attractive for a range of businesses already here as well as people who might want to invest in this particular part of Wales. The fact that there is an economy that is growing, the fact that there are lots of graduate skills—and it's the skills that people are looking for—is attractive.
The ultimate end goal is to improve people's economic outcomes, to see wages rise, and that's particularly important given the cost-of-living crisis that we are still going through. So, in terms of the way it's been presented to me, that certainly isn't the way that I would present the plans for the Cardiff capital region, but I'm not entirely sure it's a faithful or fair representation of the way that the capital region themselves are looking to market the opportunities to improve productivity and wage growth here within the capital region.