NDM8606 Welsh Conservatives Debate - Economic policy

NDM8606 Darren Millar (Clwyd West)

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Welcomes:

a) the UK Government’s clear plan and bold action to chart a course to a secure future;

b) the UK Government’s action in cutting inflation from 11.1 per cent to 2.3 per cent;

c) the UK being the fastest growing economy in the G7;

d) the regional growth deals in every part of Wales, making Wales the only Growth Deal nation in the UK; and

e) the UK Government’s Freeports in North and South Wales, along with investment zones for advanced manufacturing.

2. Regrets that under the Welsh Government, Wales has:

a) the lowest employment rate;

b) the lowest median wages; and

c) and the highest economic inactivity rate in the UK.

3. Calls on the Welsh Government to create an environment for businesses to invest and create jobs by:

a) levelling-up across Wales with proportionate levels of investment in all parts of the country;

b) reinstating business rates relief to 75 per cent for the retail, hospitality and leisure sector to support businesses and protect jobs;

c) abolishing business rates for small business;

d) enabling micro businesses to grow with a jump start scheme paying the employer national insurance for two employers for two years;

e) delivering 150,000 new apprenticeships over the next Senedd term; and

f) creating and fully funding a local business kickstarter scheme to support start-ups.

The following amendments were tabled:

Amendment 1 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)

Delete all and replace with:

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Welcomes:

a) the Welsh Government’s clear plan set out in the Economic Mission: Priorities for a Stronger Economy;

b) that wages have risen faster in Wales than England since 2011;

c) the strength of regional working and partnerships;

d) the Welsh Government’s investment of over £143 million in quality apprenticeships;

e) the Welsh Government’s Young Person’s Guarantee which has supported over 27,000 young people;

f) continued investment through Business Wales and Development Bank of Wales;

g) the provision of over £140 million small business rates relief which supports ratepayers for around 70,000 properties across Wales every year; and

h) £78 million to provide a fifth successive year of support for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with their non-domestic rates bills.

2. Regrets that under the UK Government:

a) there has been a lack of a clear economic and industrial plan with no detailed spending plans beyond 2024-25, resulting in 14 years of chaos;

b) there are the most sustained price rises since the Bank of England’s independence, with prices 21.3 per cent higher in April than three years prior;

c) the Welsh Government has a Budget in 2024-25 which is £3 billion lower than if it had grown in line with GDP since 2010; and

d) Wales has almost £1.3 billion less funding in real terms due to the UK Government’s failure to honour its commitments and replace EU funds in full.

3. Calls on the current UK Government to recognise:

a) that base rate changes by the Bank of England and falling energy prices are the principal reason for the recent reduction in inflation;

b) that the ONS has confirmed there are issues with the labour force survey, which continue to affect the data quality of labour market statistics and may not give a true picture of the situation in Wales;

c) the significant harm done to the Economy through Liz Truss’ disastrous mini budget, which has left people and families in Wales paying higher mortgages and bills; and

d) that Levelling Up and Shared Prosperity Funds have been developed with very little planning and consultation and have actively undermined devolution.

If amendment 1 is agreed, amendments 2, 3 and 4 will be de-selected.

Amendment 2 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central)

Delete point 1 and replace with:

Regrets:

a) the economic damage done to Wales by 14 years of austerity under Conservative UK Governments;

b) the further economic harm caused by a hard Brexit, and by Liz Truss’ so-called mini-budget;

c) that Wales does not receive fair funding from Westminster, and that the Barnett formula does not deliver a funding settlement that reflects Wales’s economic, financial or social needs;

d) that Conservative UK Governments have conspicuously failed to level up Wales, and that Shared Prosperity and Levelling Up Funding have been used to fund short-term projects over the heads of both the Welsh Government and the Senedd; and

e) the high rates of poverty, particularly of child poverty, that have stemmed from the Conservatives’ approach to managing the UK economy. 

Amendment 3 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central)

In point 2, insert as new sub-point before sub-point (a) and renumber accordingly:

no clearly defined or measurable economic development targets;

Amendment 4 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central)

Delete point 3 and replace with:

Calls on the Welsh Government to create an environment for businesses to invest and create jobs by:

a) levelling-up across Wales with proportionate levels of investment in all parts of the country;

b) reinstating business rates relief to 75 per cent for the retail, hospitality and leisure sector to support businesses and protect jobs;

c) setting clear and measurable economic targets;

d) delivering an improved business support offer and better succession planning support for domestic SMEs;

e) bringing forward research on potential new taxes to benefit businesses;

f) delivering 150,000 new apprenticeships over the next Senedd term; and

g) creating and fully funding a local business kickstarter scheme to support start-ups.

Amendment 5 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central)

Add as new point at end of motion:

Calls on the incoming UK Government to take action to secure Wales’s economic future by:

a) seeking the UK's readmittance to the EU's single market and customs union, with urgency;

b) scrapping the Barnett formula, and delivering a new fair funding settlement for Wales that accurately reflects Wales's needs; and

c) ensuring that a fair proportion of UK export finance is delivered to Wales, and that funding to Wales lost as a result of Brexit is restored.