NDM8803 Welsh Conservatives Debate - Employment

NDM8803 Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)

To propose that the Senedd: 

1. Notes the Labour Market Overview published by the Office for National Statistics on 21 January 2025.

2. Regrets that under the Welsh Government:

a) Wales’s unemployment rate has increased for the seventh consecutive month to 5.6 per cent, the highest rate in the United Kingdom;

b) Wales’s employment rate has decreased to 70 per cent, the lowest rate in the United Kingdom;

c) Wales’s economic inactivity rate stands at 25.6 per cent, the highest rate in Great Britain; and

d) Welsh wage packets are the lowest in Great Britain.

3. Calls on the Welsh Government to create more jobs in Wales and boost growth by:

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

b) abolishing business rates for small businesses;

c) levelling-up the whole of Wales with adequate levels of investment for all parts of the country; and

d) working with the UK Government to cover the costs of their employer national insurance increase on private businesses.

ONS Labour market overview

The following amendments were tabled:

Amendment 1 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)

Delete all after point 1 and replace with:

Regrets that there continues to be issues assessing labour market performance in Wales due to the concerns regarding the quality of the Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Recognises that LFS data for Wales are among the lowest quality of all UK countries and English regions;

Agrees that the best way of understanding the Welsh labour market is to consider longer term trends across a basket of indicators, which includes alternative sources such as the Annual Population Survey, HMRC real time information on paid employees, data on workforce jobs, and the claimant count.

Further notes that in 2024, Welsh wage packets for full-time adults working in Wales were higher than the North East of England, East Midlands, Northern Ireland, Yorkshire and the Humber.

Welcomes that the Welsh Government will create more jobs in Wales and boost growth by:

a) continuing to provide packages of additional support for non-domestic rates worth £134 million this year and £85 million next year in addition to permanent relief schemes worth £250 million annually and the considerable additional support provided to businesses and other ratepayers over recent years;

b) securing inward investment and increasing the number of jobs here in Wales;

c) working with the UK Government to restore decision-making on post-2026 regional investment to the Welsh Government, and developing a new investment programme with partners across Wales to follow the closure of legacy programmes like the Shared Prosperity Fund in 2026; and

d) working with the UK Government in developing the Industrial Strategy.

Amendment 2 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central)

Add as new points at end of motion:

Regrets that the Welsh economy has suffered from a lack of investment and unfair funding model under previous and current UK Governments.

Calls on the UK Government to return decision-making powers over post-Brexit funding back to the Senedd.

Amendment 3 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central)

Add as a new point at end of motion:

Further calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) follow the OECD's recommendation to establish an arm's length agency to promote economic development;

b) adopt new and effective targets to drive sustainable economic development in Wales;

c) implement a national skills audit, mapping the needs of the Welsh economy for the future and matching them with investment in a strategy for skills and training; and

d) review and renew the Young Person's Guarantee, ensuring that all young people have genuine access to work, training or valuable opportunities for skills development.