, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
So, that'll be a 10 per cent increase on what we achieved in the last Senedd term, but not the 25 per cent increase we wanted to, for reasons that we went through in the Chamber yesterday, and I'm sure there might be an opportunity to go through those again…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
I'll ask Jo to come in to talk through how we're looking to measure those and, actually, the change in profile of starts, because we're talking about starts, not completion. That's the target. So, Jo, do you want to run through that?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
I understand completely your concern, and when you look at what we're talking about in the mission, again, when we talk about partnerships, we deliberately talk about the impact they have and where they're needed. So, it is absolutely not just my personal…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
I'm sure you can find a way of reframing, Alun.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
I think there's a good example of the point you're making about the fact that the market will do some things in some parts of Wales that it won't without stimulus in others. So, on investment zones, those have gone to parts of Wales where there is already an…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
That's true.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
Some of that will look at each of the different areas. Thinking about employability and skills, some of the work that we're still looking to do on helping people to return to the labour market or to enter the labour market for the first time—. So, we'll look…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
Okay. So, let's consider 'stronger partnerships'. In 'stronger partnerships', we're looking at both working with regions and different groups of people. So, in thinking about that, we're still trying to protect some of the work that we are doing with our…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
Okay. So, the overall whole Government context is that we chose health and local government as priorities. They are the biggest areas of spend, and so that has a consequence. I don't think that you can say that the NHS is going to turn the lights off in the…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
And to my right—
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
I'm Vaughan Gething, and I am the Minister for Economy. To my left—
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Economy
Thank you very much, Chair.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
No problem. Thank you.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
Sometimes you have to put your foot on the ball and consider your options, and that's what we're doing.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
If I say something and then let Dawn deal with the detail of what you're talking about. The overall settlement does prioritise health and local government, and that has a big consequence for everywhere else. I've got real sympathy for political leaders in…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
Yes. Both borrowing and the overall capital budget we get.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
It has not risen in line with inflation, even. It matters for a whole range of things, whether it's healthcare, whether it's education or, indeed, whether it's borrowing to invest in infrastructure; it affects what we can do. That then means that the actual…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
It's the whole budget. The capital budget is wholly inadequate for our needs. When I said earlier that the reduction is the size of Hywel Dda health board's budget, actually, Hywel Dda health board's budget is about £300 million less than the reduction. And…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
It's a challenge with our budget, Alun.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
And, actually, I think there's a broader point here that goes beyond the budget of what you expect Ministers to do. What's their role in holding bodies to account, setting a framework for policy and for funding, and how does a Minister's time get used? If the…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
They're normally—[Inaudible.]—issues, aren't they, Huw? And they're often large institutions based in London, where they require a public subsidy for them to keep on functioning.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
Alun resisting temptation should be noted. [Laughter.]
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
But you’d be saying to people on just over £12,500, ‘You’re going to pay more tax in Wales but you’re still going to see services reduced,’ when they’re already paying a record-high tax bill. And that’s a fact, not an opinion. So, all of this, it informs our…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
Hang on. And you’ve got to think about that in a way where you’re thinking about the long-term consequences. You’ve got to think about what that means in terms of prevention. And actually the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 has a number of…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: evidence session with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Economy
I think they’re entirely consistent. You’ve got to be able to preserve and protect the things that matter most to people.
