SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, says the Welsh Government needs to get a grip on the economy in Wales.
Speaking in the Senedd during a debate on the Welsh Government’s draft budget, Mr Rowlands, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance said:
“The Welsh Government must get a grip. Unemployment is increasing. It remains the highest of all the nations of the UK, and economic inactivity is the highest in Britain also.
“Whether it’s the Welsh Labour Government in Cardiff Bay or the UK Labour Government in Westminster, workers, pensioners, savers, businesses and investors are all being hit, and we want a budget that sees tax cuts for family firms and family farms to give them a fighting chance to carry on.
“Labour and Plaid simply do not understand the needs of business and fail to realise that sustainable, long-term prosperity comes from businesses, businesses that invest, expand and employ people.
“They don’t believe that a strong society is built on a strong economy. The schools that we cherish, the roads we drive on, and of course our NHS, none of these can be funded by good intentions alone. They’re funded by the tax receipts generated by profitable, thriving private enterprises and this budget does nothing new to secure their future.
“We cannot ignore the vast sums of money that this Government alongside their friends in Plaid Cymru continue to happily waste. We believe that Welsh taxpayers’ money should be spent on devolved issues, things that are the clear responsibility of this Senedd.
“We don’t think that Welsh taxpayers’ money should be spent on things that have nothing to do with the responsibilities of this place, such as overseas embassies, planting those trees in Uganda or solar-panelled canoes in South America. This Welsh Government should instead be focusing its resources on the priorities of the people of Wales.
“People in Wales want a budget that allows us to get to grip with the scandalous situation we continue to see in our Welsh NHS: the longest NHS waiting lists in the UK. You’re nearly 500 times more likely to wait two years or more for treatment in Wales than if you live over the border in England. That is a national disgrace.”
