National Assembly for Wales

Delete all and replace with:

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes the package of employability support currently available through the Welsh Government including the highly regarded Jobs Growth Wales scheme which has supported more than 19,000 young people into good quality work and ReAct which for more than a decade has helped individuals retrain and find new employment.

2. Notes the Welsh Government's £500m Economic Resilience Fund which is currently helping thousands of small and medium sized businesses in Wales stay afloat and keep individuals in employment and which will in future support recovery.

3. Notes the expert work being coordinated by the Counsel General across Welsh Government on recovery planning including work by the Minister for Economy to identify further skills interventions which can support effective retraining in the coming months and the recovery phase.

4. Welcomes the constructive discussions the Minister for Economy has had with all parties about how we emerge from Coronavirus with the best possible prospects for young people.

5. Recognises the need to work in social partnership with trade unions and business to Build Back Better for the future.

6. Recognises that the Welsh Government has dedicated close to £2.5bn to its Covid-19 response since March 2020, further notes the scale of the economic crisis facing the whole of the United Kingdom and calls on the UK Government to develop a significant economic stimulus package that can support the Welsh Government’s work towards a green and just recovery.

 In sub-point (a), delete ‘employment’ and replace with ‘apprenticeship’.

Insert at end of sub-point (b):

‘and introduce skills retention and development programmes as soon as practical in the most at risk sectors to ensure no loss of capability and the opportunity to upskill the local workforce during this period of reduced activity.’

In sub-point (c), delete ‘citizen’s assembly’ and replace with ‘cross party taskforce’.

Delete sub-point d) and replace with:

‘establish a Covid Community Recovery Fund to support those towns and communities whose economies are hardest hit by the pandemic.’

Add as new point at end of motion:

In order to rebuild Wales economically as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) ensure that the Covid-19 business rate relief scheme supports businesses occupying premises and not landlords who own the premises;

b) provide support for those in the hospitality industry being charged full rent by pub companies during the crisis;

c) legislate to enable Welsh companies to successfully bid for Welsh public sector contracts; and

d) orientate its economic policy toward a food and drink export-led recovery by creating a fully fledged whisky industry.