The Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly has accused the first minister of lacking energy and dynamism on the introduction of enterprise zones.
Speaking during the same week that figures revealed almost 80 per cent (or 4,189) of the Welsh government workforce is classed as ‘a manager’, Andrew RT Davies AM has called for further work and urgent clarification on exactly what enterprise zones will offer businesses.
The Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan – published today – confirmed government support for enterprise zones remains ‘to be confirmed’. Seven zones have been announced in Wales since the introduction of the policy last year, yet details on the type of support available have only been confirmed in one – Deeside.
Speaking after first minister’s questions, Mr Davies said:
“Put simply – there are far too many chiefs and not enough drive.
“While the first minister seems more than able to deliver thousands of managers in his civil service, he appears incapable of delivering fully functioning enterprise zones.
“We may know where they’re going, but his army of pen-pushing supremos has failed to tell us what they’ll do.
“When it comes to invaluable detail, today’s infrastructure investment plan remains an enterprise zone flop – yet it’s one of the critical areas where we should be making immediate progress.
“It’s time the first minister had a word with his numerous delivery unit commanders and persuaded them to actually deliver. I urge him to pull his finger out, show some dynamism, and get our economy moving.”
