Assembly Members will today debate Welsh Conservative plans to attract more inward investment to Wales to create jobs and make Wales a more prosperous nation.
The Conservatives say:
“After 15 years of successive Labour governments, Wales is the poorest part of the UK, while Wales’ share of UK inward investment has fallen from 15% in the 1980s and 1990s to just 4% now.”
Between 1998 and 2008, 171 foreign-owned sites in Wales closed with the loss of 31,000 jobs.
Last week, Welsh Conservatives published Destination Cymru – a set of proposals to set targets for inward investment, introduce a comprehensive programme of investor aftercare and set up the private sector’s answer to the WDA to help attract inward investment.
The Welsh Government does not currently have a programme of aftercare, which could be critical in helping job creating investors stay in Wales and protect jobs.
Nick Ramsay AM, Shadow Minister for Business, said:
“The Welsh Conservative proposals to improve the number of businesses setting up and creating jobs in Wales are about being clever with inward investment.
“We would introduce a comprehensive programme of investor aftercare so once investors come to Wales, they receive all the support they need to ensure they want to stay.
“Attracting major foreign employers to Wales is absolutely pointless unless strategies are sustained and links with employers are nurtured to ensure any concerns they have are raised.
“Welsh Conservatives would work closely with industry, publish clear and ambitious targets and set up a new private sector council to attract more inward investment to Wales.
“Wales’ share of UK investment has fallen considerably under Labour from 15% in the 1980s and 1990s to just 4% today.
“Welsh Labour Ministers must consider our proposals and explain how they are going to drive up Wales’ decline in inward investment under successive Labour governments.”
