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Work Programme (Wales)

I was at that meeting, too, last night. The powerhouse of the Flintshire economy is Airbus. Airbus was primed by a Labour Government in 1998 with £450 million in launch aid. As a result, 6,500 jobs have been created—650 apprenticeships. That shows what can happen when the state intervenes. It was not a gift. It was a loan. It was launch aid. It was paid back. The Government’s philosophy of separating the two is wrong. We need them to work in conjunction.