Assembly government purse strings may be tighter over coming years

While issues such as health and education tend to dominate the election headlines, economic performance is key to living standards.

The Wales 60 - one for every Assembly Member - is a group of voters put together by the BBC to represent a balanced range of opinions.

We asked some of them what they wanted for the Welsh economy.

Julie Farrington

Aberystwyth is a lovely, individual town.

There is a buoyant economy based mostly on tourism, agriculture, the university and the national library. Threatened local job losses mean that there is a real sense of uncertainty.

It would be beneficial if some of the massive investments currently being poured into Cardiff and Swansea were to be shared out throughout Wales. However, any investment would need to consider the special quality of the area and safeguard tourism.

There are a number of small tourist agencies and projects operating in mid Wales. Most of these are working with Objective 1 grants which close after a short time.

I would like to see some real joined-up thinking by these agencies. Maybe we could move to just one agency dealing with all areas of tourism?

Managing funding, promotion and training could help all tourist businesses and make it much easier for visitors to co-ordinate their accommodation and activity needs in one place.

I would like to see whoever comes into power on 3 May taking notice of the real needs of people outside the capital and making real long-term commitments to ensure future prosperity.

It is crazy that it takes nearly an hour and a half to get from Monmouth to Newport by bus. Clive Jones

The Welsh economy, like the economy of any part of the UK, is affected by wider UK and international influences over which the assembly has no control.

At the moment, the world economy is at a particularly "interesting" (as in the Chinese curse) juncture as there are real concerns over imbalances in the world economy (US trade deficit, slow growth in Europe, effects of the "yen carry trade" and so on).

These could cause major problems in the next couple of years, or they may go away quietly of their own accord.

Assuming for the moment that the worst case doesn't materialise, then the major UK issue is the fact that Gordon Brown has now run out of money and therefore public spending will have to slow significantly.

This will have a greater effect in Wales than elsewhere as such a large part of Welsh GDP is driven by public spending.

We are already seeing this at work in the NHS and I would expect this to spread, with the likelihood of redundancies in the assembly and local government over the next two years.

Is Cardiff getting too big a share of Wales' investment?

What can the assembly do to help the Welsh economy?

The most important thing is not to impose additional regulatory burdens on the private sector. So no new Welsh Language Act and no new environmental regulations that are not absolutely necessary.

Where the assembly needs to spend money to help business is on transport improvements, particularly the valleys railway lines, the M4 relief road and longer distance rural buses.

It is crazy that it takes nearly an hour and a half to get from Monmouth to Newport by bus.

Speeding up the planning system should also be a priority as Wales is performing very badly compared to the rest of the UK in this area.

Wales is also starting to fall behind in education and this could cause real problems in the long term unless money starts being spent now.

I would also like to see significant reductions in business rates for small businesses to encourage start ups and independent retailers. We are in danger of losing local shops almost everywhere in Wales. These improvements will have to be funded from within the existing assembly budget, so some tough choices would need to be made.

Anyone for prescription charges?

Helen Mai Hughes

The Welsh economy is primarily focused towards south Wales such as Cardiff and north Wales is rarely acknowledged, in particular Anglesey.

All decisions are made in Cardiff with no consideration made to the population of north Wales. Job prospects in north Wales are very poor for graduates like myself/young people as there are no opportunities unless they move away from Anglesey to larger cities, ie Cardiff.

The A55 across Anglesey (like the M4) attracts businesses that are five minutes away. But what happens if you live in a rural area, for example Amlwch, where some businesses have closed down with massive job losses and no other employment available?

Now with the threat of Wylfa closing down and possibly Rio Tinto (Anglesey Aluminium), what economy is left? House prospects, especially for young people, are atrocious!

How is a young person who comes out of university looking for work expected to buy a house in excess of �250,000? Even affordable housing is considered to be �120,000! Who classes this as affordable?

It is out of reach for half the population in Anglesey: therefore outsiders move to the island causing more chaos to the economy due to the lack of jobs.

Roger Evans

It's very worrying that the valleys have again been hit by a spate of factory closures in the production sector, e. Burberry, Cranberry Foods, etc. The assembly has promoted service jobs, such as the incredible expansion in its own staff numbers and its failure to control local council and NHS management staff numbers.

Creating 22 local health boards has also been a disaster, none of which has improved patient care standards.

The valleys are once again the poor relations in Wales, though I imagine the north feels similarly - all the money has been spent in Cardiff, particularly around the bay while former mining communities are struggling to improve local facilities through Objective 1 funding.

More than 300 jobs were lost when the Burberry plant closed

I'm involved in community regeneration and we have to get through a maze of red tape and bureaucracy to get grants for the simplest of schemes. We are not a Communities First area, so have been squeezed between Communities First, who are poor enough to deserve the funds, and the rich areas who don't need it. As a result, we in the middle have lost out!

Also, the assembly government recently moved their goalposts in the way they measure deprivation. The areas covered by the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation were all changed a year or so ago, so we now can't compare like with like or see how well we are doing to improve our situation.

For these reasons, I have no confidence in the assembly's ability to deliver economic success. In fact, I wouldn't trust them to deliver a pizza!

Ross Thomas

Employment rates in Wales at the moment are at record levels, and unemployment is low. The economy as a whole is in good shape.

However, criticism is often levelled at the assembly government for focusing their economical decisions on southeast Wales. But one only has to look at the multimillion-pound redevelopment of Holyhead to realise this isn't entirely true, and more recently the welcomed de-centralising of civil service jobs to areas across Wales.

But we mustn't forget the legacy of the coal mining era that still lives on in valleys areas of south Wales, which typically suffer from higher-than-average unemployment and where chronic illnesses are commonplace.

The regeneration of these areas is an on-going theme, and much has been achieved already. But one would be foolish not to recognise that there is more to do in order that these areas can share in the wealth and prosperity of the rest of the nation.

I echo the words of Paul Murphy MP for a minister for the valleys in the assembly, as a figurehead for on-going and future regeneration.

I firmly believe however, that the underpinning root of a healthy economy - of a healthy society at large even - is a good education.

Owain Phillips

During the last four years the Welsh Assembly Government has created numerous jobs in the public and private sector. However, greater emphasis needs to be placed on the quality and standards of jobs created.

The influx of foreign workers suggests enough low-skilled jobs exist within the Welsh economy, with no need to splash further inward investment grants to companies which look for unskilled labour.

Recently, a sports car company brought a number of specialist, high-quality research and development jobs to Llanelli. Similar, high-skilled jobs need to be developed across Wales, linking in with existing skills developed by higher education institutions.

Renewable energy seems to be a fledgling sector today: however, why can't Wales develop such technologies, rather than import hardware from other regions?

Economic prosperity in rural areas requires different solutions. Better road and rail infrastructure is vital for rural communities. Train links in particular need investment with reopening closed lines having the potential to improve access to areas.

Furthermore, small, locally-developed businesses should be encouraged to employ trainees and apprentices, with the state funding part of their salary in the beginning and financial incentives to the companies concerned.

This would allow small businesses to grow, while expanding opportunities available for young people to gain vital experience.

This home grown development, coupled with high-standard jobs from abroad, would mean a health economy and jobs better suited to the population.