3. Will the Minister make a statement on the effectiveness of the Welsh Government’s engagement with indigenous SMEs? OAQ(5)0034(EI)

Yes. We continue to support indigenous businesses and have a record number of active enterprises headquartered in Wales. In 2015-16, we supported over 40,000 jobs in all sizes of businesses here in Wales, which included 5,000 jobs created and safeguarded through our Business Wales service.

Okay, thanks. In terms of engagement, what I’m really talking about is communication. There was a city deal conference last week, with dozens of Assembly officials and over 200 delegates, but there was only one person from a small business. So, I think that needs to be addressed. So, what will you do to ensure, in particular with reference to the city deal, that SMEs will be included and will be listened to?

Well, SMEs are always listened to and are always included where we are involved in events and activities. We have a very, very good working relationship with the Federation of Small Businesses. I note that the Member refers to the event that he was at last week. I’m sure that he has now received a letter that outlines that it was an untrue statement that he made in Plenary last week to the First Minister—

Excuse me; you cannot make a claim that a Member made an untrue statement in this Plenary.

I’ll retract that statement.

Thank you.

I’ll instead refer to the letter that the Member received that highlighted how much support Welsh Government gives to small businesses right across Wales and that this Government is business friendly.

Cabinet Secretary, can you update us on the ability of Welsh SMEs to take part in projects procured by the Welsh Government? I had a discussion in relation to this with NPS engineering consultants, an engineering firm based in Chepstow in my constituency, just before the election. That firm had, worryingly, given up on trying to procure Welsh Government contracts, because, despite the clarity of the process, which they did actually commend the Welsh Government on, there wasn’t sufficient weighting given to locally grown Welsh firms. As a result, the larger firms are undercutting them and getting contracts, even though the smaller firms think that, in the longer term, those contracts will be more expensive. The local firm in question has no problem procuring contracts across the border, from Hereford and Worcestershire councils, for instance. This can’t be right. Is there some way you can look, along with the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for procurement, at ways that we can create a more level playing field so that Welsh SMEs, indigenous businesses, find it easier to complete?

Yes, absolutely, and perhaps the local firm that the Member refers to is a firm that he and I could visit together to discuss the problems that they’ve encountered and the solutions that we might be able to present. In terms of the Welsh Government’s procurement portal, Sell2Wales, it was set up to help businesses win contracts in the public sector. Since June 2013, almost 14,000 notices have been published on Sell2Wales, and approximately 61 per cent of contracts have been awarded to Welsh businesses. Nonetheless, I believe there is work to be done to ensure that procurement benefits all businesses right across Wales, and I’d be more than happy to visit the company that the Member has been contacted by.

Could I draw the Cabinet Secretary’s attention to a company in my constituency, the national-award-winning Sony Pencoed factory, and not only to that, but to the 30-and-more indigenous companies that have spun off from the Sony excellence in design to manufacturing on that site and the Sony Pencoed UK technology centre? It really is a case of developing our home-grown talent here in Wales—companies like Mesuro Ltd, which I visited a couple of months ago, which is a spin-off of Cardiff University’s world renowned centre for high-frequency engineering, or Wales Interactive Ltd, a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment products for a global, worldwide market, and many, many others. So, I would welcome the Cabinet Secretary, at some time in his busy schedule in the near future, to see the excellent work from Sony, and from all those companies that have spun off from that base on the site, but also to see the way in which established, award-winning companies with a track record in design to manufacturing can fuel a growth in indigenous companies in a range of sectors. It really is a classic case of together stronger. So perhaps I could invite him to come and discuss this highly successful model for business incubation.

I’d be delighted to do that. It sounds like this is an exceptional cluster of economic activity in your constituency. I think it would also be helpful if we invited those companies to contribute to the development of the new economic strategy.