4. Will the First Minister set out the next stage of the Welsh Government’s small business rates relief scheme? OAQ(5)0158(FM)

Gwnaf. Rydym yn ymestyn y cynllun rhyddhad dros dro, a oedd i fod i ddod i ben ym mis Mawrth y flwyddyn nesaf, am flwyddyn arall. Yna, byddwn yn datblygu cynllun parhaol newydd, a fydd ar waith o fis Ebrill 2018 ymlaen.

Thank you for that answer, First Minister. The Welsh Government’s decision to stick with its existing business scheme hasn’t received the reception you might have liked in your own constituency, First Minister. Traders are already vocal in the criticism of the highest business rates in my region, and perverse rates incentives to keep shops empty. In Bridgend town, in particular, they’re not very happy with the council that did its best to ignore the views of traders on how to increase footfall. Some now feel misled into believing that the Labour rates relief scheme would be different from business as usual, so what reasons can you give us for making the current system permanent instead of adopting Welsh Conservative policies around a differentiated multiplier and tapering relief to £15,000?

Well, I have to say first of all, with regard to my own town, which I know very well, there are at least three different groups of traders who don’t agree with each other, and that is one of the weaknesses the town faces. Secondly, she mentions empty premises. The biggest problem with empty premises in Bridgend is the intransigence of landlords—landlords who will not rent, or are only offering rent at ridiculous rates. I have heard examples of businesses who have said to me they are only being offered leases of 10 years with rents of up to £25,000 a year. That’s ridiculous. Some of the landlords in Bridgend need to get real and understand that the way of things 40 years ago is no longer right.

She asked me why we would not adopt Conservative policy. Quite simply, this: there are over 70,000 businesses in Wales, more than 70 per cent of them receive support, and over half of all eligible businesses pay no rates at all. In England, only a third pay no rates at all. So, actually, the scheme in Wales is significantly more generous than the penny-pinching scheme implemented by the Conservatives in England.

First Minister, I’ve been contacted by a number of constituents who have expressed concern over the level of their business rates, which is putting a strain on their business finances. As they fall outside the threshold for small business rate relief, they have to pay the full business rates, irrespective of the affordability. Unless these small business owners find smaller, cheaper premises than these properties they are stuck with huge rates bills. What plan does your Government have to raise the rate relief threshold and ensure that rate relief has an affordability consideration?

Well, we’ve already put £98 million into the rate relief scheme. There is bound to be a threshold, unfortunately, and those who are, as they would see it, at the wrong end of the threshold, yes, they will have to pay business rates. What we cannot do is introduce a system where everybody gets business rate relief and nobody pays business rates. Like any business, businesses have to take decisions as to the size of their premises in order to understand what is affordable for them as a business.