No. Against this backdrop, business rates are hammering the final nail into the coffin of our high streets. Calculated by crude means, based on nominal value, high street shops are penalised for their location. Shopkeepers may be paying their business rates, but too often this will be at the cost of falling behind with their rent or not recruiting staff.

Local authorities and the Welsh Government have it within their gift to help the high street. They must stop bleeding shopkeepers dry through business rates. They must provide the funds and impetus to provide free car parking adjacent to the high street, and short-term parking on the high streets themselves. Local authorities must stop penalising shoppers for wanting to spend money on the high street. Shopkeepers are already battling fierce competition from the internet and big supermarkets. They need all the help they can get from local authorities and Government to survive.

I support this motion. Our high streets were once the hubs of our communities, and need to be once again. Thank you.