Diolch, acting Deputy Presiding—Chair, I think is probably easier. I’m pleased to move the amendments today in the name of Paul Davies.

Can I firstly welcome the UK Government’s willingness to devolve business rates to the Welsh Government? We certainly in the Welsh Conservatives believe that that was a step in the right direction. Yes, we did have a certain amount of control over business rates prior to that, but the full devolution of business rates, we believe, brings a real opportunity for the Welsh Government to act in this area—another tool in the economic toolbox, as the First Minister and as the Cabinet Secretary for finance’s predecessor were keen to call it. Having the tool is one thing, using it to improve the business rate regime is another, and this is where we feel that the Government amendment is not acceptable to us. A number of elements of the Government amendment we wouldn’t disagree with. Certainly, the importance of small businesses—that stands to reason; I don’t think anyone would stand up in this Chamber and say that small businesses aren’t of vital importance to the Welsh economy, indeed as Caroline Jones has just made clear.

The vital importance of cross-Government working is a key part of the Government amendment as well, and that’s to be welcomed. In the previous debate, we heard about the importance of Governments working together. We need a joined-up framework between Governments, and the Welsh Government and the UK Government, particularly in the run-up to Brexit, during the Brexit negotiations, which I know many Members, including me, are concerned about.

However, there we part company, you won’t be surprised to know. We don’t believe that the Labour amendment stresses the urgency of addressing the situation and giving businesses across Wales the support that they are crying out for, and have been crying out for for some time. So, as our amendment, amendment 5, makes clear, we need to see more businesses taken out of business rates altogether, and small businesses with a rateable value of up to £15,000 specifically removed from that. We agree with a large part of the UKIP motion in this area, actually. We’ve got differences on some detail, but you’ve also broadly recognised the importance of businesses being taken out of that burden. We would also, as the amendment makes clear, remove the multiplier. That’s now within our grasp with the full devolution of business rates. Of course, all of this is designed to increase competitiveness and improve the economy; that’s what this is all about.

It’s very easy to stand in this Chamber and talk about statistics as though we’re in some sort of vacuum, and I can throw statistics at the Chamber and the Minister will throw them back, but I often feel that we don’t really get to the core of the arguments by doing that. What this is about, as so many debates in this Chamber are about, is improving the lives of people out there, supporting businesses, improving people’s lives, helping more people to support themselves. That’s certainly what I’m here for, and I’m sure other Assembly Members are too. So, let’s be mindful of the effect that the recent revaluation had on businesses across Wales. I won’t forget, because I was inundated, as I’m sure many Assembly Members were, with correspondence, phone calls and e-mails from people who were really, really worried about the effect that the changes to the revaluation would have on their businesses. Of course, it wasn’t a Welsh Government revaluation; the revaluation did happen across the spectrum, across the UK. So, we recognise that the Welsh Government were not to blame for the need to have a revaluation, of course—that’s a necessary part of the economic and business cycle and that had to be addressed. But the way that the revaluation was handled and the way that it was communicated to people across Wales did concern us.

As I said, I received many representations and, in fact, sadly—I checked on this recently—a couple of the businesses whose owners contacted me have already gone—they’re empty, there are boards in the windows. I think that brought it home to me very clearly why I was involved in a petition at that time and why I wanted to help those business owners. So, it wasn’t just scaremongering, as some of us are often accused of doing, it wasn’t making a lot of noise for no reason—the actual results of that revaluation and the lack of proper support for businesses has already had an effect.

As for our last amendment—there should be more support for free parking pilot schemes—I think the Government should be able to—well, I assume you should be able to—support this, because I know that you have already given some support for extending parking pilot schemes across Wales. We’re simply saying that we think that’s a good thing and it should be enhanced. So, we will be voting against the motion in order to get our amendments on the paper, but there’s a lot of good stuff in this motion and I’m pleased that UKIP have brought it to the Chamber today and I hope that there will be support for our amendments.