3. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's economic priorities for Pembrokeshire for the next 12 months? OAQ52340

The 'Prosperity for All' national strategy and the economic action plan set out the actions we are taking to improve the economy and business environment across the whole of Wales.

First Minister, I met with a relatively new business in my constituency recently called Composites Cymru, which produces carbon-fibre components for vehicles. The business is now looking to expand in order to produce other products too. I’m sure that you would agree with me that it’s important that we do everything that we can to support a business like this, by securing access to funding so that the business can grow and so that the local economy can benefit from that growth. So, can you tell us what the Welsh Government is doing to ensure that small businesses, particularly small businesses in rural areas, can access financial support, so that they can grow and develop for the future and improve the local economy?

Well, of course, we are committed to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and small businesses, and we’ve invested £86 million up until 2020 to ensure that small businesses and SMEs receive the information that is needed by them, and receive guidelines and also receive business support through the Business Wales programme. It’s a pleasure to see that there’s been an increase of 10.6 per cent in businesses in Pembrokeshire since 2011, and, of course, the investment that has been made in the broadband system has made a huge difference in ensuring that businesses can remain in more rural areas and that they do  not feel that they have to establish themselves in less rural areas.