Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:35 pm on 13 February 2019.
Thank you. The growth of indigenous, grounded firms is a central plank of the approach we're taking on growing the foundational economy. It's a well-recognised problem in the shape of the Welsh economy that we have numerous small and microbusinesses but that many struggle to grow to medium, and then beyond that. So, we'll be looking at a range of interventions to tackle that. One of those is the availability of property. As the Member will know already, in Port Talbot, using the European regional development fund-funded property infrastructure fund, there are two projects that are being developed to create some 6,000 sq m of new business premises, providing accommodation for up to 34 SMEs. And we're also in discussion with the Development Bank of Wales to examine the potential for a new commercial property development fund that will help also to provide additional premises.