Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:19 pm on 26 November 2019.
Diolch. Small and medium-sized businesses in Wales make up, as you probably know, 99.3 per cent of all businesses, almost 65 per cent of employment, turning over £46 billion a year, £126 million every day. But, sadly, a high proportion don't survive more than five years, and beyond survival also face considerable challenges.
The Small Business Saturday campaign exists to support, inspire and promote them, and the next Small Business Saturday is on Saturday 7 December. I know you'll wish to join me in wishing them well. However, the Federation of Small Businesses identified key megatrends affecting towns in Wales and made a series of recommendations to ensure their future success and sustainability. How do you respond to those recommendations, which include—I'll give two examples—publishing town strategies in every town, ensuring the ownership is local and that businesses and the voluntary and public sectors are engaged, and rethinking the role of business rates in towns, replicating the recently announced English relief for high street businesses, and then better consideration of the impact of rates on our towns in the longer term?