Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 4 December 2019.

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Photo of Russell George Russell George Conservative 1:48, 4 December 2019

Thank you for the answer, Minister. I do appreciate it's a difficult job getting that risk right between risk and getting that balance right between the two, but, of course, the auditor general has said that 

'The Welsh Government has not yet implemented an approach to balancing potential risks and benefits'.

Of course, one area that we do need to focus on is in relation to our small and medium-sized businesses because they do face a very uncertain time at the moment with competition from online companies and also we're seeing reduced footfall that is greater, unfortunately, in Wales, on our Welsh high streets, than in other parts of the UK. So, over the past week, I've been promoting—I know other Members around this Chamber have been promoting—Small Business Saturday, a campaign promoting people to shop locally, particularly this weekend.

I was also pleased to attend the launch of the Association of Convenience Stores' report yesterday, hosted by my colleague Janet Finch-Saunders. Some of the issues that they raise in their report are absolutely devolved to the Welsh Government, issues like business rates, extending the high street rate relief beyond March 2020, scrapping business rates altogether, planning, also protecting retail centres and ensuring that the planning system enables retailers to diversify more easily. Some of these areas are being done in other parts of the UK that are not being done in Wales.

So, I would say, Minister, with Small Business Saturday coming up this weekend, can you tell us what the Welsh Government is doing specifically to support Welsh businesses? And can you also tell us what new actions your Government will now take to create the right conditions for growth for small, medium-sized and independent businesses here in Wales?