Thank you. We now turn to spokespeople's questions, and the Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Rhun ap Iorwerth. 

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. A few questions on coronavirus and the preparations for that. In terms of the pressures on health and care services specifically, could you give us some idea of the kinds of discussions that have been happening between the Minister for Health and Social Services and yourself in order to ensure that the appropriate resources are made available, even if they're not required at the moment? Because we do need to know that a lack of resources will be no barrier at all when the fight against coronavirus intensifies.

I have been having these discussions with my colleague the health Minister in terms of how we deal with COVID-19, and there are also discussions that I've had with colleagues from the other devolved nations, and also with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. We're clear in Wales that funding is not going to be a barrier to the NHS being able to deal with the coronavirus. We were also clear at our meeting with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury that funding that flows from the UK Government in relation to this exceptional circumstance should be done on the basis of need. I was really keen to press home the fact that, in Wales, we have a proportionately older population and, obviously, that puts us at potentially larger risk of having to look after people who are much sicker. So, that's something that we need to very much bear in mind as funding is allocated across the UK. We don't yet know how the picture will develop in the different regions of Wales, so this is very much an ongoing discussion, but I do want to give that confidence that funding is not going to be a barrier to supporting the NHS.

Thank you very much, and I would appreciate updates on the resources that are being released, along with updates on the steps in terms of safeguarding people's health. That point is centrally important, of course: we can't look at some model that would share funds according to population, because different parts of the UK could be hit very differently by COVID-19.

Moving, then, from the health element to the economic element, which of course is a substantial element of the concern as we move forward, the UK Government in today's budget has announced a package of support for small businesses, which of course will be under pressure. One idea is to freeze business rates for certain businesses; there is talk of a loans plan for businesses that have been affected by coronavirus; and there's also a pledge that the Government will assist companies with statutory sick pay for those who miss work because of coronavirus.

Now, it's very important that those packages are also outlined by the UK Government, but it's also very important that we hear from the Welsh Government how prepared you are to seek different ways of alleviating the concerns of business now and being ready to step in. We haven't heard the details of such plans to date, but now would be a good opportunity for us to discuss that. 

I was pleased to make the case to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury yesterday that there should, in this budget, be a package of support for business, and I was pleased to see that delivered on. So, as you mentioned, there will be some things in there that will help support people in the immediate crisis. For example, the sick pay will be paid from day 1 rather than day 4; the Prime Minister previously announced that. But I think things went a bit further today, in terms of statutory sick pay for everyone who is advised to stay at home even without symptoms. That will be forthcoming, and I think that's really welcome. People can get the sick note from 111, and people in the gig economy will have easier access to benefits; I think that's really welcome, although I think we do need to see some more of the detail.

I understand that the employment and support allowance will be available from day 1 rather than day 8, and that the UK Government is also temporarily removing the minimum income floor in universal credit and relaxing the requirement to attend a job centre, so much of those conversations can be done online or over the phone. I think that is really to be welcomed, and I'm almost hoping that necessity will prove to be the mother of invention in terms of making universal credit work better for people, particularly for people in Wales. 

The statutory cost of sick pay for SMEs could hit them hard, so I've been really pleased to hear that announcement from the Chancellor today that businesses with fewer than 250 employees can claim back the cost of sick pay for up to 14 days, and that will be refunded in full. I think that's an important measure for businesses. I was making the case yesterday for HMRC to scale up the Time to Pay service, and, again, I was pleased to see that reflected in the announcement today. 

The UK Government has a dedicated helpline, announced today, but, of course, we already have that through Business Wales, which is there to support businesses in this particular circumstance. 

And, finally, sticking with the budget, and with the Chancellor indicating that the UK Government will be launching a fundamental review of business rates, we're certainly of the view that we need a fundamental review, and we wish that we could have moved quicker in Wales. We've had review after review; I'm sure the time should have come some time ago for some action to be taken. As part of that fundamental review, the UK Government will consider plans to scrap business rates and replace them with a land value tax. Now, Plaid Cymru is currently looking at how land value tax might work in Wales; Welsh Government, for some time, has been looking at this. Is now not the time to seize the momentum, that there is a changing context, and the UK Government warming to the idea perhaps? And will we see some action soon on LVT from Welsh Government?

Well, you'll certainly see, very shortly, published, the document that we commissioned, which does look at the implications of land value tax and what that would mean for Wales. This is part of a suite of research that we've commissioned that looks at various aspects of local taxation, both for non-domestic rates and for council tax. We've also had a piece of work that looks at what the implications would be of re-evaluation, for example, and who the winners and losers would be there; what would be the distributional impact in terms of geography across Wales? Over the course, now, of this spring, there will be several pieces of research published, which, together, will provide all of us with a suite of really insightful evidence in order to consider the way forward.

But, of course, business rates—it's not something that you should reform just for the sake of it. We need to be sure that any reforms are made in a way that meets our Welsh Government priorities more widely. And I have to say that I was really pleased by the announcement today that the UK Government has finally caught up now, and that half of businesses in England will no longer be paying business rates. But, of course, we've had that situation in Wales for a very long time. 

Thank you. Conservative spokesperson, Nick Ramsay. 

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has today, in his budget, announced a number of key funding commitments to small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as to the hospitality and retail industry, in light of the threat of COVID-19, which was just raised by the Plaid Cymru spokesperson. Today's announcement also includes an extra £360 million a year to the Welsh Government, more investment in infrastructure and more investment in broadcasting, such as S4C. So it's looking as though austerity—so beloved by members of your Government to talk about—is nearing an end. Will you confirm that the Welsh Government will use the Barnett consequentials arising from the Chancellor's pledges to match the UK Government's support?

Well, I've got bad news for the opposition spokesperson, of course, because austerity certainly isn't over. If you look at the documentation that supports the UK Government's budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility paints a pretty gloomy picture of prospects, even before taking into account COVID-19. And that's not surprising, given the UK Government's reckless approach to trade negotiations with our largest and most important trading partner, the European Union. At no point in this Parliament does the OBR suggest that growth will even reach 2 per cent, which is pretty poor by historic terms. So I don't think that we can say austerity is over. And even with the additional funding that comes to Welsh Government today as a result of the UK Government's budget, it barely takes us back to where we were 10 years ago. So, austerity, I'm afraid, is still with us.

Thank you, Minister. I was being mischievous when I mentioned the 'austerity' word—I knew that it would trigger a response similar to that. And some of what you say, in terms of growth, of course there's a basis there, and you're right to point those things out. But I do think that we need to look on the bright side as well. And there is good news in this UK budget, and hopefully the Welsh Government—key to my question—will actually be making use of the consequentials that are coming this way, to improve the situation here in Wales. Because Wales, of course, does have two Governments.

Minister, the Chancellor also announced a number of changes to national insurance and income tax, which, taken together, will mean that people who earn the minimum wage will now be £5,200 better off than they were in 2010. Moreover, beer duty and fuel duty are frozen for another year, so workers will see more money in their pockets in that way.

Here in Wales, we've been talking about the devolution of income tax, and the creation of new taxes. Do you feel that, often, the emphasis here is always on the creation of new taxes, and raising taxes? But there is also a tax-cutting agenda to be addressed, and the Welsh Government does have significant power at its disposal, in certain key tax areas, to reduce the burden on hard-working people in Wales, and to generate more income in the longer term by, of course, encouraging entrepreneurship, and providing businesses with more money to invest. We've heard about your view on taxes this year; could you tell us how you envisage using those tax powers in future, to reduce the tax burden on people in Wales, and to encourage economic growth?

I didn't hear anything from the UK Government today, actually, about changes to income tax. I know that there was an announcement in respect of the national living wage and the national insurance threshold, but I don't recall anything specific to income tax. Because that would be something that we would be keen to explore, particularly in case it had any implications for our Welsh Government funding. Actually, the Chancellor had very little to say on tax today. There was absolutely nothing on air passenger duty and there was nothing on vacant land tax. So those were two things that I was hoping to see in the budget today, but that was not mentioned. So, I don't think that the Chancellor has taken opportunities within his budget, particularly in relation to tax, because there's not an awful lot in it.

Thank you, Minister. You very cleverly chucked in air passenger duty there, knowing full well that this side of the Chamber do support fully the devolution of air passenger duty. So there are certain things we agree on, and there are other things that we do not agree on. The income tax changes mentioned were around thresholds, but that's aside.

Can I just, in terms of my final question, go back to something that Rhun ap Iorwerth raised, importantly, earlier, and that is the COVID-19, the coronavirus, situation? And this budget has contained within it an extra £30 billion or so—I think I'm right in saying—to the NHS, to deal with coronavirus in the UK, specifically in England. Have you had any discussions—? I know that officials in the Welsh Government have been having multiple discussions with officials in the UK—I know that with my public accounts hat on. Could you tell us if you've had any specific discussions with your counterpart in Westminster about the amount of money that will be coming to Wales over and above what we've got in the budget to deal with coronavirus? I think we would all appreciate that you're going to be potentially under massive pressure, and the NHS budget will be under massive pressure if you don't get that proper support for dealing with this extraordinary situation. So, if you could update us on that money in the budget and on any consequentials coming to you and to Wales—. And would you also confirm that that money will be ring-fenced and will be used within the NHS budget for the purpose that it is intended?  

I would welcome any support that the Conservatives can give in terms of ensuring that their colleagues in Westminster do ensure that Wales is funded as much as it needs to be in terms of the coronavirus. The Chancellor was at pains in his opening remarks to say that the coronavirus is something that is not a political issue; it is something that we all have to deal with, and we have to work closely across Governments on. And I would agree with him on that. 

In terms of the additional funding, the Chancellor announced a £5 billion emergency response fund for the NHS. So, we don't see any consequentials for that immediately, but what we do know is that that would be a figure of funding that might be available, should it become needed as the coronavirus progresses. So, we don't have a figure yet, and I think that's quite right that we don't have a figure yet, but what we do need is that agile working, that sharing of information to ensure that we do get the funding, as and when we need it.   

Brexit Party spokesperson, Mark Reckless.  

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Could I ask the finance Minister to explain how her strategy in terms of business rates relief in Wales differs from that being pursued by the UK Government? They announced today that the 50 per cent retail discount that they have next year is going up to 100 per cent and being extended to leisure and hospitality. Is that an approach that she is attracted to?

And the other efforts they have to support small business, some seem to be on the cusp of what's devolved and what's not. For instance, the British business bank start-up loan fund that they're increasing; by virtue of its name, I assume that businesses in Wales are eligible for that, but I do not know as a fact whether they are. And, what sounded like a rate relief measure in the budget is actually not under the business rates relief heading, but comes under a separate small business grant funding heading, but it seems to have been limited to England through making a £2.2 billion payment through English local authorities and then they give £3,000 back to every business that benefits from their small business rate relief. To extend that small business grant funding, is it right that that should be done by the UK Government on an England-only basis, given what's devolved here?

And I don't expect the Minister to announce her decisions for small business rate relief within an hour or two of the UK budget here, but I wonder if she could say something about her strategy and the outcomes and what she's trying to achieve through that and how that differs from Wales to England.  

We recognise how important non-domestic rates are in terms of our public services here in Wales. They contribute more than £1 billion to local government and to police services, and those are services that all businesses will benefit from in some way. We do take a different approach here in Wales, because our tax base is different. So, in Wales, the average rateable value is around £20,000, whereas in England, it's around £32,000. So, it's right, I think, that our rates and our reliefs do reflect those differences and the unique circumstances that we have here in Wales. 

More than 70,000 ratepayers in Wales receive rate relief, so that means that half of all businesses pay no rates at all, so that's where England are moving to. So, they're moving in our direction. And I do understand when businesses are looking across the border at different types of relief, they don't always do so in the context of their own situation. So, when their rateable value is significantly lower, it's important to reflect on the proportion of the support that we're able to offer. We have a wide range of reliefs for businesses and that's something I'm wondering actually if we need to start pulling some of those together. We do have the extension of the high street and retail relief scheme into next year. So, that was an announcement that I was able to make in January of an extra £26.6 million for NDR support and that's in addition to the £230 million that we already provide through our existing relief to help ratepayers with their bills. And that's about supporting all retailers with a rateable value of up to £50,000, and that scheme will support around 15,000 ratepayers. So, we have a variety of schemes targeted at different industries, but obviously, I'll be looking closely at any consequentials that might come and how they might come. 

Of course, there may be a case for doing it somewhat differently in Wales, but we have a £360 million consequential for next year just announced, and the retail but also the hospitality and leisure businesses are public-facing businesses that we may expect to be particularly affected by coronavirus and all the implications of that. And it does strike me that what the Chancellor has announced at the UK level for England seems a pretty effective way of getting money to those businesses, including those that you didn't mention any view on, those who get the small business rate relief in England, who get £3,000 channelled to them for each business through local authority. That's going to make a very significant difference in mitigating some of the impacts for many of those businesses. And I would encourage the Minister, as she absorbs what's happened in the budget at a UK level, but also when she considers the £360 million and how that pans out, compared to perhaps what she was expecting or not expecting to be in this budget, I do hope that those business rate reliefs will be an area where she can deploy some of that money.

I wonder, could I also ask about the Development Bank of Wales? I mentioned the British Business Bank start-up loans and can confirm actually that they are going to be eligible for all UK businesses—those start-up loans and the increase. But how do they interface with what's available from the Wales development bank? Is there a good deal of overlap? Can businesses benefit from both sources or do they have to choose one or the other? And what role does she see for the Wales development bank in mitigating the impact of the coronavirus? Presumably, for those businesses it has a relationship with already it should be in a good position to provide working capital support where that's necessary. But what's going to happen for its very substantial property development loans, which have been recycled again and again quite successfully to date, if developers find it difficult to sell on those properties? Isn't there a danger that that money will have a less positive impact for the economy at exactly the same time that coronavirus hits, if those developers aren't available to recycle and pay back the money as quickly as they otherwise would have? And can there be any role for the Wales development bank in supporting other businesses specifically for the coronavirus outbreak and working capital needs when it doesn't have that existing business relationship and knowledge of their working capital needs?

Well, the Wales development bank sits within the portfolio of my colleague the Minister for economy, but I do know that it has done really sterling work in terms of helping to support businesses prepare for Brexit. And in many ways, this is about helping businesses prepare for something difficult, so we can learn some of those same lessons.

It's been really important in terms of those property development loans, but also support for microbusinesses in terms of supporting them to grow, if they wish to grow. So, I think there are opportunities really to use those links that we have with those individual businesses to potentially offer support and advice, and this is one of the joys of being a small nation at difficult times, namely that you do have those individual relationships and you do have those opportunities to share information and advice.

But I know that Ken Skates will be looking closely at what role the Wales development bank can play in terms of supporting businesses as we face coronavirus. And I know that colleagues across Government will be having more to say about their own individual contributions to the effort in due course.