Support for Business

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:14 pm on 18 March 2020.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 3:14, 18 March 2020

The reason that I believe it was described as 'wholly inadequate' is because there is a gap of hundreds of millions of pounds. It's an inescapable fact. And I don't mean this as a criticism; it may well be down to the UK Government not engaging with us in terms of the planning of the intervention. That, I hope, will be addressed as we work through this crisis, because I want to work alongside the UK Government as well, as I think I have done over many years.

But the reason that it is inadequate is because the shape of the Welsh economy is different to that of England, and it hasn't been recognised within the Barnett formula, as Alun Davies has already highlighted. That needs to be addressed urgently, because what we can't have—. Look, drop the politics aside—what we can't have is an announcement being made in England regarding schemes that can be afforded within a certain declared envelope, and then us being asked to do exactly the same here in the absence of the money to actually do it. That is the challenge that we face if the difference in the Welsh and English economies is not recognised. And indeed, it's not just us, Scotland faces problems too, Northern Ireland as well. This was the point of the discussion today, and I have to say that that discussion was very collegiate. I think that the challenge was recognised by colleagues in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Now, what we need to do is ensure that that challenge is addressed, and that the adequate resource that we're calling for comes to Wales so that we can support Welsh businesses equally. Because what I've been saying to businesses, and what businesses have been saying to me, is if we can at all avoid divergence, then let's avoid divergence. Whether you're based in London or Llandaff, you wish to know in the clearest terms what support is available, and it should be consistent in my view. That's why I'm determined to make sure, as is the Finance Minister and others, that the UK Government works with us to address the shortcomings in the current financial arrangements. 

I do take the point as well in terms of the availability of human resource within Business Wales. These are exceptional times and we are trying to steer as many members of staff as possible to front-line services. I will be providing further updates to Members in regard to the Business Wales service, because it's my view that we will have to pull in now additional human resources from other agencies to support Business Wales, and that is because of the exceptional demand for support. I'm also determined to ensure that local government assists Business Wales by offering a seamless and consistent advisory service that steers businesses and signposts businesses if necessary to UK Government agencies and support services as well. Because what a business wants more than anything is clear, simple, consistent messaging and information that can be accessed through one point of contact, and that's precisely what we are striving to achieve with Business Wales.