1. What support is the Welsh Government making available for business development in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire? OQ56003

Good afternoon, Angela. Thanks for the question. Phase 3 of our Wales-only economic resilience fund included £100 million of business development grant support aimed specifically at helping businesses to adapt to a post-COVID life outside the European Union, and, of course, £20 million of this fund has been earmarked specifically for tourism and hospitality. And we have also made available a further £340 million through the latest phase of the economic resilience fund to support businesses affected by the new changes to COVID-19 regulations.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. Everybody is always grateful for any funds that can be made available to businesses. But I specifically wanted to ask you about businesses that are not actually affected by COVID-19, and there are many businesses out there that actually trade in very different ways and who still need to grow, to develop, to buy new premises, to take on board new staff, to start training programmes, and I've been talking with two or three of them and they are finding it very difficult to actually get any traction.

Before COVID, of course, there was a clear route into Government, a clear way of being able to apply for grants, a clear way of being able to liaise with people as to what information was required. But, of course, with the focus on COVID, what I'm really asking you is: can you just give us an overview of what moneys are available for businesses that are not affected by the COVID pandemic? How can they get access to staff, who are obviously under immense pressure trying to solve that COVID business? Because if we are going to try and grow after this is all over, then we need to encourage those businesses that are strong now to become stronger still and to carry on their businesses as normal.

Well, can I thank Angela Burns for her supplementary question? I couldn't agree more that businesses that have not been affected by COVID should be given the support that they require, in order to bounce back with strength from the pandemic, and to grow in spite of what we have faced collectively as a nation. Business-as-usual support from Business Wales is available, including, importantly, the accelerated growth programme, business start-up advice and support, and so too is the business-as-usual support from the Development Bank of Wales. Within Government, we also operate the economy futures fund, which is designed to, if you like, turbo charge the industries of tomorrow—those with great growth potential—making sure that our funding is aligned to our calls to action, including investment in skills, research and development and, crucially important of course, decarbonisation. But I'd be happy to write to the Member with comprehensive detail of the support available to businesses that she's identified.FootnoteLink

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