Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 23 February 2021.
Llywydd, 64,000 businesses in Wales have already received rate relief as a result of the decisions of this Welsh Government. I understand how important that is to businesses, but we will wait until Wednesday of next week, 3 March, to see the Chancellor's budget, so that we are clear about how much money we have as a Government for all the different purposes that we have to discharge in the next financial year. If the Chancellor makes provision for rate relief, then we will be able to provide rate relief here in Wales. I'm not prepared to commit to using the money we have next year until I am clear on the quantum of funding that will be available not just for businesses, but to support the health service during this pandemic, to support local authorities in the work that they do, to make sure that third sector organisations, the arts, all those many things that we have to attend to—until I know how much money is available to the Welsh Government next year, I'm not prepared to come to a conclusion on any one aspect of it. To do so would be simply irresponsible. Once we know, on Wednesday of next week, whether Wales is to have money taken away from us next year again, as we have on so many occasions during the 10 years that his Government has imposed austerity on Wales, or whether we have the money that we need to attend to the calls of businesses and others—once we know, this Government will make allocations to those key sectors during the month of March. I hope very much that we will be in a position to do as the leader of the Conservatives here has suggested, and to offer further help to businesses in Wales, but we won't be in a position to do that until we know what his Government in Westminster has got in store for us.