8. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the 2021 UK Government budget and the likely impact of its Barnett consequentials on the Caerphilly constituency? OQ56459

While the additional £735 million revenue is welcome, the majority is time-limited COVID funding and doesn't make up for a decade of austerity. In stark contrast to the £224.5 million capital boost we recently announced, benefiting all parts of Wales including Caerphilly, the UK Government failed to provide any extra capital.

One query I've been getting is about the restart grants that the UK Government announced in its recent budget, as businesses are keen to know if they'll apply in Wales or if something similar will be introduced. Also, those non-essential retail and hospitality businesses that still can't trade but can't claim the additional NDR-linked grant support announced last week as they don't have their own premises are also keen to know if any further discretionary grants are going to be announced. I've had several contacts about that in the last hour or two. Will the Minister therefore discuss this with her colleague the Minister for transport and the economy, but also ensure that every last bit of available business support is accessible to those businesses, and particularly those that don't pay NDR?

Yes, I'll definitely be having some further discussions with my colleague the Minister for economy and transport. I can say that, in the next financial year, we've already earmarked £200 million of funding for businesses here in Wales. We're still having some discussions with the UK Government because, in terms of the restart grant, all they've announced thus far is the fact it will be in the next financial year, and they've announced the name of the scheme. We don't actually know any of the details that sit under that, so it's very hard at the moment for businesses in Wales to make that comparison, as I know that they would want to do. But for our part, we absolutely commit to continuing to support businesses through this difficult time, having earmarked, as I said, £200 million already for the next financial year. And we look forward to receiving further information about what the UK Government's plans are to consider the packages of support on offer there. But, as I said, I will be having some further discussions with my colleague Ken Skates in order to ensure that we leave this end of term in good shape in terms of giving businesses the confidence that they need.