2. What are the Welsh Government's immediate economic priorities for this Senedd term? OQ56527

Llywydd, I thank John Griffiths for that. Amongst our immediate priorities are the continuation of support for businesses while the coronavirus crisis persists and the implementation of our young persons guarantee of an offer of work, education or training to everyone aged under 25 in Wales.

First Minister, our city and town centres are very important for economic activity and jobs, and very important in other ways, as places for people to meet up, in terms of that sense of local pride and, indeed, sense of well-being. In Newport, as with other places across the UK, we face many challenges from changes in retail shopping habits to online. Recently, Debenhams has closed. But there's much good work going on: a major revamp of Newport market, a major new hotel and much else besides. That good work, First Minister, is a result of strong partnership working between Newport City Council, Welsh Government, businesses and others, and it's seen much new residential development, service provision and leisure provision in the city centre. But, of course, we face new challenges now with the pandemic and continuing retail change. So, First Minister, I wonder if you could offer reassurance today that that strong—very strong—partnership working between Welsh Government, Newport City Council and other partners will continue and sustain that change that we've already seen, and make sure that Newport city centre is fit to meet the challenges of the future. 

Well, Llywydd, can I thank John Griffiths for that? He points to a genuine public policy challenge of our times. The future of retail on our high streets was already a challenging one before coronavirus, and that has undoubtedly added to the challenges that that sector faces. But John Griffiths is right, Llywydd, that what that means is that we have to reimagine the future, not try and recreate the past in the present, and that will mean a wider range of activities that will bring people into town and community and city centres, including residential use of those centres, a different form of retail and other activities as well.

During the month of April, I was able to visit Newport city centre with Mr Griffiths, and we met businesses there who had opened up during the pandemic and were demonstrating that it was still possible to make a success of those businesses, using the investments that the Welsh Government and other local actors have put in to recreating the city centre of Newport, whether that is the investment in the market, in the library, in the leisure centre or in the Chartist Tower hotel, to which John Griffiths referred. But it also involves the university as well, making sure that there is life in the centre of that city that will attract more people to it.

And, in answer to his underlying question whether the partnership approach that we have taken to town centre redevelopment over the last five years will be continued in this term, then, yes, certainly that is the way that we will prioritise city and town regeneration: a partnership between Welsh Government, local authorities, businesses themselves and other major public sector partners who can make that difference and make sure that those centres have a life that will draw people to them in the future. 

Joel James.

Thank you, Llywydd, and if I could just take this opportunity to congratulate you on your re-election and, likewise, the First Minister. First Minister, last year, Treorchy High Street was named the best in the UK and was praised for its independent shops and community spirit. However, it is disappointing that success is not evenly spread across South Wales Central. Recently, Tonypandy and Porth were named in the top 20 most economically vulnerable towns in the UK. Sadly, the pandemic has only exacerbated these existing inequalities and highlighted the need for a bold, ambitious plan to help the high street back on its feet and to deliver good local jobs for local people. Does the First Minister agree with me that to support high streets across Wales, we need to boost small businesses by establishing business rate-free zones, and reform business rates so that they are no longer an outdated tax on growth? Thank you. 

Well, I thank the Member for that question and for his generous opening to it. During the month of April, I was able to visit both Treorchy and Tonypandy high streets, talked to many businesses there, Llywydd, and there are lessons that different communities can learn from one another where success has been achieved and then to apply some of those lessons elsewhere. And it was great to have the opportunity to be there with my colleague Buffy Williams and to have those conversations.

Now, businesses in Wales, Llywydd, know that they have a 12-month small business rate relief holiday for the whole of the coming year and that is in sharp distinction to what will happen across our border, of course, where those businesses will have to start paying rates again halfway through this financial year.

I agree that there is a need to rethink the whole system of how we raise local taxation, but that is not an argument against having local taxes raised. Businesses benefit from all the public services that allow them to trade successfully, whether that is building roads and pavements that take their customers to them, whether it is making sure that when their employees fall sick they are able to use the national health service, or whether it is in the great investment that we make in education and skills to make sure that there is a workforce there for the future. Businesses benefit from all of that and it is right that they make a contribution to the conditions that allow them to succeed. How we do it, I agree, is a different matter, and there are a number of ideas in different parts of the United Kingdom that we will want to draw on as we think of ways in which we can make that system more effective for the future.

Cefin Campbell.

Thank you very much, Llywydd, and congratulations to you on your re-election and congratulations to the First Minister too.

My question is this: would the First Minister agree with me that there are particular economic challenges facing rural communities in Wales that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency? He, of course, will be aware that income levels per capita and skills levels in these areas are lower than the Welsh average, and he'll also know that there is a second homes crisis—as we've already heard from Rhun ap Iorwerth—and the shortage of affordable housing as well as the shortage of quality jobs do lead to out-migration of young people, which is having a damaging effect on the demography and social fabric in these areas. And the impact of this of course is very detrimental to the Welsh language in those areas where the Welsh language continues to be a living language. So, would the First Minister accept that the Government needs to prioritise the development of a specific strategy and action plan for the regeneration of our rural areas, where all of those economic, social and cultural elements can come together in an integrated and holistic way? Because, after 22 years, there's been no particular focus, as far as I know, First Minister, that has been given to our rural areas. Does he agree that this needs to change?

Thank you very much for that question, and, of course, the context is challenging for every part of Wales after the pandemic. There is a major challenge in the rural areas, as Cefin Campbell has stated, but it is challenging, I can tell him, in Riverside, in my constituency in the centre of the city. The challenges are different but those challenges are there in every place. I don't quite agree with him that, over the period of devolution, we haven't focused on rural issues. The Llywydd herself was a Minister for rural affairs in the One Wales Government, and, in the previous Senedd term, we used the report put together by Rhodri Glyn Thomas on how we can use the Welsh language as something that can promote economic development in west Wales. So, we have done many important things. Of course, there is more that we can do, and I look forward to discussing with Members in the Senedd ideas to assist rural areas in Wales, rural communities and other communities that face a challenging future when we're trying to emerge from this difficult past period.