Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 1:55 pm on 9 June 2021.

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Photo of Luke Fletcher Luke Fletcher Plaid Cymru 1:55, 9 June 2021

I thank you for that answer, Minister, and I'm encouraged to hear about the social partnership Act. As he knows, Plaid Cymru has been very supportive of that throughout the process, and I'm looking forward to working with him on that point and, as well, to working on, potentially, looking at some legislative options going forward.

If I can turn to a confidence issue that we are seeing with SMEs at the moment, it was good to have the opportunity to meet with the Federation of Small Businesses Cymru last week and to discuss how the Senedd and Welsh Government can work together over the next five years to support small businesses. Their recent support, 'What We Value', outlines how SMEs can be the key to rebuilding Wales's economy and communities. Small businesses, as well as contributing to community resilience and provision of vital services, are vital employers. SMEs are 99.4 per cent of businesses in Wales, contributing 62.4 per cent of private sector employment and 37.9 per cent of turnover. As with so many other sectors, SMEs have been hit hard by the pandemic and they needed significant Government support.

Looking forward, there are significantly differing views about the outlook for business and the wider economy in Wales over the next five years. Although 63 per cent of small business owners are very or fairly optimistic about their own enterprise, optimism falls away when a wider perspective of the economy is taken into account. Optimism, in fact, falls to 57 per cent when considering the relevant sector or industry, while even fewer small business owners are optimistic about the small business sector in Wales or the Welsh economy over the next five years. How does the Minister, therefore, intend to engage with SMEs to reduce this confidence gap and provide the necessary clarity on practical long-term goals to help SMEs contribute to the economic recovery in Wales?