Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 1:59 pm on 9 June 2021.
There is a range of factors, as I indicated to Paul Davies, where the Welsh Government certainly has a role in creating those conditions, and others where we need to work alongside the UK Government. The continuing trading relationships with the European Union are a key factor for us. If we were talking about ports, we'd have a particular challenge about ports in Pembrokeshire and in Holyhead, and the changed relationship, with the way that trade is being diverted. We have some of those challenges to work through, where there's a mix of reserved responsibilities and responsibilities we have here.
So, that's part of the mix. It's also, then, the choices we can make here. That's why we're not just talking about the youth guarantee, but we want to about skills and about business support. Having clarity on our ability to deliver those will be hugely important, to help those smaller businesses to invest in the skills of their workforces, their leaders and their managers. It's one of the key factors in helping businesses to grow and, obviously, we have a successful base to build on, with a successful apprenticeship programme, a key commitment to do more on that, and how we work alongside small businesses to understand how we best meet their needs.
The other key factor, though, in terms of confidence for small businesses is, actually, the behaviour of customers. And you will recall the retail consortium talking about the fact that customer behaviour is still a changing matter, where we're still understanding how customers will behave. It's both about those people who want to return to an office environment and how long for, what that means for businesses where their model is that they rely on those people, as well as on the retailer on the high street, whether we're going to see numbers coming through in sufficient number, that those businesses have a more confident outlook on their own future. And part of the challenge and the honesty is that we want to provide certainty in a world that is still slightly uncertain. I say 'slightly uncertain', and I hope, over the coming weeks, we'll develop more certainty about that as we carry on with the measures that my colleague Eluned Morgan will no doubt talk about in a short period of time, on rolling out our vaccination programme and the protection that should give. So, the continuing route out of the pandemic is a key factor in providing the conditions for certainty for businesses and the wider public to make their own choices.