Small Business Saturday will now be in its ninth year, and, of course, it's a focal point in the calendar to help celebrate the success and importance of micro and small businesses to the Welsh economy—as Hefin David, if he were here, would remind us, the lifeblood of the economy, accounting for over 98 per cent of enterprises in Wales. These are often family businesses, small manufacturers or local retailers, and they make an invaluable contribution to the fabric of our communities and contribute over half of private sector employment and about a quarter of turnover. So, we are actively promoting Small Business Saturday through our social media channels.

And I'm proud of our track record in developing a stronger entrepreneurial culture. Through Business Wales, the Welsh Government has demonstrated a long-term commitment to the SME sector of our economy to reduce the complexity in the way we support businesses here in Wales. Business Wales provides impartial advice from experienced business specialists, and, since 2016, has supported 12,400 individuals to pursue entrepreneurial ambitions, including helping over 5,000 entrepreneurs to start a business. Our support has led to the creation of over 25,000 jobs, demonstrating the impact and value to our communities. And providing the right support consistently should ensure that our values as a Government and our concern for the value of public money go hand in hand.

Over 3,000 of the businesses supported have improved practice on equality, diversity and resource efficiency. They've made a commitment to sustainability and our Net Zero Wales ambitions through our green growth pledge. In terms of value for money, we know that every £1 invested in Business Wales can be linked to a minimum of £10 and up to £18 of net GVA uplift a year.

In the last year, those businesses that receive support have a 77 per cent survival rate over a four-year period, compared with an unsupported average of 37 per cent. So, the support we provide makes a real difference. And many of our small businesses do show the potential for real growth potential. Last month, we celebrated our ten thousandth job milestone for the Business Wales accelerated growth programme. And through the pandemic, the Welsh Government has invested more than £2.6 billion in a targeted approach to support business. It is, and we have regularly said as a matter of fact, the most generous package within the UK, and that support for small businesses and Welsh communities has helped to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs that might otherwise have been lost. There was a point Huw Irranca made that small businesses aren't just economic entities; they are part of the community and they give back to their community in ways that you can't necessarily calculate in economic value.

Now, of course, it wasn't acknowledged by any Conservative speaker in this debate, but this Government has provided all businesses in retail, leisure and hospitality sectors with a rateable value of up to £0.5 million with a business rate holiday up to April next year—a much more generous package than small businesses in England receive. We're retaining funding in this year in case we do need to provide further emergency business support, as the pandemic, sadly, is far from over. So, we will continue to take further action to support stronger local economies and the essential job of tackling poverty. And I regularly hear calls for us to work hand in hand with businesses and local government, which is exactly what we have been doing. The £35 million package that I announced is together with local authorities to deliver additional business grant activity and targeted investment aligned with our priorities.

We will also use our procurement levers to help small business to benefit from public sector procurement opportunities. Now, in a recent debate on the foundational economy, I highlighted the success of small businesses and the NHS. I'm delighted to hear that, as a result of ongoing business advice, the family-run Swansea-based Slice & Dice secured £1 million of new business and created more new jobs through winning a place on the over £5.5 million NHS fresh vegetable supplier framework. So, we're doing what we said we would do and not simply talking the talk.

We're committed to do more on the benefits of procurement, and we're putting social partnership on a statutory footing through the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill. But I have also spoken regularly in this Chamber, and outside, about needing to provide greater access and success for small and medium businesses to win a greater share of the even larger sum of private sector procurement and supply chains, where small businesses could and should have an even more successful role.

I won't respond to all the negativity in some of the comments made; I'd want to see a unifying approach for the way that this debate should be run and our support for businesses in each of our constituencies and regions. We're supportive of the motion, but the Government will vote against the motion to ensure we can reach the amendment, which we also support as well. I hope that, ultimately, all Members of the Senedd will manage to vote the same way in the last vote on this subject. But this Government will continue to provide and develop the support and opportunity for small businesses to ensure that they continue to flourish and provide good local employment opportunities in every community across Wales. Many thanks, Deputy Llywydd.