What action is the Minister taking to increase business confidence in Wales?
In a period of recession and wider uncertainty, I have engaged with businesses to discuss how we can take forward our Economic Mission to maximise certainty, boost growth, lower inequality and retain more value in the Welsh economy. Our Economic Mission: Priorities for a Stronger Economy sets out four national priorities for a prosperous, greener and a more equal economy.
We are delivering support for growth and specialist business through Business Wales and the Development Bank of Wales. The Welsh Government is committed to delivering a proactive entrepreneurship and SME business support service and is investing £20.9m per annum in the Business Wales service from April 2023-March 2025, until the next spending review in 2025. Business Wales helps new entrepreneurs, existing micro-businesses and SMEs to build more resilient businesses and develop their business practices.
The Development Bank of Wales can help Welsh businesses get the finance they need to strengthen and grow and provides loans from £1k to £10m as well as mezzanine, and equity funding. The Business Productivity Enhancement Programme has made a real difference to companies, helping them diversify, improve, and grow.
Skills are vital for business confidence. That is why we are continuing to deliver skills and employability programmes, such as our Young Person’s Guarantee, delivering our Curriculum for Wales and why I have also recently announced a further £2.5m investment into our Jobs Growth Wales+ scheme and confirmed £5.25m has been restored to the 2024-25 apprenticeship budget, taking overall investment to more than £143m a year. We are working with businesses to ensure that we have a clear pipeline of jobs and skills in the workplace.
The Welsh Government recognises that the primary levers that determine levels of business confidence in the economy are reserved. Welsh Ministers have consistently urged the UK government to adopt a modern industrial strategy with long term decisions that provide a more stable environment for business investment in Wales.