SUPPORTING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES

Plaid is set to utilise business rates multiplier to tip the scales in favour of smaller businesses.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has criticised the support offered to Welsh hospitality businesses by the Labour Welsh Government.

From April, every pub in England will get 15% off its new business rates bill, and bills will then be frozen in real terms for a further two years.

The support offered by the Labour Welsh Government is only for the 2026/27 financial year, a period of time that does not provide the sector with the same level of longer-term certainty, according to Plaid Cymru.

Plaid Cymru called on the Labour Welsh Government to go further by utilising the business rates multiplier to support smaller businesses and designing a tax system that is ‘on the side of SMEs’.

Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, said:

“Whilst welcoming today's announcement - as called for by Plaid Cymru in recent days, this is only a short term solution that gives little long term assurance to a sector worth £4bn to the Welsh economy that cannot survive on a one-year settlement basis alone.

“In Wales, it’s clear that Labour has no long term plan - something that is essential for the viability of the hospitality industry.

“It’s clear that the business rates system in Wales is fundamentally broken and that the hospitality sector is facing an existential crisis. Which is why a pro-business Plaid Cymru government would prioritise the radical reform needed.

“A Plaid Cymru Government would utilise the business rates multiplier to tip the scales in favour of smaller businesses by designing a tax system that is firmly on the side of SMEs.

“Plaid Cymru is serious about giving Wales’ economy the fresh start it needs with real plans to support those businesses that need it the most.”

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SUPPORTING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES

A Plaid Cymru government would cut taxes for small, independent Welsh businesses.

Plaid Cymru’s economy spokesperson Luke Fletcher is expected to outline his party’s plans during his Spring Conference speech.

In his speech, Mr Fletcher is expected to highlight the struggles that independent businesses face in Wales, saying that there are “countless examples the length and breadth of Wales where the full potential of our domestic businesses is going unfulfilled”, with “too many independent shops, pubs, cafés and restaurants having to close” which has led to the decline of town centres.

The Plaid Cymru Economy spokesperson will say that Wales needs to change how it taxes our town centre businesses to realise the potential of town centres and independent businesses.

He will outline Plaid Cymru’s plans to use the business rate multiplier to “reduce rates for independent businesses in retail or hospitality”.

According to Mr Fletcher, the policy would be cost-neutral, as a Plaid Cymru-led Government in 2026 would “look at how we charge rates so that those who can afford to pay more, contribute more”.

In his speech to the Plaid Cymru Spring Conference, Plaid Cymru Economy Spokesperson, Luke Fletcher MS will say,

“Our high streets provide a lens on the challenges facing Welsh businesses – challenges that Labour in Wales has failed to address or made actively worse over a quarter of a century in power.

“It’s a story we’re all too familiar with, isn’t it? On high streets across Wales there are empty buildings and shuttered shop fronts where thriving local businesses should be. Pubs, cafés and restaurants, all struggling with a cost-of-doing business crisis – a crisis made worse by sky-high taxes on businesses and Labour’s scrapping of business rates relief.

“An independent store owner on the high street in Aberystwyth pays nearly ten times more than a major chain on the town’s outskirts, and significantly more than would an equivalent business in England. In Bridgend, a locally owned and managed coffee shop and bakery pays the same level of non-domestic rates as its multinational competitors. Instead of being able to grow and develop as a business, investing locally in the supply chain, training and jobs, it is a business simply looking to survive.

“There are countless examples the length and breadth of Wales of businesses’ full potential going unfulfilled – too many of what should be successful businesses going to the wall. And the result? Town centres in decline, instead of on the up.

“I am proud that more and more businesses are looking to Plaid Cymru for the solution. And I am even more proud that we are able to offer one.

“If we want our town centres to thrive, then we need to change how we tax the businesses on our high streets, to better support the kinds of successful Welsh-owned shops, cafés, bars and restaurants we all go to our town centres for.

“There’s a solution that is well within our grasp.

“Through varying the multiplier, we have the power to reduce rates for independent businesses in retail, leisure and hospitality. It really is that simple. And by looking at how we charge rates so that those who can afford to pay contribute more, it would also be cost-neutral.

Mr Fletcher will also say,

“In the coming weeks, I will formally be launching ‘Making Wales Work: Plaid Cymru’s new economic plan’. I am proud of the amount of hard work that has gone into this plan, and the new and ambitious vision for the Welsh economy that it represents.

“That vision and that ambition extends from our seabed to our high streets, and covers everywhere in between.

“Our plan will see capital built, retained and recycling in our communities, instead of it leaking – and in some cases flooding – out of Wales. It will grow and sustain Welsh-owned businesses, delivering good jobs, reviving our town centres, and boosting living standards.

“I am clearer now than ever that Wales needs a Government with real vision and with fire in its belly.

“Wales needs a Plaid Cymru Government – and next year we will have an historic opportunity to deliver one.“

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MARKS AND SPARKS TO THE RESCUE?

The loss of Debenhams in Friars Walk was a bitter blow - which while covid did not help  - in reality the Debenham’s retail model had been failing for some years. That said, Marks and Spencer quit the city centre stating amongst other things the lack of parking and the difficulties of modernising their building. Perhaps they might consider making use of the former Debenhams building - which is effectively brand new and has plenty of parking. The Friar’s walk development itself was too small, too limited in scope and failed to create the retail space for local businesses to set up from the start. While there have been some tentative steps towards that recently, at a fundamental level that has to change from now on - there has to be a blend of local businesses and the usual suspects - there is room enough to make this work. One basic economic fact is that if you spend ten pounds in local business it will circulate three times longer locally in the local economy that ten pounds spent in a chain outlet. Newport has suffered because of the unhealthy obsession with directly competing with Cardiff and Cribs Causeway. We seriously need to focus on growing small local businesses that supply our needs as well as hosting the usual suspects to bring economic life back to our city centre. If we can do this then we can bring sustainable economic growth and some life back to our city centre.  

SUPPORTING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES

For too long far too many small and medium sized businesses in our country have been denied access to credit by banks and this has prevented the growth of our private sector. Our over centralised dividend driven pretty much rootless London based banking model that has been followed in the UK is incapable, indifferent or simply unwilling to deliver or support economic development in our country. In Germany, the Sparkasse and Landesbanken operate on a geographical basis, and have developed special expertise in the local industries so that they are better equipped to make investment decisions and should offer a real alternative. We need to develop Industrial Innovation Clusters in key areas of our economy and to expand the role of the Development Bank of Wales and support the creation of a Community Bank to help  domestically owned businesses grow their market share and to put down deep roots in our communities. The Welsh economy needs to be locally owned and to pay higher wages. Jobs and investment need to be shared across the whole country. Our economy needs be more balanced and much more diverse and our public finances need to be stronger. If we can accomplish this then the talent we have in Wales will be developed and retained.

SUPPORT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES

The Labour Government is treating Welsh businesses with “contempt” by not providing enough support and a clearer route map out of lockdown, Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price has said.

 

Mr Price said that whilst the Labour Government was ready to go the “extra mile” for large multinational companies like Aston Martin, Amazon and Ineos they were not giving “near enough support” for grassroots and independent Welsh businesses.

 

The Plaid Cymru Leader added that Welsh business had been “left in the dark” when it came to re-opening with no targets or dates on when they can expect to re-open safely for trading and called for a clearer roadmap to provide businesses with greater clarity.

 

Mr Price also called for more financial support for Welsh hospitality and leisure businesses in the form of one-off restart grants to help with the costs of re-opening.

 

Applications for the Labour Welsh Government’s Restrictions Business Fund will close on 31 March 2021 with no successor scheme announced yet. The Scottish Government has already pledged grants of up to £7,500 for retailers and up to £19,500 for hospitality and leisure businesses paid in April to help businesses re-open progressively

 

Leader of Plaid Cymru, Adam Price MS said,

 

“The Labour Government – always ready to go the extra mile for multi-national companies like Aston Martin, Amazon and Ineos – is treating Welsh home-grown independent business with contempt by not providing them with enough financial support or a route map out of lockdown. The lack of a level playing field for small non-essential retail is also part of this wider syndrome of letting Welsh business down, while spouting platitudes about the foundational economy. 

 

“With the latest round of economic support ending on 31^st March and with no real certainty on when they can be expected to re-open for trade, Welsh businesses have been left in the dark to wither on the vine. Where’s the practical support for Welsh businesses wondering whether they should recruit or retain staff and take on additional risk? There’s nothing but stony silence.

 

“Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has said it will provide restart grants to help Scottish businesses with the costs of reopening alongside a much clearer route map, without resorting to false assurances or premature certainty.

 

“The Welsh Government must follow suit and provide financial support for Welsh hospitality and leisure businesses in the form of one-off restart grants to help with the costs of re-opening.

“The balance between providing hope and raising unrealistic expectations is a fine line to tread. But what Welsh businesses, particularly the hospitality sector, currently face is a prolonged guessing game with vague plans, more roadblock than roadmap.

 

“We’re not calling for an arbitrary date for the ending of all restrictions – only greater transparency between now and the end of June on what’s likely to happen to allow businesses room to plan ahead. To not provide that level of openness means Labour is badly failing Welsh business and the workers and communities that depend on them.”

 

DIWEDD / ENDS