A NATIONAL BANK OF WALES

A Plaid Cymru government will seek to establish a National Bank of Wales (NBW), a publicly-owned bank similar to the German Landeskreditbanken, providing debt finance to Welsh businesses and taking longer-term equity stakes to help plug the estimated funding gap of £500m a year faced by Welsh SMEs. Finance Wales operations will be merged into new institution.

This institution will work with Welsh Government and the new WDA to grow Welsh Mittelstand companies; it will in particular offer succession and equity release planning specialists, involving the use of management buyouts and employee ownership trusts, and the adoption of long-term equity stakes as a public bank, providing a source of patient finance on the German model in successful Welsh companies in order to maintain Welsh ownership, preventing the ownership churn that has damaged so many successful Welsh companies, and therefore safeguarding jobs.

The term Mittelstand mostly applies to small to mid-sized firms in German speaking countries. Most importantly Mittelstand companies are characterized by a common set of values and management practices. What defines the Mittelstand, is a broad set of values such as: Family-like corporate culture; long-term focus; independence; nimbleness; emotional attachment, investment into the workforce; flexibility; innovativeness; customer focus; social responsibility; strong regional ties.

The owner or owners take the business decisions largely on their own – and assume the risks and liability. In these companies, the boss usually has close ties with the business and the employees and bears a particular responsibility for ensuring job security. Mittelstand companies are often hailed for providing the backbone of the world’s fourth-largest economy. They tend to be family-owned, tucked away in small towns and familiar only to the businesses that buy their specialised machinery and components.

The Mittelstand also appears to offer a solution to some of the biggest worries of the capitalist system. One being the centralisation of wealth and the other is unemployment. The combination of medium-sized companies with deep local roots and a strong apprenticeship system means that in Germany only 7.8% of those aged 25 or under are unemployed, compared with 22.1% in Sweden and 54% in Spain. Mittelstand firms inspire extraordinary loyalty in their workers: on average only 2.7% of them leave each year, compared with the 30% turnover at some big American companies.

Over time NBW will develop into a deposit taking institution, involved in mainstream business banking, and providing banking facilities to the Welsh public sector, allowing it to use fractional reserve banking to expand its lending capacity. It will separately create a series of sector specific and independently managed seed and risk capital funds for high-growth innovation-based businesses.

Plaid Cymru will also look to build on the work of the Sector Panels, Industry Wales and other existing industry fora to support the development of sector associations to help us develop strategies in every area of the economy. We will do everything we can to support the steel industry in Wales, pressing the UK Government and EU to take radical action to protects the industry from unfair competition, procuring Welsh steel wherever possible as part of our infrastructure investment programme and actively exploring the possibility of a joint venture investment to improve the long-term competitiveness of the Port Talbot steelworks.

GROWING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES

A Plaid Cymru government will involve the private sector and its representative bodies in providing business support and advice aimed at small businesses (less than 10 employees) by strengthening the current Business Wales network. Plaid Cymru will also pass a Regulatory Reform Act to lower the bureaucratic burden on business.

Plaid will increase business rate relief so that more than 70,000 small and medium companies will pay no business rates at all. Any firm with a rateable value of less than £10,000 per year will pay no business rates and a Plaid government will introduce a tapered relief for another 20,000 firms whose rateable value is between £10,000 and £20,000. In order to enourage new startups Plaid will not charge any business rates due for the first year of operation.

The Party of Wales will review business rates every three years, so that they are kept up-to-date, and investigate the impact of premises investment so that businesses are not penalised for improvements that they make. We will subject small and large businesses to different multipliers as is the case in Scotland and England and will index rates to CPI not RPI.

Additionally targeted business rate reliefs will be offered for larger companies that agree to meet certain criteria on corporate social responsibility – including opportunities for local suppliers, the Welsh Living Wage, the minimisation of waste and the use of renewable energy. Businesses of all sizes that meet the criteria will be entitled to display a kitemark as responsible Welsh businesses.

Plaid Cymru in government will act immediately to set up a new fund to enable local authorities and community groups to offer two hours free car parking in towns throughout Wales, providing a vital boost to town centre regeneration across all of Wales. 

We will support social innovation, social enterprise, employee and consumer co-ops. We will establish a co-operative challenge fund to provide financial support for feasibility and market studies and early stage finance for groups exploring the option of establishing cooperatives. Plaid Cymru will support the establishment of a social business school to develop the skills of social entrepreneurs, and a social innovation park to incubate new ideas.

SUPPORTING CAMRA’S MANIFESTO FOR WALES

I am happy to pledge support for beer drinkers and pub-goers in Wales by supporting CAMRA and it’s Manifesto for Wales. Pubs are absolutely key to the social and cultural lives of many towns and villages – which has been the case for centuries - in Monmouth constituency and across Wales many pubs play a vital prominent role in community life. 

We must protect the role pubs have in our society as well as in our economy, and so I am pleased to pledge my support for CAMRA and for well-run community pubs and breweries. I share CAMRA’s concern about the business rates faced by pubs. Too many people across Wales are put off from starting businesses due to high rates that they face.

Plaid Cymru has already pledged to cut business rates for small firms, but and extending the Rural Rate Relief to more pubs is certainly something I would personally be interested in looking into. Community pubs and real ale breweries specifically fit into Plaid Cymru’s vision of a Welsh economy that has community-focused SMEs as its backbone, so I have signed up to CAMRA’s election manifesto. 

GOING FOR GROWTH!

Small businesses are vital for our economy, they form the backbone of our economy and they are vital in terms of spreading economic growth beyond the cities and into our smaller towns like Abergavenny, Chepstow, Caldicot, Monmouth and Usk. If we want our small towns across Wales to be thriving, then we have to support small businesses. Business rates are a burden – they account for a far greater proportion of operating costs for a small business than they do for large businesses.

A Plaid Cymru government would extend the rate relief scheme that we implemented in Government so that it covers all businesses whose rateable value is £15,000 or less.  Some 83,000 businesses would see a reduction in their business rates as a result and more than 70,000 businesses across Wales would be taken out of the rates system altogether - this would cost £35 million.

Plaid would raise the money, which would go towards paying for this, by mirroring the business rates system, as it currently exists in England where large businesses pay more than small businesses. While larger businesses would pay more, they would still pay less in Wales than they would across the border. The extra money raised through the increased bill for large businesses would raise more than enough to cut bills for small businesses

BACKING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES

Small businesses in Wales make a vitally important contribution to our economy and account for 99% of all businesses in Wales; it is vital we support this sector. Business rates account for a significant part of operating costs for small businesses and as a result prevent businesses from growing, from investing in themselves and in many cases, creating more jobs. We need to remove the burden of business rates and allow our private sector to flourish and create employment opportunities. The figures highlight the number of small businesses which are struggling to meet their bills and who, under Plaid Cymru plans, would not have to pay any non-domestic rates.

A Freedom of Information request by the party revealed that more than 3,000 businesses with a rateable value of under £10,000 had liability orders issued against them for non-payment over the past three years, they would be among 70,000 businesses taken out of the rates system. Over 3,000 small businesses in Wales fell into debt over their business rates would be taken out of paying non-domestic rates altogether under plans drawn up by Plaid Cymru. The Party of Wales’s has pledged to scrap business rates for all enterprises with a rateable value of under £10,000 relief with those between £10,000 and £15,000 also seeing their bills reduced.

Plaid has long championed the importance of local economies when it comes to generating national wealth. Every £1 spent in a local business selling local produce is worth twice as much to the economy as £1 spent in a supermarket, due to local reinvestment and spending. As noted by the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England, every £10 pound spent in a local business circulates at least three times before it leaves the local economy rather than vanishing when spent in the branches of chains.

It is vital to ensure more people have the opportunity to economically support their local town centres across Wales, so we making them the vibrant heart of the community they once were. Over the last 30 years in Monmouth constituency (and elsewhere) we have all seen the damaging economic and social effects of bad shortsighted questionable planning decisions on our small towns. The Welsh Government needs to actively support our town centres and create a more level playing field for small to medium sized local businesses. Our town centres should be the economic heart of our communities, generating local wealth and jobs for our people.

Business Rates in the Gwent area

BLAENAU GWENT

2013 and 2014:Non-domestic rates liability orders (as of January 30 2015): 232

Arrears @ March 31, 2014: £1,233,000

Liability Orders on businesses with rateable value of less than £10,000:  168 (running total as of September 2014):

CAERPHILLY

2013-14:Non-domestic rates liability orders: 229

Arrears @ March 31, 2014: £1,078,399 (year only)

Liability Orders on businesses with rateable value of less than £10,000: 290 over three years

MERTHYR TYDFIL

2013-14:Non-domestic rates liability orders: 76

Arrears @ March 31, 2014: £797,946

Liability Orders on businesses with rateable value of less than £10,000: 53 over three years

MONMOUTHSHIRE

2013-14:Non-domestic rates liability orders: 209

Arrears @ March 31, 2014: £1.6m (gross)

Liability Orders on businesses with rateable value of less than £10,000: 307 over three years

NEWPORT

2013-14:Non-domestic rates liability orders: 310

Arrears @ March 31, 2014: £1.92m

Liability Orders on businesses with rateable value of less than £10,000: 104 over 3 years

TORFAEN

2013-14: Non-domestic rates liability orders: 39

Arrears @ March 31, 2014:  £1,287,084Liability Orders on businesses with rateable value of less than £10,000: 39 over three years

SAVING OUR TOWN CENTRES

Plaid Cymru has long championed the importance of local economies when it comes to generating national wealth. Every £1 spent in a local business selling local produce is worth twice as much to the economy as £1 spent in a supermarket, due to local reinvestment and spending. As noted by the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England, every £10 pound spent in a local business circulates at least three times before it leaves the local economy rather than vanishing when spent in the branches of chains. 

Jill Evans MEP, Plaids lead European candidate

Jill Evans MEP, The Party of Wales’ lead European candidate said:

"The importance of town centres is often underestimated. They have been allowed to wilt under successive governments in both Westminster and Cardiff and it’s time the Welsh Government produced a strategy to turn the situation around.

"Plaid Cymru has called for the business rates system to be completely reformed, levelling the playing field for small town centre businesses to compete with large out-of-town retail parks.

"In terms of business rates, Wales is the most expensive country in the UK for small businesses and the cheapest country for large multinationals.

"The system is clearly wrong and a Plaid Cymru government would make levelling the playing field a priority.

"We can’t turn the clock back, though, so we will need different models of town centres for a best-fit approach. This will involve a range of local strategies to create new stores and more pleasant places to shop so that we can increase the number of customers and people using those centres.

"We need the Welsh Government to produce a much more comprehensive plan to take on that challenge and lift town centres back to their rightful place as economically vibrant community hubs."

It is vital to ensure more people have the opportunity to economically support their local town centres across Wales, so we making them the vibrant heart of the community they once were. Over the last 30 years in Monmouth constituency (and elsewhere) we have all seen the damaging economic and social effects of bad short sighted questionable planning decisions on our small towns. The Welsh Government needs to actively support our town centres and create a more level playing field for small to medium sized local businesses. 

Our town centres should be the economic heart of our communities, generating local wealth and jobs for our people. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have noted that the UK loses 2,000 local shops every year and that of this rate of loss continues then there will be significantly fewer independent retailers left in business. This is something that will seriously hit both consumers and our communities hard as they lose any real choice in the marketplace and lose potential job opportunities.

WORKING FOR WALES

If we are serious about developing small to medium sized enterprises (SMES) then there is a need for a new business bank (for Wales) to help small and medium sized businesses grow to reach their potential. At the moment (and sadly probably for the foreseeable future) many of our small and medium sized enterprises are  being denied credit by banks and this is smothering potential economic growth and the expansion of our private sector. A Bank of Wales, could potentially run in the same way that the Sparkasse and Landesbanken (in Germany) which operate on a strictly regional basis and aim to support local industries and businesses.

This is not a particularly new or radical idea, it may well be one who’s moment has arrived. We should remember that historically we once had a network of local banks focused on the drovers who moved livestock to sell in the larger export market. Local banks were killed off in the last quarter of the nineteenth and most of the twentieth century’s as financial services were increasingly amalgamated, centralised and standardised (in London). This did little for local entrepreneurs, business people and has done little for ordinary bank customers as banks have been increasingly run to serve their own needs rather than those of the people. 

As has been previously noted elsewhere (by oggybloggyogwr); Germany has a unique network of state-owned, federal state-based (Länder) banks called Landesbanken. They offer a mix of commercial and private banking services and employ tens of thousands of people across Germany. They're primarily a source of credit and bonds for both public sector and private companies within their respective states. So the "big bank money" tends to be cycled within the state. That's probably one reason why economic disparities between regions aren't as pronounced within parts of the former West Germany as they are in a unitary state like the UK or France. 

During it’s relatively short life, what was known in some circles as the Plaid driven One Wales Government made real efforts to act differently when it came to economic development and to provide support for SMEs. They can and should play a significant role at the heart of our communities; they create wealth and sustainable medium to long term employment opportunities for local people often with more flexible working conditions.

Since May 2011 the Labour in Wales government has simply dusted off the old and unsuccessful Welsh office model of economic development. Simply attracting branch factory operations of a relative short term duration does not help develop or sustain our economy. More than ever we really do need to think differently and focus economic development priorities on smaller local businesses who will be rooted in our communities and offer more flexible employment opportunities.

As has been noted elsewhere profits and investments made by home grown locally rooted businesses tend to stay within the communities where they are based for longer. So the concept of new Bank of Wales business bank to help small and medium sized businesses is one realistic way of enabling SME’s to grow and create wealth in our communities, not to mention developing and sustaining longer term employment possibilities.

THE WAY TO GO

The news that the number of new limited companies registered in Wales has gone up by more than 20% is good news. Companies House say 469 new firms were registered with them in 2012, when compared with 386 in 2011. This increase is actually higher than the UK average but it has to be balanced by the sobering news that the number of company failures in Wales also rose when they fell on average across the UK.

A number of my friends run their own businesses, so I am fully aware of the pitfalls and the opportunities that can await anyone who goes into business for themselves. With a good idea, a sound business case, timely support and advice it can work out. Our small businesses can create wealth and sustainable employment opportunities for local people and play a significant role at the heart of our communities. Their profits and investments tend to stay within the communities where they are based.

For too many years economic development in Wales has been focused on large scale development of what can be best described a single egg solutions. They promise much in the short to medium term yet often deliver significantly less over the long term, if they survive. The latest figures show that Wales saw a 191% rise in the number of projects, by way of comparison with a 41% increase in Northern Ireland, a 16% rise in Scotland and a 10% increase in England (outside of London).

The statistics have been released by UK Trade andInvestment (UKTI), the Westminster government department responsible for exports and inward investment. There is no breakdown of the number of jobs created or safeguarded (in Wales) by these projects; the BBC says that Welsh government says they created of 2,605 jobs and safeguarded another 4,442 in the 2012/13 financial year.

Despite rise in the number of projects, Wales' share of the UK total inward investment accounts for 4%, is much lower than the high point of the 1980s and 1990s. Now this is good news, but, our focus should be on developing small to medium size local businesses, which are significantly less likely to up sticks and leave for perceived greener pastures and fresh applications of development grants.

We are still too focused on attracting large scale single enterprises, which promise much but deliver significantly less than anticipated. The LG development near Newport, is a good example of an expensive white elephant which promised the usual total of 6,000 jobs and accrued significant public funding (£376 million pounds at the last count) which was committed by the then Welsh Secretary, William Hague.

The promises and the pledges and the public funding  never quite managed to deliver anything like what was promised. While anyone with a basic  understanding of the state of the Korean and the Far Eastern economies at the time that, let alone a basic understanding of where technological developments was going in relation to PC monitor screens, would have put their hands up and said hang on a moment.

What can best be described as a combination of fantasy island economic assessments, a fatally flawed business case and the prospect of looking good with a forthcoming Westminster election looming led to one of the spectacularly duller decisions of recent years being made. The old WDA had in truth never really consistently delivered anything like long term economic stability and much needed long term job opportunities to our communities that it should have done.

The European funding opportunities available to Wales (as a result of economic mismanagement on the part of successive Westminster governments) may well turn out to have been squandered on schemes that fail to deliver measurable results yet manage to deliver fat salaries to the managers. Much of the money has been scammed into dubious schemes and training programmes that fail to deliver the necessary skills that workers and potential workers need to make a decent living in the modern economy.

Anyone who has visited Spain and Ireland prior to the self inflicted banking crash will have seen (and can see) the results of years of European regional investment the question we should be asking is where are the physical assets? By this I mean the things you can literally put your hand on like improved communications (rail, railway stations, etc), broadband infrastructure, etc?

The Westminster, Welsh Office, WDA model of concentrating on attracting branch factory operations of a relative short term duration has failed to develop and sustain our economy. Back between 2007 and 2011 the Plaid driven One Wales Government made significant efforts and tried to think and act differently when it comes to economic development and support for small to medium sized enterprises.

Small businesses should be the life blood of our urban centres, yet, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has long noted that the UK is losing around 2,000 local shops every year and that of this rate of loss is dangerously unacceptable. In a few years unless things change there will be precious few no independent retailers left in business, something that will hammer both consumers and our communities hard as they lose any real choice in the marketplace and lose potential job opportunities.

Now as someone who now and then takes the bus to work and walks through streets that were once the retail heart of Newport (nominally Wales’s third largest city) I can see with my own eyes the economic realities of our situation. Over the last twenty five years the commercial heart of many of our communities has been shattered as a result of a combination of aggressive policies pursued by the larger retail chains, exceptionally poor decision making on the part of local government and central government indifference.

This combined with the rapid growth of unsustainable, ill-thought out of and edge of town retail developments has effectively left no place for the smaller local businesses and retailers. When you factor in parking charges, business rates and the effect of the closure of high street banks and post offices in many of our communities then you can begin to see why many of our smaller businesses and local shopping centres are up against it.

Local small businesses as well as trading with us the consumers, also trade with each other - so the community gets twice the benefit. Money spent by and in local businesses spends on average three times longer in the local economy than that spent with chain stores which is instantly lost to the local economy which in times of recession our communities can ill afford. We really do need to think differently and focus economic development priorities on developing and supporting smaller local businesses who will be rooted in our communities and offer more flexible employment opportunities too our people.

The Welsh Government needs to have the power (and the vision) to remove or reduce business taxes to help boost our businesses, to encourage investment in skills, technology and  workers. If we are going to make Wales a nation of aspiring entrepreneurs and to encourage and enable them, our communities and our economy to flourish we also need to encourage the development of community owned social enterprises.

A few years ago the Rowlands review into the provision of growth capital recognised that an economical vibrant SME sector is vital for economic growth. There has been a lack of provision for companies in Wales who were looking for between £2 and £10 million pounds in capital, this has to change if we are to encourage sustainable economic growth and development.

It’s pretty clear that the present financial market and its institutions have failed to supply sufficient venture capital for the SME sector in Wales. We need a venture capital fund for Wales, which should be established by, but independent of the Welsh Government. Such an independent venture capital fund could raise capital and deliver investment through a co-investment model, with approved private sector partners to our SME sector, where such investment would make a real difference.

Despite nearly 15 years of devolution much of the same old mid to late twentieth century economic thinking lingers at the heart of the Welsh Government when it comes to economic development. There is still far too much focus on vastly expensive one egg, one basket schemes to generate the seemingly standard figure of 6,000 jobs which seems to haunt government press releases whether we are talking about the Severn Barrage, the Severnside airport , the M4 relief road or whatever.

We badly need new ideas not just talk, we need some concrete steps to encourage growth, boost manufacturing industry, support and develop  our small to medium sized enterprises. One positive step would be to end business rates and that's just to start with... otherwise it will just be a case of same old twaddle which will do nothing to help our communities and our economy.

A BANK FOR WALES

The call from Plaid for a new business bank for Wales to help small and medium sized businesses grow to reach their potential is a welcome one. At present many of our small and medium sized enterprises are  being denied credit by banks and this is stifling potential economic growth and the expansion of the private sector in Wales. Plaid’s economic commission is to investigate proposals for a Bank of Wales, to potentially run in the same way that the Sparkasse and Landesbanken (in Germany) which operate on a strictly regional basis to support local industries.

As noted elsewhere by the oggybloggyogwr; Germany has a unique network of state-owned, federal state-based (Länder) banks called Landesbanken. They offer a mix of commercial and private banking services and employ tens of thousands of people across Germany. They're primarily a source of credit and bonds for both public sector and private companies within their respective states. So the "big bank money" tends to be cycled within the state. That's probably one reason why economic disparities between regions aren't as pronounced within parts of the former West Germany as they are in a unitary state like the UK or France. 

Now to be brutally honest none of this is not a particularly new or radical idea, but, it may be a timely one, historically we once had a network of local banks focused on the drovers who moved livestock to sell in the larger export market. These were killed off as through the last quarter of the nineteenth and most of the twentieth century’s financial services were increasingly amalgamated, centralised and  standardised in London. The process did little for local entrepreneurs, business people and (certainly latterly) has done little for ordinary bank customers as banks have been increasingly run to serve their own needs rather than those of the people.

Alun Ffred Jones AM, Plaid Shadow Economy minister said:

“Plaid Cymru is ambitious for Wales – we want to see more business and economic growth throughout the country, creating jobs and improving skills.

“However, what I hear from businesses up and down Wales, and supported by surveys from the FSB and other business representatives, is that small businesses are still finding it difficult to get funding to help with their cashflow and to develop their future growth plans.

“It isn’t a problem which is unique to Wales, and the problem is commonly recognised, but the various credit proposals from Westminster haven’t provided the solution.

“In fact, all too often, we hear stories from business owners that have had to use their credit card to finance their growth plans because distant banks are cutting back on capital and unwilling to commit to plans to improve Wales.

“Private sector growth is vital to our economic recovery.

“Wales therefore needs to have a bank which operates on similar lines to the German Sparkasse and Landesbanken that operate on a geographical basis, developing special expertise in the local industries so that they are better equipped to make investment decisions.

“The Bank of Wales name was bought up by the Bank of Scotland and merged out of existence. It would be good if we could have that name back to use to benefit Wales, rather than it being left in a drawer, and being no good to anybody.

“Plaid Cymru’s economic commission will be investigating how we can make the banking system work better for Welsh business.”

During it’s relatively short life, what was known in some circles (to the intense irritation of Labour in Wales representatives) as the Plaid driven One Wales Government made significant efforts to act differently when it came to economic development and support for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs can and should play a significant role at the heart of our communities; they create wealth and sustainable medium to long term employment opportunities for local people.

Sadly since May 2011 the Labour in Wales minority government appears to have resurrected the old brain dead Welsh office model of economic development. Attracting branch factory operations of a relative short term duration does not help develop our economy. More than ever we really do need to think differently and focus economic development priorities on smaller local businesses who will be rooted in our communities and offer more flexible employment opportunities.

As has been noted elsewhere profits and investments made by home grown locally rooted businesses tend to stay within the communities where they are based. So Plaid’s concept of new Bank of Wales business bank to help small and medium sized businesses should be warmly welcomed, as this is one realistic way of putting wealth into our communities, not to mention developing and sustaining longer term employment possibilities.

OUR TOWN CENTRES

Over the last twenty years the commercial hearts of many of our communities have been seriously damaged as a result of a combination of aggressive policies pursued by the larger retail chains and exceptionally poor decision making on the part of local government and central government indifference.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have noted that the UK loses 2,000 local shops every year and that of this rate of loss continues then by 2015, less than 4 years hence, there will be potentially few independent retailers left in business, something that will badly hit both consumers and our communities hard as they lose any real choice in the marketplace and lose potential job opportunities.

When this decline is combined with the rapid growth of unsustainable out of town and edge of town retail developments which leave next to no place for the smaller local businesses and retailers and deprive consumers of real choice - then it is clear that we have a real problem on our hands.

Factor in parking charges, business rates and the effect of the closure of high street banks and post offices in many of our communities and you begin to see why many of our smaller businesses and local shopping centres are up against it.

Local small businesses as well as trading with us, also trade with each other - so the community gets twice the benefit. Money spent by and in local businesses spends on average three times longer in the local economy than that spent with chain stores which is instantly lost to the local economy which in times of recession our communities can ill afford.

Plaid Cymru recognises the economic importance of our town centres, and will introduce a package of measures in government to support local shops and town centres. And Plaid will maintain the current business rate relief for the next five years which means that half of Wales’s small businesses will pay no rates at all during the term of the next Assembly government.

In its manifesto, Plaid has also promised to undertake a detailed retail strategy for Wales to support vibrant local economies and towns. The party will design a national plan to improve town centres for local people and visitors as well as undertaking a wholesale reform of the Welsh planning system to encourage the development of a low carbon economy and new business growth.

Retail is the largest private-sector employer in Wales and plays an important role in communities across Wales.

Plaid’s strategy would include looking at:

• Independent retail impact assessments for supermarket development
• Ensuring affordable retail units for local businesses being made available in new shopping developments
• Making provision for retail services for new significant housing developments
• Ensuring regular town centre reviews as part of Local Development Plans
• Creating online directories to promote Welsh produce within Welsh businesses

Plaid wants to create a Welsh Valuation Office Agency, and would ensure that rateable value assessments are undertaken fairly to provide a level playing field for small businesses rather than favouring the larger out of town developments as they do at present.

SUPPORTING SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES

Small businesses play a significant role at the heart of our communities; they create wealth and sustainable employment opportunities for local people. Profits and investments made by them tend to stay within the communities where they are based. For too many years economic development in Wales has been focused on large scale development of what can be best described a single egg solutions, which promise much and deliver significantly less, the focus should be on developing small to medium size local businesses, which are significantly less likely to up sticks and leave for perceived greener pastures and fresh applications of development grants.

This focus on attracting large scale single enterprises, which promise much but deliver significantly less than anticipated. The LG development near Newport, is a good example of an expensive disaster / fiasco [please take your pick] which promised the usual total of 6,000 jobs - accrued significant public funding - which was committed by the then Welsh Secretary, William Hague, yet never delivered anything like what was promised. While anyone (even a Tory) with half a brain or even half an understanding of the state of the Korean and the Far Eastern economies at the time that and a basic understanding of where technological developments in relation to PC monitor screens were going, would have put their hands up and said hang on a moment.

A combination of what can best be described as fantasy island economic assessments, a fatally flawed business case and a forthcoming Westminster election led to one of the spectacularly duller decisions of recent years being made, something that ended up costing us millions of pounds worth of public money. The old WDA has in truth not really consistently delivered anything like long term economic stability and much needed long term job opportunities to our communities that it should have done considering the amounts poured into it..

European funding opportunities have been seriously squandered, where are the physical assets, by which I mean the things you can literally put your hand on like improved communications (rail and road), broadband infrastructure, etc - that bring long term benefits to our communities. How much money has been scammed (and scammed may be the key word) into dubious training programmes and questionable educations programmes that fail to deliver the necessary skills that workers and potential workers need to make a decent living in the modern economy?

The Plaid driven One Wales Government has made significant efforts and attempts to think and act differently when it comes to economic development and support for small to medium sized enterprises, which are the only real thing that will put wealth into our communities, and develop and sustain longer term employment possibilities. Attracting branch factory operations of a relative short term duration does not help develop our economy - we really do need to think differently and focus economic development priorities on smaller local businesses who will be rooted in our communities and offer more flexible employment opportunities.

Over the last twenty years the commercial hearts of many of our communities have been seriously damaged as a result of a combination of aggressive policies pursued by the larger retail chains and exceptionally poor decision making on the part of local government and central government indifference. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have noted that the UK loses 2,000 local shops every year and that of this rate of loss continues then by 2015, less than 4 years hence, there will be potentially few independent retailers left in business, something that will badly hit both consumers and our communities hard as they lose any real choice in the marketplace and lose potential job opportunities.

When this decline is combined with the rapid growth of unsustainable out of town and edge of town retail developments which leave next to no place for the smaller local businesses and retailers and deprive consumers of real choice - then it is clear that we have a real problem on our hands. Factor in parking charges, business rates and the effect of the closure of high street banks and post offices in many of our communities and you begin to see why many of our smaller businesses and local shopping centres are up against it.

Local small businesses as well as trading with us the consumers, also trade with each other - so the community gets twice the benefit. Money spent by and in local businesses spends on average three times longer in the local economy than that spent with chain stores which is instantly lost to the local economy which in times of recession our communities can ill afford.

The Welsh Government needs to have the power to vary business taxes in order to help boost our businesses, as well as encourage investment in skills and the tools of their businesses and their workers. If we are going to make Wales a nation of aspiring entrepreneurs and to encourage and enable them, our communities and our economy to flourish we need to encourage the development of community owned social enterprises.

The Rowlands review into the provision of growth capital was most welcome; it recognised that an economical vibrant SME sector is vital for economic growth. There has been a lack of provision for companies in Wales who are looking for between £2 and £10 million pounds in capital, this has to change if we are to encourage sustainable economic growth and development.

It’s pretty clear that the present financial market and its institutions have failed over recent years to supply sufficient venture capital for the SME sector in Wales. We need our own venture capital fund for Wales, which should be established by, but independent of the Welsh Government. Such an independent venture capital fund could raise capital and deliver investment through a co-investment model, with approved private sector partners to our SME sector, where such investment would make a real difference.

More of the same old twaddle from Whitehall and Cathays won't do at all, vastly expensive one egg, one basket schemes to generate the seemingly standard 6,000 jobs, just won't do. And speaking of twaddle, which was all that we were offered by the Wales based branches of the London based political parties, what we need is fresh thinking and action  - more than just talk, we need some concrete steps to encourage growth, boost manufacturing industry, support our small to medium sized enterprises and an end to the business rates and that's just to start with... otherwise it will just be a case of same old, same old with ill thought out out public sector cuts which will do nothing to boost our communities and our economy.

HOMEGROWN SME'S V BRANCH OFFICE DEVELOPMENTS

Small businesses play a significant role at the heart of our communities; they create wealth and sustainable employment opportunities for local people. Profits and investments made by them tend to stay within the communities where they are based. For too many years economic development in Wales has been focused on large scale development of what can be best described a single egg solutions, which promise much and deliver significantly less, the focus should be on developing small to medium size local businesses, which are significantly less likely to up sticks and leave for perceived greener pastures and fresh applications of development grants.

This focus on attracting large scale single enterprises, which promise much but deliver significantly less than anticipated. The LG development near Newport, is a good example of an expensive disaster / fiasco [please take your pick] which promised the usual total of 6,000 jobs - accrued significant public funding - which was committed by the then Welsh Secretary, William Hague, yet never delivered anything like what was promised. While anyone (even a Tory) with half a brain or even half an understanding of the state of the Korean and the Far Eastern economies at the time that and a basic understanding of where technological developments in relation to PC monitor screens were going, would have put their hands up and said hang on a moment.

A combination of what can best be described as fantasy island economic assessments, a fatally flawed business case and a forthcoming Westminster election led to one of the spectacularly duller decisions of recent years being made, something that ended up costing us millions of pounds worth of public money. The WDA has in truth not really consistently delivered anything like long term economic stability and much needed long term job opportunities to our communities that it should have done.

European funding opportunities have been seriously wasted, where are the physical assets, by which I mean the things you can literally put your hand on like improved communications (rail and road), broadband infrastructure, etc - that bring long term benefits to our communities. How much money has been scammed (and scammed may be the key word) into dubious training programmes and questionable educations programmes that fail to deliver the necessary skills that workers and potential workers need to make a decent living in the modern economy?

The Plaid driven One Wales Government has made significant efforts and attempts to think and act differently when it comes to economic development and support for small to medium sized enterprises, which are the only real thing that will put wealth into our communities, and develop and sustain longer term employment possibilities. Attracting branch factory operations of a relative short term duration does not help develop our economy - we really do need to think differently and focus economic development priorities on smaller local businesses who will be rooted in our communities and offer more flexible employment opportunities.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has noted that the UK is losing 2,000 local shops every year and that of this rate of loss continues then by 2015, less than 5 years hence, there will be no independent retailers left in business, something that will badly hit both consumers and our communities hard as they lose any real choice in the marketplace and lose potential job opportunities. Over the last twenty years the commercial hearts of many of our communities have been seriously damaged as a result of a combination of aggressive policies pursued by the larger retail chains and exceptionally poor decision making on the part of local government and central government indifference.

When combined with the rapid growth of unsustainable, ill-thought out and more than questionable out of town and edge of town retail developments which leave next to no place for the smaller local businesses and retailers and deprive consumers of real choice. When you factor in parking charges, business rates and the effect of the closure of high street banks and post offices in many of our communities and you begin to see why many of our smaller businesses and local shopping centres are up against it. Local small businesses as well as trading with us the consumers, also trade with each other - so the community gets twice the benefit. Money spent by and in local businesses spends on average three times longer in the local economy than that spent with chain stores which is instantly lost to the local economy which in times of recession our communities can ill afford.

The Welsh Assembly Government's Green jobs Strategy is a welcome step in the right direction but clearly more needs to be done. The National Assembly needs to have the power to vary business taxes in order to help boost our businesses, as well as encourage investment in skills and the tools of their businesses and their workers. If we are going to make Wales a nation of aspiring entrepreneurs and to encourage and enable them, our communities and our economy to flourish we need to encourage the development of community owned social enterprises.

The Rowlands review into the provision of growth capital was most welcome; it recognised that an economical vibrant SME sector is vital for economic growth. There has been a lack of provision for companies in Wales who are looking for between £2 and £10 million pounds in capital, this has to change if we are to encourage sustainable economic growth and development.

It’s pretty clear that the present financial market and its institutions have failed over recent years to supply sufficient venture capital for the SME sector in Wales. We need a venture capital fund for Wales, which should be established by, but independent of the Welsh Assembly Government. Such an independent venture capital fund could raise capital and deliver investment through a co-investment model, with approved private sector partners to our SME sector, where such investment would make a real difference.

More of the same old twaddle from Whitehall and Cathays won't do at all, vastly expensive one egg, one basket schemes to generate the seemingly standard 6,000 jobs, just won't do. And speaking of twaddle, which was all that we were offered by the London based political parties, what we need is fresh thinking and action from the new government - more than just talk, we need some concrete steps to encourage growth, boost manufacturing industry, support our small to medium sized enterprises and an end to the business rates and that's just to start with... otherwise it will just be a case of same old, same old with ill thought out out public sector cuts which will do nothing to boost our communities and our economy.

INVESTING IN INNOVATION - MORE THAN JUST AN IDEA!

I have enough friends who have set up their own businesses to know how traumatic a process it can be when it comes to making that idea grow. We really need to invest in innovation if we want our communities and our country to benefit from real sustainable economic development. Plaid has already called for a substantial investment programme to address the climate crisis and to generate sustainable green jobs across Wales.

The Welsh Assembly Government’s Green jobs Strategy is a welcome step in the right direction but clearly more needs to be done. The National Assembly needs to have the power to vary business taxes in order to help boost our businesses, as well as encourage investment in skills and the tools of their businesses and their workers.

I firmly believe that Wales is a nation of aspiring entrepreneurs and to encourage and enable them, our communities and our economy to flourish we need to encourage the development of community owned social enterprises. The Rowlands review into the provision of growth capital was most welcome; it recognised that an economical vibrant SME sector is vital for economic growth. There has been a lack of provision for companies in Wales who are looking for between £2 and £10 million pounds in capital, this has to change if we are to encourage sustainable economic growth and development.

It’s pretty clear that the present financial market and its institutions have failed over recent years to supply sufficient venture capital for the SME sector in Wales. We need a venture capital fund for Wales, which should be established by, but independent of the Welsh Assembly Government. Such an independent venture capital fund could raise capital and deliver investment through a co-investment model, with approved private sector partners to our SME sector, where such investment would make a real difference.

More of the same old twaddle from Whitehall and Cathays won't do at all, vastly expensive one egg, one basket schemes to generate the seemingly standard 6,000 jobs, just won't do. And speaking of twaddle that's all we have been offered by the London based political parties, its time to think different, its time to think Plaid.

THE TOOLS TO DO THE JOB

The Plaid driven one Wales Government is doing its best with limited powers, but, it still has one hand effectively tied behind its back by London based Government which appears, even after the greed induced stupidity fed banking crisis still appears to value the City and the Square mile above of all else. If we want to make things better then we need to fundamentally review economic policy and help to develop the local workforce’s skills which will help create the economic climate where local firms can develop, grow and prosper develop long-term sustainable economic prosperity and long-term employment in our communities and to do this Wales need more control of economic decision making.

There is a profound need to target economic policy on a regional basis across Wales, so that everyone benefits, not only those living immediately alongside the M4 corridor. The Plaid driven one Wales Government needs to help grow our small to medium enterprise (SME) sector, side by side with supporting the re-skilling of the workforce, if we do this then we can secure sustainable, long term economic growth and employment, if we don’t then we may slip back to boom and bust.

We are still facing a major economic challenge as large production companies see Eastern Europe (and beyond) as a cheaper location. Our rural industries, as well as those inside the traditional industrial heartland are especially vulnerable, as their economic viability is brought into question by a variety of reasons, including the astronomical rise in fuel and energy costs, the economic power of the supermarkets, European regulations on waste disposal, and the issues surrounding food imports as many companies are operating on somewhat slender profit margins.

One of the lessons that can be learned from Ireland is that a workforce’s skills are still fundamental to the success of a country’s economy and to economic development. Ireland was able to use use a third of its European funding to educate its workforce with new skills, as long as we are unable to do this here in Wales then our small businesses and our workforce will be disadvantaged. In Ireland the lower corporation tax was key component in attracting international investment.

Between 1972 and 2002 the Irish economy grew, on average, by 5% a year whilst the growth of the Welsh economy was less than 2% a year. In planning our economic future, we need hands on rather than hands off; it is vital that we look to our own resources and specifically to developing the SME sized businesses. Our local businesses, rather than multi national firms are much less likely to pack up and leave Wales for the cheaper labour markets of Eastern Europe and Asia.

GOOD FOR BUSINESS, GOOD FOR US

Small businesses are a vital part of our communities; they create wealth and sustainable employment opportunities for local people within our communities. For far too long economic development in Wales has been focused on large scale development of what can be best described a single egg solutions, which promise much and deliver significantly less, the focus should be on developing small to medium size local businesses, which are significantly less likely to up sticks and leave for perceived greener pastures and fresh applications of development grants.

There has been far too much focus on attracting large scale single enterprises, which promise much but deliver significantly less, the expensive disaster / fiasco [take your pick] promised a spectacular total of 6,000 jobs - significant public funding was committed by the then Welsh Secretary, William Hague, it never delivered. Anyone with half a brain or even half an understanding of the state of the Korean and the Far Eastern economies at the time that and a basic understanding of where technological developments in relation to PC monitor screens were going, would have put their hand up.

A combination fantasy island economic assessments, a fatally flawed business case and a forthcoming Westminster election led to one of the duller decisions of recent years being made, something that ended up costing us millions of pounds worth of public money. The WDA has in truth not really delivered anything like long term economic stability and Long term job opportunities to our communities.

European funding opportunities have been wasted, where are the physical assets, by which I mean the things you can literally put your hand on like improved communications (rail and road), broadband infrastructure, etc that bring long term benefits to our communities. How much money has been scammed into dubious training programmes and questionable educations programmes that fail to deliver the skills out workers and potential workers need to make a decent living in the modern economy?

The Plaid driven One Wales Government has attempted to think and act differently when it comes to economic development and support for small to medium sized enterprises, which are the only real thing that will put wealth into our communities, and develop and sustain longer term employment possibilities. Attracting branch factory operations of a relative short term duration does not help develop our economy - we really do need to think differently and focus economic development priorities on smaller local businesses who will be rooted in our communities and offer more flexible employment opportunities.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) noted that the UK is losing 2,000 local shops every year and that of this rate of loss continues then by 2015, less than 5 years hence, there will be no independent retailers left in business, something that will badly hit both consumers and our communities hard as they lose any real choice in the marketplace and lose potential job opportunities. Over the last twenty years the commercial hearts of many of our communities have been seriously damaged as a result of a combination of aggressive policies pursued by the larger retail chains and exceptionally poor decision making on the part of local government and central government indifference.

When combined with the rapid growth of unsustainable, ill-thought out and more than questionable out of town and edge of town retail developments which leave next to no place for the smaller local businesses and retailers and deprive consumers of real choice. When you factor in parking charges, business rates and the effect of the closure of high street banks and post offices in many of our communities and you begin to see why many of our smaller businesses and local shopping centres are up against it.

Local small businesses as well as trading with us the consumers, also trade with each other - so the community gets twice the benefit. Money spent by and in local businesses spends on average three times longer in the local economy than that spent with chain stores which is instantly lost to the local economy which in times of recession our communities can ill afford.