Dadl Ceidwadwyr Cymreig - Busnesau bach

NDM9078 Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes Small Business Saturday on 6 December 2025.

2. Recognises the crucial contribution that small businesses play in creating jobs, supporting communities and boosting local economies across Wales.

3. Believes that the UK Labour Government’s autumn budget will lead to additional costs and job losses for businesses.

4. Regrets that under the Welsh Labour Government, businesses are hit with the least competitive business rates in Great Britain, unemployment is the highest in the United Kingdom and take-home pay is the lowest.

5. Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) eliminate business rates for all small businesses;

b) reverse planned changes to inheritance tax in relation to business property relief;

c) provide more free parking in town centres;

d) axe the tourism tax before it comes into force; and

e) call on the UK Government to reverse the increase in employer's national insurance and reimburse Wales for failing to fund the full costs of these to date. The following amendments were tabled:

Amendment 1 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)

Delete all after point 2 and replace with:

Recognises the Welsh Government’s commitment to supporting small businesses in Wales through:

a) Business Wales, which has supported over 33,200 businesses and entrepreneurs since the start of this Senedd term;

b) Development Bank of Wales tailored micro loans and growth finance packages, which have supported over 950 businesses with £21.7 million of loans in this Senedd term; and

c) £140 million in small business rates relief to over 70,000 properties in 2025-26.

If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be de-selected.

Amendment 2 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central)

Delete point 5 and replace with: Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) extend the lower rate multiplier for small- and medium-sized retail premises to include hospitality and leisure businesses, noting that failure to do so is estimated to leave the typical high-street pub facing an additional £6,800 per year in business rates;

b) ensure that any support for businesses from the Welsh Government’s recent investment summit does not come at the expense of efforts to nurture a resilient and competitive base of domestic businesses;

c) deliver an enhanced and more coherent package of business support, including strengthened succession-planning assistance for Welsh SMEs; and

d) promote the expansion of co-operatives and mutuals within the Welsh economy by placing these models on an equitable footing with more conventional forms of enterprise.