£1bn boost to local economies

“Spend Councils’ money locally – and we’ll save jobs”

Plaid Cymru Leader Leanne Wood has outlined her party’s plans to spend more of councils’ money locally to safeguard jobs and provide a boost to local economies.

Wales’ councils spend billions of pounds worth of public money and Plaid is pledging action to ensure that more of that money remains in the local economies – which provide employment and support to town centres.

Currently around £4bn is spent by the public sector in Wales buying goods and services. Plaid Cymru has called for government action to ensure that a greater percentage of that money can be spent in Wales. Plaid’s target of 75% of the public sector spend in Wales would mean around £3bn pounds of tax-payers money staying in Wales.

Plaid Cymru Leader Leanne Wood AM said:

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities and of the wider Welsh economy. Plaid Cymru wants to see our public sector supporting small businesses by allowing them to bid for contracts to provide goods and services.

“The more public money we can lock into our communities, the more jobs will be safeguarded and created, the more businesses will flourish, and the more prosperity we’ll have as communities and as a nation.

“As part of the previous Welsh government, Plaid Cymru increased the number of public sector contracts going to Welsh companies to 50%. More work can be done to increase this figure to 75% which would lead to a £1billion boost for our economy.

“Plaid Cymru wants to see the Welsh government working together with local authorities to make this happen. Plaid Cymru councils will introduce procurement models that are accessible to smaller businesses and contracts which will include social and environmental clauses to promote the sustainable development of our economy.”

FORGET POLITICS LET'S TALK BUSINESS

FORGET POLITICS

LET'S TALK BUSINESS

We’ve all seen the effects of the recent economic crisis with our own eyes – and the toll it has taken on our town centres and other local business.

The facts show that hundreds of thousands of people are employed by small businesses and our government should be protecting those jobs during the economic crisis. Small business owners here are working hard to keep their staff on despite the incredibly difficult economic conditions they’re facing and they should be praised and offered assistance.

After unemployment hit a record high earlier this month, Plaid has called for action to protect jobs in small businesses. The party’s Small Business plan would directly help any business with a rateable value of up to £18,000. However, during recent negotiations to agree the Welsh Budget, Labour blocked the plans.

What’s Plaid’s Plan

• The vast majority of shops and local businesses and shops would be helped by Plaid’s plan.
• We would extend Business Rate support to businesses up to a rateable value of £18,000 – which is over 80% of businesses in Wales.
• This would help safeguard thousands of jobs in Wales and lend valuable support to businesses in the toughest of times.
• Small businesses collectively employ 477,700 people in Wales, but Labour’s refusal to support this scheme has put those jobs at risk.

We believe that despite the cuts, more can be done to protect jobs and help our local businesses communities. Plaid has a plan that really could make a difference to you, your family and your community.

Publish Post

We would urge you to join us in saying that now is the time to make protecting jobs an absolute priority. Like you, we want a better future for Wales.