A round-up of our recent policy work across the country
In November, Lloyd Powell from ACCA attended an event at Gwydyr House, Whitehall, hosted by the Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart MP. Attendees included business leaders from across Wales who heard from the Secretary of State about how the UK government is supporting Welsh businesses. This was an excellent opportunity to emphasise the role of accountants in supporting Welsh businesses of all sizes to the Secretary of State and his officials.
December saw the Welsh government finance minister Rebecca Evans announce a three year draft budget, with funding for public services, responding to the climate and nature emergency and building a fairer Wales at the heart of the announcements.
Additional support will be provided for businesses with those in retail, leisure and hospitality receiving 50% non-domestic rates relief for 2022/23. £35m has been set aside to freeze the non-domestic rates multiplier for 2022/23, so there will be no increase in the amount of rates businesses are paying.
No tax changes (including to the rates of income tax) were announced. ACCA’s comments on the budget were reported in the Welsh business press, including Business News Wales.
The draft budget will now be scrutinised by Senedd Committees and in the Senedd before the final budget is published and debated in March.
The ACCA/Corporate Finance SME Tracker survey continues to run, with the latest results suggesting that SMEs across Wales are worryingly reliant on short-term financing like business overdrafts with uncertainty affecting growth plans.
The survey results were covered in the Welsh business press, including in the Western Mail and Business News Wales.
Natasha Asghar MS asked a question in the Senedd in December on support for businesses to become environmentally sustainable, referencing the results from the previous Tracker survey.
Any members in Wales, regardless of sector, can support our policy work; the input that we receive from members on policy areas is extremely valuable. This can include completing the tracker survey, attending policy calls or ad hoc policy support on particular policy areas. To find out more, please contact lloyd.powell@accaglobal.com.