New fund supports local businesses across Wales

The Welsh government has launched a new fund to help businesses offering goods and services that support the wellbeing of people in Wales.

The Backing Local Firms Fund will support businesses in the local everyday economy to deliver more products and services required by the public sector, helping to create more jobs.

The everyday economy, also known as the foundational economy, is made up of locally owned businesses which provide fair work in sectors such as care and heath services, food, housing, energy, tourism, construction and retail.

The new £1m fund is being used to tackle the recruitment crisis in social care, increase the amount of Welsh food served, and deliver plans to support local businesses to win contracts to fulfil the optimized retrofit programme and reduce housing’s carbon footprint.

The £1 million Backing Local Firms Fund is expected to build on the Welsh Government’s Foundational Economy Challenge Fund.

Economy minister Vaughan Gething said: ‘The Backing Local Firms Fund I’m announcing today will support businesses in parts of our local everyday economy to deliver more of the products and services required by the public sector, helping create more and better jobs closer to home.

‘Our local everyday economy is the pillar which keeps our communities safe. The contribution it makes to the wellbeing of people across Wales is crucial. The coronavirus pandemic highlighted this more clearly than ever before.

‘Nurturing the everyday economy is a cross-government priority and fundamental to our Economic Resilience and Reconstruction Mission. We want to create vibrant places throughout Wales, places where young people can realise their ambitions and reach their potential, places where anyone can launch and develop a thriving business.

‘Strengthening our local everyday economy will enhance and enrich employment opportunities, enabling us to focus on retaining Welsh talent in Wales and securing the economies of our communities.’

In related news, changes to help protect commercial tenants from rent debt claims against them and help the market return to normality have been announced.

Photo by Georg Arthur Pflueger