12 | Welsh Government Annual Report 2020
A Prosperous Wales
People throughout Wales have faced unprecedented challenges this year. The pandemic has threatened the strength of our economy, the wellbeing of our communities and the livelihoods of people across Wales. At the same time, this year has underlined the resilience and bravery of people working in Wales, particularly in the everyday economy. Critical workers have helped to keep people safe; they have provided essential services and made sure our public services are available every day for everyone. This year has also shown how strong our communities really are – in villages, towns and cities across Wales, people have come together to protect and support each other and to care for the most vulnerable. We have built on our achievements to do everything possible to safeguard Wales’ prosperity against the greatest peacetime challenge in our history. We have continued to support our communities, our economy and our public services to ensure that we will emerge from this difficult time as a confident, prosperous and successful nation.
Protecting businesses and livelihoods We have taken unprecedented action this year to support businesses in Wales through the pandemic, to ensure that once restrictions are lifted they will be able to trade again. Our £2bn business support package means companies in Wales have access to the most generous offer of support anywhere in the UK. This is in addition to the wage support schemes available from the UK Government during the pandemic. Our support builds on the foundations laid by the Economic Action Plan, published in 2017, which sets out our vision for inclusive growth and productive regions. More than 13,000 businesses have benefited from £300m of support from our Economic Resilience Fund, protecting 100,000 jobs which might otherwise
have been lost. In October 2020, we provided a further £300m of support in the third phase of the fund. The Development Bank of Wales was launched in 2017 and has played a crucial role in helping firms grow, survive and thrive across the term. The Bank reported a record 457 investments totalling £103.3m in 2019-20, creating or safeguarding almost 4,000 jobs across Wales. To help grow firms and provide jobs faster, the Bank also launched an updated fast track loan this year – loans of up to £25,000 are now available with a decision made in just two working days. Including the Help to Buy Wales scheme, the Development Bank of Wales now manages over £1.2b of Welsh Government funds. Business Wales has maintained its crucial support to Welsh businesses. Business Wales’ schemes
