§ Mr. Geraint Howellsasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about current business confidence in Wales.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsMy contacts with individual companies generally indicate that business confidence in Wales is increasing and the most recent CBI industrial trends survey for Wales, in January this year, reported improvement in business optimism amongst Welsh manufacturers and expectations of increases in new orders and volume of output. The measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement provide a sound basis for further growth in confidence and optimism in the business community.