---

Public Expenditure

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his welcome, and I apologise again for my delayed arrival. I shall comment on his specific points. We must stabilise the banking system; there is no question about that. That job must be done, and we have taken action to do so. A key benefit must be that lending will be available to small businesses and others. We are working with the banks to ensure that it is, and on the new facility that was announced in the pre-Budget report, the details of which will be published shortly. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right in saying that that facility needs to be taken up by the banks, and I am confident that it will be. There have been some helpful moves already, and I have no doubt that there will be more. The hon. Gentleman made a fair point about the work that the VAT reduction has imposed on businesses. He is right, and I take this opportunity to pay tribute to all those businesses in Wales, especially small businesses, that have worked extremely hard to ensure that they have been able to deliver the reduction, which has been widely welcomed. That work was required during a very short period—a week—and was a remarkable achievement on the part of businesses. There will be more work when VAT increases at the beginning of 2010, but the reduction is providing a vital and valuable stimulus to businesses throughout Wales, and I know that they appreciate that.