Welsh Conservatives have accused the Assembly Government of a “significant under-spend” in support for businesses during the recession.

Information obtained by the party reveals that less than a quarter of funding from the Labour-Plaid administration’s business support programme budget was spent in the first half of the financial year and with the economy still in recession.

Welsh Conservatives also understand ministers are considering extending the deadline for ProAct funding beyond the March deadline to ensure money is “fully utilised”.

Shadow Minister for the Economy David Melding AM said the revelations raised serious questions about Assembly Government support for businesses during the recession.

He added: “I am astonished that in the depths of the recession and six months into the financial year less than a quarter of the business support budget had been spent.

“The Assembly Government should have been ahead of target to help businesses during the worst recession since the 1920s.

“Ministers have repeatedly claimed they were doing everything they could to support businesses during difficult economic conditions. These figures suggest otherwise.

“They have failed to make full use of funding available to them, or to adopt our proposals for a meaningful business rate relief scheme which would have supported smaller firms when they needed it most.

“Because of this, the unemployment rate in Wales is now the highest of any UK nation, one in four is economically inactive, and businesses are closing down altogether.

“The Welsh economy is paying a heavy price for ministerial inaction and a bureaucratic support regime which has denied many businesses the help they needed during the recession.”