Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:44 pm on 11 March 2020.
Thank you very much, and I would appreciate updates on the resources that are being released, along with updates on the steps in terms of safeguarding people's health. That point is centrally important, of course: we can't look at some model that would share funds according to population, because different parts of the UK could be hit very differently by COVID-19.
Moving, then, from the health element to the economic element, which of course is a substantial element of the concern as we move forward, the UK Government in today's budget has announced a package of support for small businesses, which of course will be under pressure. One idea is to freeze business rates for certain businesses; there is talk of a loans plan for businesses that have been affected by coronavirus; and there's also a pledge that the Government will assist companies with statutory sick pay for those who miss work because of coronavirus.
Now, it's very important that those packages are also outlined by the UK Government, but it's also very important that we hear from the Welsh Government how prepared you are to seek different ways of alleviating the concerns of business now and being ready to step in. We haven't heard the details of such plans to date, but now would be a good opportunity for us to discuss that.