3. Statement by the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs: Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:58 pm on 8 April 2020.

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Photo of Mr Neil Hamilton Mr Neil Hamilton UKIP 3:58, 8 April 2020

The Minister will appreciate that for Mid and West Wales in particular seasonal businesses are vitally important to the economy, and this is particularly true in rural areas as well. Inevitably, the bulk of their season's income is now under threat, and it's very possible that some businesses will earn nothing during the spring or the summer. That poses very severe threats for what comes after this crisis is over, and we need to do some forward planning, therefore, about the cashflow situation that might arise in the autumn and in the winter. In this respect, although businesses have been getting a lot of help from Government, such as the job retention scheme, where 80 per cent of the costs of a furloughed employee are paid, nevertheless, businesses still have to pay that 20 per cent figure, and as Helen Mary Jones pointed out in relation to security costs and maintenance costs, they continue throughout this crisis even though there's no income coming in. So I wonder if the Minister can tell me what thought is being given to what follows in the immediate prospect after the summer to help these businesses get through the winter and back onto an even keel, because clearly it's going to take 12 months, 18 months, maybe two years to get over the problems that have been caused in the last few weeks.