2. Statement by the First Minister: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 1:52 pm on 22 April 2020.

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Photo of Paul Davies Paul Davies Conservative 1:52, 22 April 2020

Thank you for those responses, First Minister. As you've said in your statement today, whilst the coronavirus pandemic is an enormous global health challenge, it's also a significant economic challenge too. The financial support that has been available to most sectors has been generous and I'm sure it's greatly received by those recipients, however there are sectors like farming and tourism that feel left behind because support is either unavailable, inaccessible, or it simply just doesn't cover the needs of those working in those sectors. So, given that the Welsh farming industry is integral to Wales's economy, culture and, indeed, identity, what urgent steps are the Welsh Government taking to address the very real crisis faced by Welsh farmers, particularly dairy farmers, at this time, in order to protect the sustainability of Welsh farming for the future? Perhaps you could send a clear statement today to Welsh farmers, First Minister, by reinforcing the message that they are also key workers, and allowing them to access funding under the economic resilience fund.

Last week, the Welsh Government restricted the eligibility of those who could claim £10,000 in grant funding within the tourism sector. Whilst I understand that some second-home owners were taking advantage of the Welsh Government's previous flexibility, the revised guidance now means that many genuine small self-catering tourist operators across Wales may no longer be able to access this funding. First Minister, will you reconsider the position taken on this specific issue, so that small-scale self-catering tourist operators are able to receive support during this period, given the important role that they play in supporting the Welsh tourist industry?

Now, I appreciate that the rate of business applications has been unprecedented, and whilst we all welcome any support packages that are made available in Wales, I think there's some more work needed to fine-tune some of the packages on offer. For example, the Welsh fishing industry has told me that the support for them—and you make reference to this in your statement today—doesn't quite cover their costs, and that the eligibility for further support needs to be made fairer. Road haulage businesses, which still have to pay business rates, have made it clear that more needs to be done to support the distribution industry, which, as you know, is critical at this time in ensuring vital goods are able to be transported.

And, finally, tourism businesses are telling me that they feel the seasonality of their business is not being taken into account when designing some of the support schemes in place, and so they're falling between the gaps in accessing support because their business model doesn't quite fit the Government's assessment criteria. Therefore, what fine-tuning is the Welsh Government doing to better understand the diverse range of businesses in Wales, to ensure that each of the Government's business support packages is reaching those who actually need it?

Finally, can you tell us what support is being made available to those businesses that either aren't value added tax registered because their turnover isn't that big, are sole traders, or are operating small limited companies, because it seems as though these kinds of microbusinesses have not been considered when designing business support packages?