4. Statement by the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales: Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:49 pm on 22 April 2020.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 4:49, 22 April 2020

I thank Dai Rees for his questions. In terms of steel, this is something that is being raised by us on a weekly basis with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and I'm pleased that, during the course of recognising that CBILS was not supporting all businesses, and not supporting in particular that missing middle of businesses with a turnover of £45 million, revisions were made to enable support to be forthcoming. In addition, the limit of a £25 million loan has been reviewed, and I'm pleased that our call for that to be increased has been agreed to, but we are continually pressing the UK Government to ensure that there is recognition that Tata in particular is in need of support. We will do what we can in the Welsh Government to support Tata and its many sites in Wales, but UK Government clearly has a key role in supporting this sector, and Tata in particular, and we've said to the UK Government on numerous occasions now that an intervention concerning steel can't then just lead to a Barnettised share for the Welsh Government, because that would lead to nowhere in terms of the size of the steel sector in Wales compared to the UK as a whole. So, it needs to be a UK-led initiative to assist that particular sector.

You're right, we are constantly trying to fill gaps. I'm pleased to say that, as a result of the economic resilience fund and the other funds that we've been able to deliver, we've been able to support directly almost one fifth of Welsh businesses now, and that is in addition to the UK Government's schemes, the job retention schemes and support for the self-employed, which have benefited many, many more.

In terms of the suppliers to the hospitality sector, you're absolutely right, Dai, there are a large number of businesses that fell out of the sector categorisation to be able to draw down the initial tranche of support, but through the economic resilience fund, they would be eligible because, of course, they're microbusinesses and there's no doubt that they've seen their turnover fall by at least 40 per cent. In all likelihood, if they're supplying predominantly or primarily to the hospitality sector and they're a small or medium-sized enterprise, then they will have seen their turnover down by more than 60 per cent. So the economic resilience fund was designed with those suppliers to those key sectors that have pretty much hibernated in mind.