Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 11:55 am on 24 June 2020.
Thank you, obviously, for your announcement on Friday, although I have to say that the concept of community consent and the use of the word 'bookings' in the narrative haven't really helped the static caravan park owners, or van owners themselves, understand what they can do.
Last week, I asked the economy Minister why non-VAT-registered tourism companies are being treated differently from non-VAT-registered firms or sole traders when it comes to accessing the economic resilience fund. These are microbusinesses unable to access the self-employed support, and not the larger operations to which he made reference in his reply. Some of them are very exciting, novel, green tourism microbusinesses or small bed and breakfasts, and, anecdotally, quite a high proportion of them are run by women. So, could you please revisit this? As, in my view, there is no justification at all for treating two businesses differently on the basis of a registration at Companies House, with one version having a right to support and the other having to go begging to a hardship fund.