Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 5 August 2020.
First Minister, I've noticed over the past few weeks that where restrictions are eased, in many places such as shops, restaurants and pubs, that, in fact, people are still reluctant to go out and spend money in those businesses. I was in Cardiff last week, for example, and shops were open but the city centre was pretty empty. I have just outside my constituency the McArthurGlen shopping village. Again, shops close early there in the evening because the footfall isn't what it should be. The concern I have is that restrictions are eased but it takes some time for the public to actually move back to a state of near normality when it comes to spending money in those businesses. Do you share my concern, then, that if furlough comes to an end in October we will then see a real spike in jobs being lost because there will be a gap between furlough ending and something close to normal commerce resuming. If you share that view, what discussions do you intend to have with the UK Government about what support might be put in place for businesses post furlough?