7. Welsh Conservatives Debate: Impact of local coronavirus restrictions on employers

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:00 pm on 14 October 2020.

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Photo of Suzy Davies Suzy Davies Conservative 6:00, 14 October 2020

Going back to the ERF just for a minute, as the chair of the cross-party group on tourism, actually, I will welcome the £20 million earmarked in the latest round of the ERF. But I don't accept Helen Mary Jones's implication that this sector's not important in England too, any more than I accept the assertion, or implication, made by Mick Antoniw that the non-unionised workforces are, by definition, unfair workforces. Let's remember, of course, that the UK Government has cut VAT on tourism businesses and they're not planning to introduce a tourism tax. Minister, you didn't say very much about the tourism-related businesses—the tourism chain, if you like. These are events management businesses, for example, exhibition organisers, arts and entertainment businesses, which are still wondering what you've done with the missing consequentials from the UK Government there, single director limited companies who operate in the media, arts and entertainment, which seem to have slipped from view in the latest iteration of ERF, as have, or should say 'still are', the small businesses, the small B&Bs, in particular, that need support from the ERF. The very businesses that need cash flow support, they just don't have the 10 per cent to bring to the table at this stage. And I think, Huw Irranca-Davies, I might mention that the word 'businesses' means employers and employees—of course this is about employees. I think we should mention, as well, that some of the funding, despite agreeing with the Minister about the good work of the development bank, that some of the ERF 2.0 money was a bit slow coming to the table, and if I heard right, despite the fact that Caerphilly's been in lockdown for a month now, it's only now that they're able to access the additional funding aimed at those lockdown areas.

I just want to talk briefly about those maps that Bridgend County Borough Council are producing at the moment—those ward-based data maps. That data is available, and I think Welsh Government, as a whole, should expect to be able to refer to these as evidence for the need to lockdown in the way that you want to do that. I don't think it would be fair to say that Blaengarw and Newton, both within the Bridgend County Borough Council area, are communities that mix an awful lot and are likely to transmit this disease to each other. Not so long ago, you were arguing that no-one should travel further than 5 miles from where they lived; now you're insisting that they do if they want to shop and can't do that without crossing a county boundary to get to those nearest shops, those salons, those restaurants, and, yes, those COVID-compliant tourism destinations.

David Rowlands made the point that we don't, with the way that things are going at the moment, distinguish between our most vulnerable and our least vulnerable, and how to protect them—it's more of a sort of one-size-fits-all approach that isn't working. So, I repeat the call made by the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, and other Members, actually, to show your workings, Minister. And that doesn't mean sending a short statement out 20 minutes before we sit down here in the Chamber; it's a statement that refers to SAGE, which the health Minister, on television this morning, said was mainly about England and that's why we need a separate technical advisory group for Wales—to get the science right—moments before lamenting that this wasn't being dealt with on a four-nations basis via COBRA. To that, I just say: well, Boris doesn't agree with you; Nicola Sturgeon doesn't agree with what you're doing, apart from that very politically expedient nation boundary; and, of course, Keir Starmer is asking for you to do different things as well. So, if you're talking about a four-nation approach, please be careful what you wish for.

And then, finally, Llywydd, I just want to finish this and reference something that Caroline Jones was talking about. A total lockdown, which was hugely expensive in terms of mental health, physical health and the economy, didn't suppress COVID once it started to be relaxed. But we can't remain in permanent lockdown for many, many reasons, and while I don't agree with everything she said, the essential point she was making is that this should be about the rapier, not the bludgeon. And that's what I want Welsh Government to start demonstrating now, particularly as what's not coming through at the moment is the Government response to that bigger forward look—none of the things that Russell George mentioned, as policies that we would introduce, which may be of interest to you, and I certainly hope they are. Because Helen Mary was right when she said we shouldn't really be making decisions based on health or the economy; these are interconnected decisions, and we will need, as David Rowlands was indicating, really, a prosperous and healthy Wales in order to function in the future. Thank you.