5. What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the UK Government regarding the extension and expansion of the job retention scheme for areas under local restrictions? OQ55770

Llywydd, I thank Alun Davies for that. The advantages and the limitations of the UK Government support to workers affected by the impact of coronavirus were extensively rehearsed between all four nations of the UK at the last COBRA meeting. I have since, as Members have heard, exchanged correspondence with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on this matter.

Thank you very much, First Minister. Of course, the question precedes the announcement yesterday on the approach being taken over the next few weeks. I'm sure you share my disappointment that the United Kingdom Government is not stepping into the breach and providing seamless support for people who are affected by that. But it would be useful, I think, First Minister, if you could outline to us this afternoon how you see support for both workers and for businesses over the two-week national lockdown, and how you see the different schemes meshing together to ensure that we have seamless support for people throughout this period and how you see any gaps in that support being addressed as we move forward.

Llywydd, I want to thank Alun Davies for that question. He repeated the word 'seamless' in his supplementary, and that's the word I want to focus on in this reply. So, in the help that we will provide through our £294 million, a great part of that will be provided automatically to businesses in Wales. So, they will not need to apply for it; it will come through the mechanisms we developed with our local government colleagues earlier in the pandemic: £1,000 for all businesses with a rateable value of under £12,000; £5,000 for businesses with a rateable value above £12,000 and they'll get that automatically—seamlessly, to use the term that Alun Davies used.

My problem with the Chancellor's reply to my letter is that I was asking for something similar in relation to the help that the UK Government provides, and I've tried, whenever I've had the opportunity, to recognise the value of the help that the UK Government has provided to workers affected by coronavirus. All I wanted was to have one scheme of help in Wales, rather than businesses having to apply twice for help: once up until 30 October, and a different scheme beyond that. And as I say, I offered—I thought—the Chancellor a very straightforward way of helping businesses in Wales so that the help they got from the UK Government was as seamless as the help we want to offer them through the Welsh Government. It is disappointing that the Chancellor couldn't find a way simply of allowing the scheme that he will introduce on 1 November to apply here in Wales a week earlier than that. I've offered him today a different solution—not as good as that—but it would help to iron out some of the difficulties otherwise that businesses will face and it would go some way at least to answering the call that Alun Davies has made with for the seamless support that businesses in Wales need.