Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales – in the Senedd at 1:32 pm on 11 November 2020.
Can I thank Mark Isherwood for his supplementary question and say that we are acutely aware of the very severe effects of coronavirus not just in terms of public health, but also in terms of the mental and emotional resilience of citizens and, of course, those people in charge of businesses across the length and breadth of Wales? The survey does point to many factors that need to be addressed not just by the Welsh Government, but also, of course, by the UK Government. And in my engagement with representative organisations and businesses direct, the primary call in recent months has been for the furlough scheme to be extended through to March. That has now happened. We wish it would have happened earlier because, of course, businesses need certainty.
I can say, with regard to tourism and hospitality businesses in north Wales, that more than 1,200 micro- and small and medium-sized enterprise businesses in those sectors in north Wales have succeeded in drawing down funding from the first two phases of the economic resilience fund, and in north Wales, a further 105 businesses within tourism and hospitality have been successful in drawing down funding from the Development Bank of Wales. This points to the most comprehensive and generous package of support anywhere in the United Kingdom. Of course, the 17-day firebreak was difficult for businesses, there is no doubt about that, but it's better to have a 17-day firebreak than a four-week lockdown, which was necessitated by the UK Government delaying its actions.