8. Statement by the First Minister: Coronavirus — December Restrictions

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:41 pm on 1 December 2020.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of David Rees David Rees Labour 5:41, 1 December 2020

First Minister, I fully support the actions of the Government, and it is difficult, and there are many people out there who have raised questions on this matter, and when you explain to them the real reason behind it, they have an understanding of why we have taken these actions. But I want to focus on the hotel sector, if I can, at the moment. Clearly, hotels are being also impacted upon in this. My hotels, in my constituency, many of them are saying that, actually, they're having cancellations for lunches and dinners as a consequence. Can you ensure that the package you're putting together is actually going to also be available before January, because this has always been the peak time for many of those businesses to actually build up their cash reserves for the year? Waiting until January for the application to come in means that they're going to have some struggling during the next month, as they try and survive until January. So, can you look very carefully at how you can help those businesses, and can you also clarify for them what you mean by room service, because room service can provide food and possibly drinks beyond 6 o'clock? And I want to know—. People coming into hotels are often coming in late, and they're working people, many times, during the week. They've been out in work, they're coming back, they want to relax, they want to rest, and they want to be able to have the opportunity to have food when they come back in.