Support for the Rural Economy

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 3:50 pm on 9 February 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 3:50, 9 February 2021

I thank the Member for that important question. He will know that, at the present moment, the level of job losses in the UK economy is quite difficult to discern. The job retention scheme, which we have supported, has suppressed the level of job losses, and the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility tell us that it will not be until the second and third quarters of this year that we get a proper sense of the economic impact that coronavirus and Brexit, leaving the European Union, have had on our economy. So, at this point, I think it's quite difficult to have identified with any reliability the level of job losses in different parts of the Welsh economy, whether that is sectoral or geographical. The Welsh Government's help has, though, been very specifically directed to sectors of the economy that are important in parts of rural Wales. The support that we've provided to the tourism sector, for example, is a very important component of the economy of rural communities in many parts of Wales, and the additional help that we have announced in recent weeks will go on sustaining that industry through until the end of March. I'm very happy, in the way that the Member suggested, to make sure that we go on working with those interests that represent the different parts of the rural economy here in Wales to make sure that, as we move beyond coronavirus and into the recovery period, this Welsh Government will go on supporting them so that they are able to resume the economic activity that they wish to be able to carry out in order to be able to create successful futures in those industries.