1. What additional funding will the Welsh Government allocate to address financial pressure in the tourism sector? OQ56268

We have committed more than £2 billion in support for businesses and £1.7 billion of that funding has already reached businesses across Wales. Last month, an additional £200 million was announced to support businesses affected by alert level 4 restrictions, which will help them with operational costs through to the end of March.

Thank you. Now, it has been made clear to me by many in the tourism sector, including in my hoteliers forum this morning, that grants to date by this Welsh Government have 'barely touched the surface'. Their words, not mine. And that they, as business owners, feel demoralised and actually hard done to by your Welsh Government. Now, there are numerous steps you can take to help back our tourism industry now: work with your colleagues and local authorities to see costs, such as parking permits, wedding and drink licences waived; give certainty to businesses by ending the fallacy that the tier system is a natural recovery plan. They need to know now if they can open by Easter, so to start planning staff recruitment, organise supplies and accept bookings.

There are calls for you to address the scandalous fact that Wales Fiscal Analysis has found that there is £655 million of COVID-19 funding from the UK Government waiting to be committed. Let's be under no illusion: this money was intended to support these very businesses, not to sit in Welsh Government coffers. So, what discussions have you held with other Ministers in your Welsh Government to ensure that this money is given to these businesses? And what recovery plans will you put in place so that tourism has clear guidance on reopening? Whilst I reiterate the recovery plan for this sector and clear protocols relevant to the current COVID risk need to be outlined urgently, please clarify now, today, how you will ensure that the remaining £655 million reaches our businesses, and does so before the end of this financial year. Thank you.

Well, let's be under no illusion, Deputy Presiding Officer, that Wales Fiscal Analysis have also noted that the Welsh Government has distributed more money to businesses across Wales than we've received from the UK Government in consequentials. And that means that the package of support that we have on offer for businesses here in Wales is the most generous across the UK. 

A typical hospitality business in Wales with the equivalent of six full-time staff could have been eligible to receive between £12,000 and £14,000 to help them through the period of restrictions and into the new year. And that does compare very favourably with the UK Government, when £9,000 is the highest award and that's given to those with a rateable value over £51,000. So, it's very clear that we do have the most generous package of support anywhere in the UK. That's not to say that we take any of this for granted and that we're resting on our laurels. We're constantly exploring what more we can do to support businesses.

And with regard to the additional funding yet to be allocated, I will be, of course, publishing our third supplementary budget very shortly, and that will set out a whole range of allocations right across the Welsh Government portfolios in order to help us respond to the coronavirus outbreak. I look forward to laying that before the Senedd very shortly. 

Minister, I'm particularly concerned about the smaller bed-and-breakfast businesses that got little or no help last year. Many were thriving little businesses that provided pension top-ups and company for their owners and part-time employment for the locals. What analysis has your Government done to establish the toll taken on the tourism sector in Wales due to the pandemic? And what assessment have you made of the impact of the support packages made available in this sector? Thank you.

Well, it is absolutely the case that the pandemic has had a very serious impact on the hospitality sector right across Wales, which is why we're working so hard to put in place the best possible support that we can. Bed-and-breakfast businesses in particular are able to access the discretionary support that we put in place via local authorities and we've done that because we recognise that there will be a number of businesses out there that do not have access to the non-domestic rate funding that we've put in place. So, we're trying to be as flexible as we possibly can in order to offer the best package of support to businesses. But, as I say, we take none of this for granted. We're very clear that this is a very difficult time for business and we're keen to do what we can to see them through and also to support them then into the recovery and renewal phase.