4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on hospitality businesses in Wales? OQ57352

I thank the Member for that, Llywydd. The direct impact of the new variant on Welsh hospitality businesses has, to date, been minimal. Indirect impact through changed customer behaviour is harder to assess. Given high levels of uncertainty, the Welsh Government will monitor developments closely and respond swiftly should that be required.

Thank you. Of course, you know that tourism is the backbone of the economy in Aberconwy, as it is in other constituencies. The queen of Welsh resorts, Llandudno, also has the potential—and this is according to a recent report I've been reading—to see the number of day visitors increase from 2.88 million in 2018 to 4.8 million in 2045, overnight trips increase by 120,000, and the economic impact rise from £388 million in 2018 to over £0.5 billion by 2045. Our hospitality industry has really shouldered a lot of the previous variants. Now, our local businesses are suffering lots and lots of cancellations. One entrepreneur has lost bookings worth £25,000 and is having to consider laying off all eight members of their staff, and this is repeated in the numerous e-mails I've received. So, whilst they're still awaiting access to the £35 million fund that you've designed to help SMEs relaunch, develop, decarbonise and grow, is there any possibility, First Minister—and I have to ask—of your considering introducing another round of COVID-19 business support grants to help our businesses deal with what is likely to be a very problematic time for them?

I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for that, Llywydd, and I absolutely recognise the difficulties that hospitality are facing at this time. She will know that the Welsh Government has not changed any rules as far as COVID in Wales is concerned this week, but the news of the omicron variant is changing people's behaviour, and there's no doubt at all that that is having an impact upon business in the hospitality industry. I've had a series of discussions with UK Government colleagues over the weekend about what the Treasury might be prepared to do to support businesses affected in this way, because, as I know she will understand, this is an impact across the United Kingdom. Hospitality and tourism businesses everywhere are seeing this. 'Will we consider' is what the Member asked, and the answer to that is 'yes', of course we will consider what we might be able to do from our own resources. Then, we would definitely hope that the UK Government would be prepared to recognise the impact that the new variant is having more widely on those parts of the economy most directly affected.

I thank her for reading out the information on the potential future for Llandudno, a most fantastic resort. I know that she too will be interested in how we can create a future of that sort for somewhere like Llandudno in a way that encourages sustainable tourism. In parts of north Wales over this last summer where we saw very healthy visitor numbers, we also saw understandable concerns that if you don't grow numbers in the right way, you end up undermining the things that bring people to those areas in the first place. Those were very encouraging numbers that the Member shared with us earlier, and now the conversation will need to be about how we grow the industry in a way that gives it that sustainable ability to go on being attractive to people well into the future.

First Minister, I wanted to ask you about air quality. I know last week you actually responded to the Conservative leader by talking about the clean air Act, and I just wondered if you could put a very clear timetable, if that's okay, on your programme around introducing a clean air Act. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you to the Member for that question. We do have a timetable. It starts with the plan, through to the White Paper and all the way up to the final Act.

While I know and have seen the timetable for that process—the plan early next year, the White Paper, the consultation, the arrival of a Bill on the floor of the Senedd later in the term—I don't have it in front of me, and I'm very happy to write to the Member setting out that timetable.FootnoteLink But I can give her an assurance, absolutely, that a timetable of that sort quite definitely has been worked on and we are on track to deliver it. During this Senedd term, in the way that we said at the Senedd elections, we will put a clean air Bill in front of the Senedd.

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