Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:51 pm on 20 September 2022.
I met with Brecon Beacons Tourism recently, Minister, and they have many concerns, but one of their biggest concerns was the lack of clarity from the Government over this. The change in language used from a focus on tourism to a visitor levy has contributed to uncertainty. The First Minister himself said it isn’t just for people coming to Wales for tourism purposes—the levy will apply to visitors for other reasons as well. This is a big shift and will have massive consequences, but there has been no detail behind that, so I just wonder if you can expand on what the First Minister was talking about. Is this going to go further than overnight stays? Because there is no detail around that.
We’ve also heard the leader of Plaid Cymru saying that funds will be going towards paying for free school meals, and you've said yourself today, and in written statements, that this money will be invested back into local services. So, which is it here? Because the coalition between yourselves and Plaid Cymru doesn’t seem to know where it’s going. The left hand doesn’t know how further left the other hand is going. And I'd also like to know: can the Minister give proper assurances to those genuine businesses out there that this will affect—their livelihoods are affected, their families are affected—that you will listen to the consultation and, if the tourism industry does not want this, that you will respect their views and opinions? Because that’s what democratically elected Governments do—they listen to their people; they don’t dictate to them from the top.