Welsh firms that continue to be impacted by Covid restrictions will receive up to 拢25,000 of additional support from the Welsh Government.
The emergency package of support will cover the operating costs for July and August 2021 of businesses required to remain closed and who remain severely impacted as a result of the continuation of the restrictions.
Eligible businesses in the hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors and their supply chains who continue to be severely impacted by restrictions, such as travel agents, attractions limited by social distancing and venues for school visits, will also be eligible to apply for support.
Eligible businesses will be entitled to an additional payment of between 拢1,000 and 拢25,000, depending on their size, structure and circumstance, to cover the period up to the end of August.
To qualify for support, businesses must show their turnover has reduced by more than 60% compared to the corresponding timeline in 2019 or equivalent. All eligible businesses will need to apply for the funding.
An eligibility checker will open on the Business Wales website on July 5th, which will allow businesses to check their eligibility for the support and the amount of support they are eligible to apply for, which will help them to start preparing their applications.
The fund will open to applications from July 13th to July 23rd.
The latest funding is being drawn from the 拢200m the Welsh Government has ring-fenced for business support for the 2021-22 financial year . It will be launching a further business development support package in the autumn.
Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething said: 鈥淪ince the start of the pandemic, we have pulled every lever we can to back Welsh businesses.
鈥淲e鈥檝e provided in excess of 拢2.5bn funding to Welsh businesses, in a package that has been designed to complement and build on the support provided by the 海角视频 Government. We鈥檝e also extended our 100% business rate relief package until the end of this financial year. This targeted approach, focused particularly on backing small businesses and Welsh communities, has helped protect in excess of 160,000 Welsh jobs which might otherwise have been lost.
鈥淭o support businesses further, I am announcing additional support to help cover the costs of those business in Wales that need to remain closed, or remain significantly impacted by Wales鈥 staged transition to Alert Level One, which was made necessary by the risks posed by the delta variant.
鈥淭his Welsh Government is determined to do all we can to support Welsh businesses during these incredibly difficult times.鈥
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The Welsh Government envisages this will be the final package of emergency support for those business that are able to trade, based on the current level of Covid restrictions. Should new restrictions be required in response to a new variant or other emerging developments, Ministers will review the need for additional support.
Beyond the emergency phase, should the situation allow, the Welsh Government also intends to deliver a Business Development and Recovery Fund, designed to support businesses with match funding to relaunch, develop and grow following the potential further relaxation of Covid restrictions.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for the Economy, Paul Davies, said: 鈥淎ny additional support for Welsh businesses is welcome but it is once again regrettable that such a statement is given to the press before the Welsh Parliament.
鈥淪adly, businesses are still paying the price for Labour鈥檚 broken promises during the Senedd election and it鈥檚 therefore vital this money makes it way to firms as quickly as possible so Welsh jobs can be protected.
鈥淎s we鈥檝e seen with previous business support announcements, the devil is always in the detail, and the minister should address Parliament today to outline the size of the support, the qualifying criteria and his plans for a recovery fund.
鈥淲ith the vaccine protecting more and more lives each and every day, it鈥檚 important the Labour-run Welsh Government now provides a detailed timeline out of restrictions as we鈥檝e seen in Scotland and England so businesses can recover from the toughest period they鈥檝e ever experienced.鈥
