Businesses in Wales materially affected by the phased move to Alert Level One, such as indoor attractions and wedding venues, will receive £2.5m in further support from the Welsh Government.
Since 17 May, businesses in Wales still affected by coronavirus restrictions have been able to apply for up to £25,000 in emergency support to help meet ongoing costs until the end of June.
Additional funding is now being made available to support businesses affected by the staged transition to Alert Level One, due to the impact the Delta variant of COVID-19 is having on transmission rates.
The staging takes account of concerns over the impact the Delta variant of COVID-19 is having on transmission rates and potential increase in hospitalisations.
First identified in India the variant has spread rapidly in the 海角视频 in recent weeks - putting the brakes on lockdown easing in Wales and England.
Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething said support will be available for businesses that have capacity for events of more than 30 people indoors or in contained spaces and to businesses that are still closed because of ongoing restrictions.
To receive the funding, businesses will need to have applied to the Welsh Government’s latest round of emergency funding - the deadline for which has been extended until 12pm Wednesday 16 June 2021.
Eligible applicants will automatically receive the top-up where possible, or will be required to self-declare via a simple online process.
Most Read
Businesses will be entitled to an additional payment of between £875 and £5,000, depending on their size and circumstance, to cover the period up to the end of June.
If the public health situation allows, Ministers hope to see Wales move fully to Alert Level One on the 21st June.
The First Minister will confirm any changes later this week.
Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething said: “My priority as the Economy Minister is to ensure the Welsh Government stands ready to kick-start a strong Welsh recovery with the right for support Welsh businesses and workers.
“Over recent weeks, as restrictions have gradually been lifted, we have all seen many elements our old lives opening back up in a Covid-safe way. This can only be good news for our economy.
"However, we know that despite our success in controlling rates of Covid-19 and rolling out our vaccination programme, the Delta variant continues to present new challenges.
“It means we have needed to take a phased approach to moving to Alert Level One, relaxing restrictions around outdoor events and activities first, because the evidence suggests the risk of infection is significantly lower outdoors than indoors. While this is absolutely the right decision for Wales we recognise the impact it will have on a significant number of our businesses, particularly wedding venues and indoor attractions.
Don’t miss
“The last 15 months have been difficult and traumatic for businesses and their employees with many fighting to survive. Huge personal sacrifices have been made by many to make it through. As a Government we have pulled every lever we can to back Welsh businesses.
“Today I am announcing further funding for those businesses in Wales - such as wedding venues and indoor attractions - to help cover costs as a result of the staged transition to Alert Level One made necessary by the risks posed by the delta variant.”
Welsh Government said they have provided in excess of £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.
Welsh Ministers have ensured the 100% rates relief scheme for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will run for the full 12 months of this financial year. This measure is backed by £380m to help provide breathing space for around 70,000 businesses this year.
The Minister added: “Overall, we have provided over £400 million of business support over and above Wales’ share of 海角视频 Government spending on business support in England. It has involved tough decisions but they have been necessary to protect jobs and businesses in this crisis. In short, a cut and paste approach would have cost Wales jobs and businesses.”
FSB response
Ben Francis, FSB Wales Policy Chair, said: “Many businesses in Wales will be relieved to hear that there will be additional funding from Welsh Government to reflect the huge challenges that remain for those that are required to close or unable to hold events at this time.
“However, we are disappointed to see that FSB’s questions on the need for a Restart Grant have still been left unanswered. Businesses that have been closed or severely restricted for an extended period of time need support to meet the steepest costs of reopening, and we continue to call on Welsh Government to deliver this for those firms that need it most.
“Furthermore, this funding announcement does not appear to take into account the businesses that are able to open but subject to significant challenges due to the impact of social distancing on their ability to operate at a profitable capacity. Hospitality, tourism and leisure are some of the hardest hit sectors in this regard and FSB has made the case on multiple occasions for there to be targeted support for these industries. Many businesses are reporting that their takings are severely down, and that this is impacting upon their ability to be sustainable.
“We hope that today’s announcement is one staging point in Welsh Government’s ongoing conversation about the support that our economy needs to get back on its feet, and that the Economy Minister will be receptive to FSB’s call for a Restart Grant and targeted sectoral support in the immediate future.
“For those businesses that are eligible for this top-up funding, it is vital that they apply for the latest round of emergency funding from Welsh Government by the 16th June, and we’d urge all firms that think they may be eligible to do so.”