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Retail & Consumer

Pressure for funding update for Welsh businesses to go with reopening roadmap

Businesses want to know what support will be there to help them survive to the reopening date and help them restart

Pubs have been in lockdown since December 20(Image: Getty Images)

Welsh Government has now published a reopening roadmap for Wales - but pressure is growing for a funding update to keep firms in business until they can open and also to help them restart.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has now provided a list of dates for sectors like hospitality, tourism and opening dates for shops, gyms and leisure centres.

Many will be waiting weeks for that reopening date and when the last set of £150m in funding was announced Welsh Government said it was to cover costs until March 31.

But last week Business Live revealed Welsh Government didn't expect to update funding until after the Senedd election on May 6.

Sector representatives like º£½ÇÊÓÆµHospitality Cymru and the Welsh Independent Restaurant Collective and individual businesses are fuming at this 'moving of the goalposts' with pressure today for Welsh Government to give more clarity on what extra support will be available.

Plaid Cymru and Welsh Conservatives are also calling for extra funding to be announced.

Dave Chapman, º£½ÇÊÓÆµHospitality Cymru’s Executive Director, today said: "It's great to have some of the clarity for which º£½ÇÊÓÆµHospitality Cymru has been asking Welsh Government for some months now: dates for outdoor hospitality, attractions, gyms and other related activities.

“However, we believe non-alignment with England will cause confusion over opening, encourage cross border travelling and damage our competitive offer by driving away eager customers. It would be a smoother and more sensible route for indoor hospitality to be opened in line with England on the 17th May.