A group of independent restaurants in Wales are seeking clarity from the Welsh Government on further funding funding available.
Responding to an apparent reduction in support from Welsh Government, the Welsh Independent Restaurant Collective (WIRC) has called for Welsh Ministers to make clear what further funding will be available to micro and small businesses.
In the WIRC’s most recent survey representatives from more than 100 independent hospitality businesses across Wales raised urgent concerns about business survival and jobs.
During the 17-day firebreak lockdown last year, the NDR grants allocated to hospitality businesses in Wales were equivalent to a daily payment of £176 or £294, depending on the rateable value of each business.
In contrast, the current NDR funding intended to cover the period from 25th January until the 31st March, amounts to just £45 or £75 per day.
Further insights from the latest WIRC survey show that:
- 84% of respondents said the survival of their business was in doubt as a result of the reduced level of support (this extrapolates to around 4000 businesses under threat across Wales)
- 20% said their business will definitely not survive without any additional funding (this extrapolates to around 1000 businesses across Wales)
- 57% said the reduced level of funding would result in further job losses.
Speaking on behalf of the WIRC, Natalie Isaac from the 44 Group said: "We have previously provided Welsh Government with evidence of the costs that businesses are having to pay out during lockdown - which include everything from employer’s national insurance, pension contributions and accrued holiday costs in relation to the furlough scheme, rent or mortgage payments, monthly lease agreements for equipment hire, monthly contract fees, standing charges for utilities, security, insurances, and legal and professional costs - to name a few.
"It is abundantly clear that with the current level of support, an unsustainable deficit now exists. Without a further extension of funding, many businesses will be forced to make further cuts to jobs, or to close.”
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In response to the WIRCs concerns a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We know businesses want to be open and trading – we want that to happen as soon as it is safe to do so. The public health situation is improving thanks to everyone’s hard work and sacrifices but we all need to stay at home for a while longer to bring levels of the virus down further.
“We have worked hard to provide support for businesses while restrictions have been in place – For December to March, a hospitality business employing 10 staff will be able to claim up to £25,000 of Welsh Government grant support towards its operating costs, which is equivalent to £219 a day. This is in addition to 海角视频 Government support schemes.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Welsh Government has ensured more than £1.7bn has reached businesses across Wales, to help protect thousands of firms and many more jobs. This is an incredibly difficult time and we will continue to review the options for supporting businesses further.”
Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Minister for the Economy Helen Mary Jones MS has called on the Welsh Government to meet with the WIRC.
Ms Jones said the impact on the wider economy if businesses were to close would be huge, adding that its “domino effect” on supply chains and employment in Wales’ would be “devastating”
Ms Jones said: “I am gravely concerned about the evidence presented by the Welsh Independent Restaurant Collective today which suggests that 20% of businesses will ‘definitely’ not survive without increased funding, and that 84% of businesses’ futures would be ‘in doubt’. This, coupled with the domino effect on supply chains and employment if hospitality businesses go under will be devastating.
“The vaccine offers us hope but with no further funding to micro and small businesses, many will not survive. This is devastating for the individual businesses and their employees, and the potential impact on the wider economy is huge. This is the second biggest employer in the Welsh economy.
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“I am calling on Welsh government to meet with representatives of WIRC as soon as possible. They have practical suggestions of the type of support that would really help them that should be explored as a matter of urgency. After all, Welsh Government has already invested millions of pounds that will be wasted if the sector cannot be supported through what is hopefully the last stage of this pandemic.”
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Before Christmas, the WIRC called for the funding announced in December to be extended to cover a longer period, anticipating the likelihood of a prolonged lockdown.
The support given to the sector to cover the period December 4, 2020, to January 15, 2021, reflected figures that were based on the fixed costs and minimal income expected in a full lockdown. Independent hospitality businesses are now asking why they are being offered a fraction of this to cover an extended period of closure in the first quarter of 2021.
Edmund Inkin, owner of Eat Drink Sleep Limited said: "These are small, often family-owned businesses continuing to pile up substantial debt. They keep running, often paying for it out of their own pockets, in the continued hope that they’ll make it through to the point when they can stand on their own feet again.
"The current funding - in respect of both its limited scale and the absence of any commitment beyond the end of March - is insufficient as a means to get them there.
"It leaves many of them in a position where they must decide whether it’s responsible to go on accruing debt, or whether now is the time for them to close for good.”
While, WIRC founding member Daniel Warder, of Top Joe’s Pizza in Tenby and Narberth, said: "We have overcome huge challenges over the past 10 months and put a lot of energy into working with Welsh Government to make our premises Covid safe, and to secure the financial assistance that has kept many from permanent closure.
"Now, with light at the end of the tunnel in sight, there is a very real possibility that the road to recovery will be unnavigable for many and all that struggle, stress and financial juggling will have been in vain. Cutting back on support now would mean that all of the investment that Welsh Government has made - in supporting the second biggest employer in the Welsh economy - will have effectively been wasted.”