NDM7428 - Opposition Debate
Tabled on 07/10/2020 | For debate on 14/10/2020To propose that the Senedd:
1. Welcomes the £4 billion of extra funding made available to the Welsh Government by Her Majesty’s Government to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Wales.
2. Recognises the significant adverse impact of local coronavirus restrictions on businesses and other employers.
3. Notes the need to ensure that coronavirus restrictions that impact upon employers are proportionate.
4. Calls upon the Welsh Government to:
a) remove the expectation for employers to have a unionised workplace in order to access Welsh Government funding and grants;
b) extend business rate relief to businesses with a rateable value in excess of £500,000 and to landlords who are unable to let vacant commercial properties;
c) waive the 10 per cent investment requirement to access grants under phase 3 of the economic resilience fund; and
d) publish, in the public domain, data on the number of positive COVID-19 tests on a local authority ward basis.
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Amendments
Add as new sub-point at end of point 4:
ensure that lockdowns are the very last resort and that any such measures are only put in place in specific hotspots, not countywide or national given their impact on businesses and employers.
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To propose that the Senedd:
1. Notes the Welsh Government is dedicating more than £4 billion to its response to COVID-19, a sum greater than the Barnett consequentials received from the UK Government.
2. Recognises the Welsh Government’s £1.7 billion package of COVID-19 support for business is the best anywhere in the UK, including a £500 million economic resilience fund which is helping to protect in excess of 100,000 jobs.
3. Notes that fair work is at the heart of the Welsh Government’s response and that every recipient of business support has agreed to the principles of the economic contract.
4. Recognises the early, proportionate and transparent measures the Welsh Government is taking to tackle the virus and its public health and economic impacts.
5. Welcomes the Welsh Government’s £140 million plans for the third phase of the economic resilience fund (ERF3), including £20 million dedicated for tourism and hospitality.
6. Notes that Welsh businesses continuing to trade are able to receive support under the ERF3 rapid reaction fund, which is not the case in relation to business support in restricted local areas in England
7. Regrets the decision of the UK Government to terminate the job retention scheme and believes that the job support scheme gives insufficient incentive for employers in the most vulnerable sectors to retain employees through the crisis, including tourism and hospitality.
8. Calls on the UK Government to make available a comprehensive package of funding for local areas subject to additional restrictions to tackle the virus.
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Calls for the enhancement of borrowing powers at the Welsh level to respond to the impact of the pandemic in line with the needs and priorities of Wales.
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Regrets that the UK Government's job support scheme is of no help to a large number of Welsh businesses, particularly small businesses and businesses in the service sector such as hospitality and hair and beauty.
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Add as new sub-point at end of point 4:
re-evaluate COVID-19 business support to ensure that it effectively fills the gaps left by the UK Government's schemes.