Welsh Liberal Democrats Respond To Welsh Government COVID-19 Update

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have responded to today’s COVID-19 update from the Welsh Government by calling for greater clarification on the financial assistance made available for the hospitality, nightlife and tourism industry stating that the announcements due by Finance Minister Vaughan Gething should have been made today while the Senedd was recalled. The Party has also called for more money to be placed into Test, Trace, Protect.

Commenting Party Leader Jane Dodds MS said:

“There remain questions over today’s announcement and the support for businesses announced. Given the difficulty many businesses have said table service only will present them, we need reassurance this support is adequate.

“I would also like to see clarification on whether any of this funding can be accessed retrospectively, allowing businesses receive support for businesses that has been lost already in the last few weeks as footfall dropped. I am also disappointed to see we will not get this clarification until tomorrow. Finance Minister Vaughan Gething should have made his statement today while the Senedd has been recalled.

“I would also urge the Government to put more money into Test, Trace, Protect to allow them to deal with the large increase in cases the Government is predicting.

“We also need to protect our NHS in the long run, making sure it is resilient enough to handle future variant outbreaks. A key part of this will be preventing staff shortages and staff leaving the profession which is why the Welsh Liberal Democrats are continuing to call for a minimum of a 6 per cent pay rise for NHS staff, instead of the Welsh Government’s below-inflation pay rise of 3 per cent.”