Let hospitality hibernate over winter with higher financial support says Plaid Leader Adam Price

Hospitality should be able to ‘hibernate’ over winter with higher financial support, Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price MS has said.

Mr Price was speaking ahead of the announcement expected from Welsh Government on new restrictions on hospitality.

The Plaid Cymru Leader said the Welsh Government must introduce ‘targeted support’ for Welsh business to allow them to ‘effectively hibernate’ over winter. Mr Price said that the ‘crippling uncertainty’ that comes with locking and unlocking was doing ‘untold damage’ to the hospitality industry.

Mr Price called for the support to be focused on Welsh-based firms rather than UK corporates and repeated the party’s calls for a mass testing programme and increasing financial support to those who have to self-isolate to £800.

On Friday, First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed new restrictions on the hospitality and entertainment sectors and conceded it may have been a mistake not to impose stricter curbs following the “firebreak” lockdown. Specific details are expected today.

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price MS said,

“At the start of a crucial week – particularly for the hospitality sector – the Welsh Government must introduce targeted support for Welsh businesses to allow them to effectively hibernate over the winter.

“Businesses are telling me that the crippling uncertainty that comes with locking and unlocking is doing untold damage to their industry.

“By keeping retail and leisure open, and by focusing the support on Welsh-based firms rather than UK corporates it is possible to increase the level of support for the hospitality sector above what is currently available so we can all return to supporting our local Welsh businesses next spring.

“The Government must also accelerate its testing programme making it truly a mass exercise in all parts of Wales. This would turn what is currently a pilot scheme into a national priority. And when people are asked to self-isolate, the financial support offered to them must be increased to £800 per person.

“So many people have sacrificed so much – we must all redouble our efforts in working together to suppress the virus and avoid an endless cycle of lockdowns”