Covid: Welsh ministers 'trying to move goalposts' on help for firms

Pubs, bars and restaurants are closed to the public in Wales under current lockdown rules

Some hospitality firms claim the Welsh government is trying to "move the goalposts" on a Covid support scheme.

A Welsh government website says it is "designed to cover businesses until after the election" in May.

But companies say they were told help from the £180m Non-Domestic Rates Linked Grant was intended to last to the end of March.

The government says it was "designed explicitly" to cover firms through to the election.

Pizzeria boss Dan Warder said the Senedd poll "cannot and should not be used as an excuse to justify the blackhole in financial assistance".

The Welsh government's Business Wales website says the rates package is "designed to cover businesses until after the election, pending the continued easement of restrictions and the outcome of restriction reviews in April".

However, a website archiving tool shows that on 14 March this year the page said the funding would "help businesses with their costs up to 31st March 2021".

Pubs, hotels or restaurants in Wales with 10 staff have been entitled to £45,000 of Welsh government support since December.

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Under current lockdown rules in Wales pubs, cafes, restaurants and similar businesses can open only for takeaways and home deliveries.

Over the weekend First Minister Mark Drakeford said he would make an announcement on 1 April about further easing of restrictions on hospitality firms "to give the industry the certainty it is waiting for".

An industry group called the Welsh Independent Restaurant Collective (WIRC) - set up in response to the Covid crisis - said it welcomed the prospect of a review of rules but called for additional financial help to cover costs while restrictions remained in place.

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Natalie Isaac, of the Bar 44 group in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, said: "The last round of financial support from Welsh government was to cover the period up to 31 March, and this was clear in all documentation that supported the distribution of those funds.

"It appears that Welsh government are now attempting to move the goalposts and say that funding was intended to cover the entire period until post-election, in other words, until at least May 6th and probably beyond that."

Mr Warder, of Top Joe's pizzerias in the Pembrokeshire towns of Narberth and Tenby, said: "The forthcoming election cannot and should not be used as an excuse to justify the black hole in financial assistance - that date has been in the diary for years.

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "The £180m support package is to help businesses cover costs following the announcement of extended restrictions in March.

"It is in addition to £200m worth of grants announced in late January and was designed explicitly to cover businesses through to the election. We also extended the business rates holiday for a further 12 months.

"The Business Wales website was updated last week to provide further clarity. A further £200m has been ring-fenced for additional business support into the next financial year, but this will be a matter for incoming ministers in the next Welsh government."

What do the opposition parties say?

Welsh Conservative economy spokesman Russell George described it as "another broken promise to add to the long list" by Labour in Wales.

"This is completely unacceptable because the financial package for businesses' costs - originally until 31 March - will not be enough to cover a longer period of time and puts Welsh jobs and businesses at risk.

"This decision needs to be urgently reversed before many businesses and jobs disappear."

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said: "Business in Wales hasn't had sufficient clarity on dates for reopening or on support.

"Who in the business community can trust a word that the Welsh government say after this?"

Sally Stephenson from the Welsh Liberal Democrats said her party had "long called for long-term funding for the hospitality industry to be guaranteed until they can reopen".

"What the owners of bars, pubs and restaurants need is certainty and help in the medium to long term as they recover from the effects of Covid."