Hospitality Industry and Tourism: Wales

(asked on 16th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether the Government plans to provide additional support to the hospitality and tourism industry in Wales via the Welsh Government during the recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Simon Hart Portrait
Simon Hart
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
This question was answered on 22nd June 2020

I have regular discussions with the Welsh Government on how best to reopen the hospitality and tourism sector in Wales to make the most of the summer season, whilst respecting social distancing. Helping the sector to reopen will allow the industry to start rebuilding.

Through the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), the UK Government has supported over 400,000 jobs in Wales. Over £2.3bn in Barnett consequential funding has been allocated to date to the Welsh Government to support its response to the virus. This demonstrates the value to Wales of being part of the United Kingdom.

Using the scientific advice available, the UK Government has set out a clear plan on how we will rebuild the UK for a world with Covid-19 whilst respecting devolved decision-making. Subject to scientific advice, next month will see the partial reopening of some of the tourism and hospitality sector in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. I welcome the Welsh Government’s plans for a partial reopening of the sector in July. However, given its importance to the Welsh economy, with over 9.5% of the workforce directly employed in the visitor economy and over £6 billion in visitor spending in 2018, I would urge the Welsh Government to do more to ensure that Wales is not left behind the rest of the UK.

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