Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on supporting high street businesses impacted by the covid-19 outbreak in North Wales.

The Treasury’s priority is to support the whole UK economy through Covid-19 and enable a strong and sustainable recovery from the crisis.

We have taken unprecedented steps to support viable businesses to stay afloat and protect the incomes of the most vulnerable. The Welsh Government and Office of the Secretary of State for Wales play a key part in these discussions, and there is regular engagement on local economic issues and plans on regional economic growth and recovery in Wales.

On 8 July, the Chancellor provided a Summer Economic Update to Parliament, where he announced new initiatives to help businesses recover across the UK, such as Eat Out to Help Out to generate consumer spending, and temporary reduced rates of VAT to support consumers and businesses in sectors which have been badly impacted. This is in addition to providing £2.8 billion to the Welsh Government through the Barnett formula to help the Welsh Government to respond to Covid-19 and meet the needs of its economy.