Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the support required by the hospitality sector in Newport West constituency following the rise in the number of positive omicron covid-19 cases.

My ministerial colleagues and I have regular discussions with the Welsh Government on a range of topics, including the rise in the number of positive Omicron and Covid-19 cases. The UK Government is closely monitoring the impact of the virus on the economy.

I am pleased that the Welsh Government has followed the UK Government’s lead in offering business rate relief to support the hospitality sector, as announced by the Chancellor at the Budget in October. We have supported Welsh businesses and people throughout the pandemic, this includes the provision of £1.1 billion through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, £2.4 billion in business support loans and 474,000 employees supported through the furlough scheme.

The Welsh Government has also benefitted from an extra £3.8 billion of Barnett-based funding during this financial year – taking total block grant funding for the Welsh Government in 2021-22 to £19.3 billion that can be used to support Welsh Businesses. We have further confirmed £270 million the Welsh Government can spend in advance of budgets being finalised at Supplementary Estimates, to support the vaccine roll out and ongoing Covid-19 response in Wales.

Furthermore, the UK Government has reintroduced the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme to help small and medium-sized employers cover the cost of Covid-related sick absences, covering up to two weeks per employee. This is in addition to a reduced VAT rate until the end of March 2022 for tourism and hospitality businesses, helping to support around 150,000 businesses, as well as continued access to the Recovery Loan Scheme until June 2022.