Neil Hamilton, MS for Mid & West Wales, and Leader of UKIP Wales, is urging Covid hit businesses in his Region to take advantage of a financial package which launches this week.
Mr Hamilton, a member of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs committee, is reminding hospitality, leisure and tourism companies about the opening of the latest £180 million Economic Resilience Fund package fund.
“I am delighted to see more money being made available to help those whose livelihoods have been seriously affected because of the pandemic. I welcome any funding which will help them meet the ongoing challenges and provide assistance with longer-term planning.
“Applications will be open for tourism, hospitality and leisure businesses affected by coronavirus restrictions at 12pm on Wednesday January 13 and I urge business people in my Region to make sure they apply.
“The challenges faced by these businesses cannot be underestimated. The crisis we are all facing is immense and I am pleased to see the Welsh Government recognising that fact.
“This window of opportunity will only be open for two weeks, or until funds are committed, so it is vital anyone who thinks they might be eligible applies without delay.”
The funding, announced in December, is part of a live £450 million package of support that the hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors as well as their supply chain can access and will provide vital support to thousands of firms impacted by alert level 3 and 4 restrictions.
The £180 million is in addition to a £270 million support package for businesses that pay non domestic rates, which includes non-essential retail businesses, and is being delivered via local authorities.
Welsh Government estimates that under the package of support a typical hospitality business in Wales with the equivalent of six full-time staff could be eligible to receive between £12,000 and £14,000 in total.
The amount a company can claim from the £180 million sector specific fund will be calculated based on staff count and turnover. The fund is expected to support up to 8,000 hospitality, tourism and leisure firms impacted by the restrictions and potentially a further 2,000 in related supply chains.
An eligibility checker and calculator has been live on Business Wales since December to help businesses work out what support they can expect to qualify for in total and the detail they will need to make an application. Further guidance was also issued last week.
Since the end of October alone, more than 69,000 offers of support worth in excess of £230 million have been made to businesses across Wales through the Welsh Government’s Economic Resilience Fund.
For information on how to apply for the package of business support on Business Wales. The fund will remain open for two weeks or until funds are fully committed.
