Shadow Minister for North Wales Mark Isherwood MS has today spoken in the Welsh Parliament of the significant adverse impact local coronavirus restrictions are having on businesses and employers in Flintshire, Wrexham, Denbighshire and Conwy and called for scientific evidence to prove they are necessary.
In their Debate this afternoon on the ‘Impact of local coronavirus restrictions on employers’, Welsh Conservatives put forward a motion which included proposals that the Senedd recognises the significant adverse impact of local coronavirus restrictions on businesses and other employers, and notes the need to ensure that coronavirus restrictions that impact upon employers are proportionate.
Speaking in the Debate, Mr Isherwood quoted several residents, businesses and employers in the four counties who are concerned about the harmful impact of the restrictions (see all statements in notes below) and called for local data to be published to back up the decisions that have been taken by the First Minister.
He said:
“To help keep our economy functioning whilst protecting against Covid transmission, we need localised data, and unless the Welsh Government provides this, obvious conclusions will be drawn.
“Instead, this First Minister’s decisions on lockdowns in Wales are based on a paper which has not been Peer-reviewed sufficiently to be published.
“Just to be clear, Scientific peer-review is the cornerstone of science.”
Mr Isherwood said constituents have stated: “I feel like I'm living under a dictatorship here in Wales in comparison to other parts of the UK”; “It's almost as if the Welsh Government are intentionally targeting tourism and the hospitality industry”; “The Covid restrictions are riven with inconsistencies and illogicalities”; “Many businesses are trapped in impossible no-win situations and will fail as a result of Welsh Government policy,” and that “I’m concerned about the COVID-19 infection rates, but fear the Welsh Government are on some sort of crusade and seem hellbent on using restrictive lockdowns as the main solution.”
He added:
“Hospitality representatives wrote:
“It is deeply concerning that such blunt instruments are being considered again, given the significant damage inflicted on our sector during the national lockdown earlier this year”.
“I have a number of clients operating hospitality businesses, all of whom have struggled to stay viable economically but also have always placed employee and customer safety first.
“We are still being driven by risk avoidance, when we should be in ‘risk management mode’- an accredited and monitored ‘license to trade’ grading system with a clear message to consumers and providing some solace during the pandemic”.
Mr Isherwood described it as “incomprehensible” that the Welsh Government has excluded small Bed and Breakfast businesses from grant support.
He said: “Yesterday, the Finance Minister told me that they should speak to Business Wales, but having tried this, they state that any loan agreements will push them into unmanageable debt - and re-state that they support the local economy and are entitled to help.
“Just what have this Welsh Government got against them?
“These decisions are being taken in Cardiff – and this Welsh Government must be held to public account.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Full Statements Mark Isherwood MS has received from constituents in Flintshire, Wrexham, Denbighshire and Conwy and quoted in today’s debate:
- “I would like to question the validity of the local travel restrictions imposed on counties in North Wales.
If I travel outside my own county it is to go hiking where I keep my own company to help with my mental health issues.
I wonder if you would be able to point this out to the health and first ministers on my behalf. I feel as though I'm living under a dictatorship here in Wales in comparison to other parts of the UK”.
- “I am writing as a concerned citizen to express my thanks for the way a number of Senedd members have spoken out against the appalling and ridiculous restrictions imposed on North Wales by the Welsh government. I live in Prestatyn, which means I can travel 30+ miles south but only 2 miles east and 3 miles west!”
- “We can't have a drink in a socially distanced bar with our neighbours or other close friends, yet we can wander around a crowded supermarket”, where, “we can pick-up and put back items on the shelves.
We were the only people at the bar.. and we feel for the staff as if this continues, they will close, with the loss of many jobs. It's almost as if the Welsh Government are intentionally targeting tourism and the hospitality industry”.
- “I’m writing to you with great concern to express my continued dismay and anger at the way the Welsh Government is handling the ongoing coronavirus issue. It feels like we are living in a dictatorship”.
- “I live 1/2 a mile from the English border so most of my life is lived in England, dentists, chiropody, leisure etc I can travel 30 miles in the opposite direction and stay in county but not 1/2 a mile across the border, it makes no sense whatsoever”.
- “I wholly support the fight against Covid, but it must be viewed in context. The Covid restrictions are riven with inconsistencies and illogicalities. Added to that, the disparity in the regulations between Wales and England is confusing and un-helpful particularly for those of us who live on the border. Many businesses are trapped in impossible no-win situations and will fail as a result of Welsh Government policy.”
- “I’m concerned about the COVID-19 infection rates, but fear the Welsh Government are on some sort of crusade and seem hellbent on using restrictive lockdowns as the main solution. I must confess to being a loyal member of The Labour Party - but in all consciousness, I cannot support the direction here”.
- “I find it alarming and preposterous that the Welsh Government can openly state that you have to agree with their social policies before you can receive government funding. This really is an insult to pluralist democracy and the first step on the road to a fascist dictatorship”.
Hospitality representatives wrote:
- “It is deeply concerning that such blunt instruments are being considered again, given the significant damage inflicted on our sector during the national lockdown earlier this year”.
- “I have a number of clients operating hospitality businesses, all of whom have struggled to stay viable economically but also have always placed employee and customer safety first.
“We are still being driven by risk avoidance, when we should be in ‘risk management mode’- an accredited and monitored ‘license to trade’ grading system with a clear message to consumers and providing some solace during the pandemic”.