As our motion states, we call upon the Welsh Government to adopt a more proportionate and targeted approach to tackling the coronavirus in Wales.
They state their actions are based upon Technical Advisory Group advice, but the Group’s 2nd December statement refers to SAGE consideration of data on the impacts of the Hospitality sector on the epidemic in Japan, China, South Korea, Indonesia and the US up to 3rd July.
Although it acknowledges industry efforts to create Covid secure environments, it then focuses instead on successful enforcement of the tiny proportion of hospitality premises acting in breach of the restrictions.
Although targeted intervention is therefore working, the Welsh Government is taking a brutal broad brush approach.
As we heard at October’s Cross Party Group on Beer and the Pub, Pubs in Wales ‘have their backs to the wall’, there is enormous fragility of confidence and trading, their staff numbers have already fallen by over a quarter during the pandemic, they are confident that their premises have Covid controls in place - and policy makers need to look at the evidence showing minimal Covid-19 infection rates in licenses premises.
As the British Institute of Innkeeping said this month “our pubs were amongst hospitality venues that safely welcomed 60 Million visitors a week throughout the summer, with no discernible impact on National Infection rates. September then created a perfect storm for pubs, with pubs and hospitality being unfairly implicated”.
Speaking in Plenary only four weeks ago, I highlighted the North Wales Tourism survey on the Impact of lockdowns on the tourism, hospitality, retail, leisure sectors and their supply chains in North Wales, which found that 39% of tourism, hospitality, retail and leisure businesses in North Wales would cease trading if there were any further national or local lockdowns.
I emphasised their call on the Labour Welsh Government to conduct meaningful regional and local business engagement before any more lockdowns are imposed, yet this was ignored.
After the First Minister’s previous interventions, Wales was the only part of the UK where infections were not failing at the end of November.
Last week, an open letter was sent to the First Minister by the North Wales Mersey Dee Business Council on behalf of 150 businesses across North Wales.
As this states “like businesses across Wales and the wider UK, our businesses have invested considerable time and money to make their venues and businesses Covid safe, and direct evidence instances of them being linked to any material extent for transmission of COVID-19 seems not to exist”.
“In the few days since the announcement of extra restrictions in Wales, large numbers of businesses have had to cancel bookings worth tens of thousands of pounds to them, essentially wiping out any real hope of a last ditch source of revenue at the end of a disastrous year, with expectations of the same for the coming months”.
A letter from a Solicitor representing a hospitality business states that businesses in rural areas “are being placed at a disadvantage by the Welsh Governments refusal to consider a tier system or more localised measures to combat and contain Covid 19”.
West Conwy Pubwatch wrote to the First Minister “Your most recent ruling to keep Welsh pubs open whilst not allowing us to serve alcohol is a complete and utter joke that makes no sense. The fact that you have been allowed, encouraged even, to do this is sickening”.
Pubs in Wrexham and Flintshire stated that the First Minister’s actions amount to a public message “don’t drink in Wales to save lives … but travel to England for a pint and chips instead, taking away from the Welsh economy at a detrimental time of year and handing it to the English economy”.
As one said, the issue is the strategy of targeting hospitality as a whole when we have put so much time, money and emphasis on social distancing, sanitation and supervision”.
As another said “Mr Drakeford’s Government is “out of touch, inconsistent and bordering the realms of Dictatorship”.
My final comments are quotes received from Doctors:
“Increasingly stringent regulation which is not evidence based will alienate those who do understand the need for some restrictions and changes to life for a period and encourage them to ignore the restrictions”.
Another, “I watched the update this afternoon. What an uninspiring delivery it was, poorly informed and clearly used to making excuses. Has the Welsh Government got a plan?”
“AND instead of penalising hardworking people, the First Minister needs to listen to their calls and urgently review his ruthless measures before it is too late for them.”