NDM7339 Welsh Conservatives Debate - COVID and the economy
NDM7339 Welsh Conservatives Debate - COVID and the economy
NDM7339 Darren
Millar (Clwyd West)
To
propose that the Senedd:
1.
Recognises that the coronavirus pandemic is both a public health and an
economic emergency.
2.
Welcomes the economic benefits afforded to Wales as a result of being part of
the United Kingdom during the pandemic, including funding for:
a)
the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which is protecting 316,500 livelihoods in
Wales; and
b)
the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme which is helping 102,000 people in
Wales.
3.
Notes with concern the Centre for Towns report 'Covid and our Towns' which
suggests that the economies of towns in the valleys and on the north Wales
coast will be among those hardest hit by the pandemic.
4.
Calls upon the Welsh Government to establish a Covid Community Recovery Fund to
provide targeted economic support for those communities most adversely affected
by the pandemic.
Centre
for Towns - Covid and our Towns - 23 April 2020
The following amendments have been tabled:
Amendment
1 - Rebecca
Evans (Gower)
Delete
points 3 and 4 and replace with:
Welcomes
the Welsh Government’s £500m Economic Resilience Fund, part of a £1.7bn package
of support for business in Wales in response to the pandemic, which is the most
generous anywhere in the UK.
Notes
that EU funding has helped the Welsh Government respond to the Covid-19
pandemic and further notes that without successor funding the Welsh Government
will be unable to respond at this scale in any future crisis.
Notes
the Centre for Towns report ‘Covid and our Towns’ and welcomes the
cross-government measures the Welsh Government is taking through its Town
Centre Action Group and ‘Transforming Towns’ agenda across Wales.
Recognises
the important role that creative and dynamic town councils and Business
Improvement Districts will play in helping town centres recover from the
economic impact of Coronavirus.
Welcomes
the experimental work being done through the Foundational Economy Challenge
Fund to explore new ways of building resilience into towns and communities
across Wales which can support our response to the covid pandemic.
Welcomes
calls made by organisations including WLGA, FSB Cymru, Wales TUC, Institute for
Fiscal Studies and Wales Governance Centre for the UK Government to urgently
remove the fiscal restrictions that significantly limit the Welsh Government’s
spending power to allow it to respond effectively to the pandemic.
Further
calls on the UK Government to develop a significant economic stimulus package
that can support the Welsh Government’s work towards a green and just recovery
for towns and communities the length and breadth of Wales in light of the
pandemic.
[If
Amendment 1 is agreed amendment 2 will be de-selected]
Amendment
2 - Sian
Gwenllian (Arfon)
Delete
point 4 and replace with:
Calls
upon the Welsh Government to establish an All-Wales Renewal Fund to deal with
the effects of the pandemic, that would transform sectors identified as being
hit hardest by Covid-19, build a sustainable Wales by paving the way to a
carbon free nation by 2030 and develop a new sense of ‘localism’ which values
public services.
Amendment
3 - Sian
Gwenllian (Arfon)
Add
as new point at end of motion:
Believes
that now is the time for the UK Government to devolve further fiscal powers to
the Welsh Government so that it is able to better care for the people of Wales
in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Business type: Other
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Status: For consideration
First published: 03/06/2021
Lead member: Darren Millar MS