Commenting on The First Minister’s Press Conference on today’s Covid Review, Ben Francis, FSB Wales Policy Chair stated:
‘We very much welcome today’s announcement that Wales will remain at Level 0. This reflects in part, the huge steps that businesses across sectors have taken in implementing measures to keep employees and customers safe. While businesses must remain in that vigilant state, the ability for businesses to remain trading as they are will help in the economic recovery.
We note the concern expressed by the First Minister about the months ahead. In his statement, the First Minister mentioned the preparation of Welsh Government’s ‘Covid Urgent’ plan. It is important that Welsh Government engages the business community now on any contingencies for restrictions which might impact business and the economy, that we can be in a position to minimise the impact on businesses and livelihoods should those scenarios become real. Businesses and the economy find themselves in a precarious and fragile state right now exacerbated by other economic pressures and any return to possible lockdowns or restrictions will have a magnified impact. While we all hope for continued improvement, Government needs to act early to work with partners to ensure Wales is best prepared for any other scenario.
With Covid Passes now being introduced across various settings including nightclubs on Monday, Welsh Government needs to move with urgency and clarity to educate the public about their responsibilities and assist businesses to understand and implement the measures required of them. The timescale for implementation is very tight and guidance has only just been published. In the first instance, forbearance will need to be shown to businesses as they adapt and we will work with Government to understand how this measure is being implemented over coming weeks’.
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