, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 2
Suzy, you mentioned specifically the repayment of loans, is there anything else you would add?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 2
Well, that does bring me on to the next question, I think, which would be helpful to put, and if you want to refer to the previous question, as well, Sara and David, that would be helpful, if you want to. But what we're looking for often as a committee, as…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 2
—we haven't hit equilibrium. With regard to self-employed people, one of the things the Welsh Government have said is that their business support package through COVID was the most generous in the UK, but, of course, self-employed people are in a slightly…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 2
Yes, I think we're in a period of off equilibrium, I suppose is what you're saying—
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 2
Okay. Okay. Sara and David, do you want to comment in the same way?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 2
I think we'll come on to skills. We will come on to skills, but I don't want to get too much into skills. I'm still interested in this idea, which you touched upon, that furlough actually causes people to be frozen into specific roles, whereas the ending of…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 2
Suzy—
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 2
I wanted to ask about the end of furlough and self-employment support. An interesting comment was made in the previous session that, actually, the end of furlough might actually have a positive effect on the flexibility and availability of labour supply. Is…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 1
Okay. I think the next round of questions will focus on that.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 1
Okay. Thanks. Then it was climate change and coronavirus recovery. Paul, do you agree with that? Is there anything else you would add to that list?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 1
So, in June 2021, there was talk from the Welsh Government of a business recovery fund. If you were to say to us, 'Well, there are these three or four things we really need now in the period ahead with regard to business support', what would they be?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 1
That certainly was the evidence I saw. Paul, do you have a comment on that specific question?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 1
Just before we move on to that, the Welsh Government was keen to say during the pandemic that they offered the most generous business support in the whole of the UK. Were they right to say that?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 1
I think, Ben Cottam, it seems to me, from a constituency perspective and the anecdotal evidence I'm getting, that it's the people who are self-employed who are the ones who've suffered most in these sectors. Is that fair to say?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 1
So, are you saying that the end of furlough will have a positive impact on labour supply—is that the point?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Issues facing Welsh Businesses - Focus on Hospitality, Tourism and Retail: Evidence session 1
Just to pick up from there, in the light of what you've just said, Paul Slevin, furlough ends today, self-employment support ends today—I think this sounds like quite a bleak picture, from what you've just presented.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Review of The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021
Thank you, Chair.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Review of The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021
So, my point is we shouldn't draw too much of a conclusion from that about the value of NVZs.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Review of The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021
It is a bit going back, and my Wi-Fi cut out a little bit when Martin Cox was speaking, but I just want to clarify, because I think it comes right to the heart of some of the issues we're going to be considering, and we need to have clarity on this if we…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Review of The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021
Yes. Okay. I don't think I can go any further with this, Chair, without getting into other issues.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Review of The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021
Okay. Another thing that I've heard from farmers in my constituency is that the introduction of the regulations will require them to do things that would be costly for them to manage, to comply with the regulations. Is that a fair point, or do you think that…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Review of The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021
Okay. What about the positive outcomes for farm businesses? Are there positive outcomes for farm businesses of an NVZ?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Review of The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021
But you would have had discussions about that impact with the Welsh Government in the preparation of the regulations.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Review of The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021
Okay. And how long will it take us to conceptualise that benefit and understand it?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Review of The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021
Do you feel that they would have a benefit with regard to water quality?
