Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 11 November 2020
That is encouraging to hear and I hope that that becomes a reality, but I think that the cabinet secretary will forgive the Parliament for wanting to put on a little bit more pressure to make that happen. That is why I will be supporting the Labour motion today and I am afraid that I will not be supporting the cabinet secretary’s amendment, because I think that we need to put a little bit more pressure on the Government to make this happen. I fear for these businesses and I think that, by voting for the Labour motion today, we will make sure that that emphasis is there.
I understand why the finance secretary has mirrored the Westminster packages of support; it is probably the best way of guaranteeing that Westminster covers the costs of those grants here. However, we need a review of the current grant schemes, as too many businesses are losing out. Businesses without premises were unable to get grants through the business rates scheme. Businesses that are not required to close but find that their activity is so restricted that they might as well close get the hardship fund, but that is less than a third of what is provided to businesses that are closed.
Passenger agents—local holiday booking agents—have stayed open throughout the pandemic because they have spent the past few months getting money back for their customers, not earning a single penny in the process. I understand that the Northern Ireland Government—I hope that the cabinet secretary is listening carefully to this—is looking at a scheme to fund that sector and I hope that the Scottish Government follows suit. We will be supporting the Labour motion and I hope that the Government goes that extra mile to make sure that the sector is supported.
16:56