NORTH WALES member of the Senedd Mark Isherwood has called for the Welsh Government to address small bed and breakfast businesses being excluded from financial support to help them survive the pandemic.

Mark Isherwood MS said he has been contacted by B&B businesses across the region after finding that they were excluded from the Welsh Government’s third round of the Economic Resilience Fund (ERF), having previously missed out on earlier rounds.

Mr Isherwood highlighted the urgency of their situation and called on the Welsh Government to respond to their desperate pleas for help.

“Many small Bed and Breakfast businesses have contacted me after the Welsh Government again excluded them from financial support to help them survive the pandemic, this time barred from the third round of the Economic Resilience Fund," he said.

“They were also deemed ineligible in previous rounds and have been denied small business grants – unlike their counterparts in England and Scotland.

“They are absolutely desperate and do not understand why the Welsh Government has denied support to this vital part of local tourism economies across Wales.

“I therefore call for an urgent Statement which addresses the reality and urgency of this situation.”

Under the grant scheme micro business owners can apply for up to £10,000, on the condition that they pay business rates and match the sum with their own investment of at least 10 per cent. Those tourism and hospitality micro businesses can also apply for 100 per cent grants without guarantee.

The Trefnydd Rebecca Evans MS said that the Minister for Economy and Transport said she is "interested" in exploring the Economic Resilience Fund in terms of how it supports businesses and “what further support can be provided elsewhere”.

“I know that, in the first instance, you'll also be advising your constituents to speak to Business Wales advisers to explore whether they can point those businesses in the direction of other forms of support, such as the UK Government's bounce-back loans, for example," she said.