CINEMAS ALLOWED TO REOPEN ON MONDAY:
THE UK Government has announced the Welsh Government will receive a minimum of £1.2bn in additional funding this year – on top of £2.8bn confirmed since March – to help provide support following the coronavirus pandemic.
The development comes as coronavirus restrictions continue to ease further in Wales, and no new deaths with the virus were again reported.
The Treasury said the “unprecedented upfront guarantee” – which will take the total amount of coronavirus funding guaranteed to the Welsh Government to a minimum of £4bn for 2020/21 on top of their Spring Budget funding – will give the devolved administration certainty and financial flexibility to plan for the months ahead.
But the Welsh Government said the new money would have come to it anyway in line with the Barnett formula, which determines the allocation of resources to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Welsh Secretary Simon Hart said: “The UK Government is committed to doing everything it can to defeat coronavirus, and this additional funding for Wales – now worth £4bn – will help the Welsh Government in delivering its response on the front lines.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “The pressures facing our budget are unrivalled in the post Second World War era, and while we welcome confirmation of Wales’ share of spend in England, it is not clear how much of this package is wholly new. We fully expected to receive funding on major PPE costs and NHS winter funding.
“We look forward to receiving the full detail on new funding and hope that the UK Treasury will finally lift the restrictions on our ability to access our own savings to address urgent pressures.”
A source close to the Welsh Government said: “There may be some new money in the £1.2bn, but it certainly isn’t some new largesse that Wales is getting over and above what we’re entitled to as a result of spending in England.”
In a separate development, coronavirus restrictions are set to be relaxed further in Wales as cinemas, museums, and beauty salons have been given the go-ahead to re-open on Monday.
First Minister Mark Drakeford has also confirmed tourist accommodation with shared facilities, such as campsites and all hotels, will also be able to re-open from tomorrow.
This is part of the phased reopening of Wales’ hospitality, leisure and retail sectors.
Nail parlours, tattoo shops, cinemas, amusement arcades, museums and galleries will all be allowed to reopen. The coronavirus regulations will also be amended to enable the housing market to fully re-open.
Making the announcement, Mr
Drakeford said: “Thanks to the efforts we have all made to reduce the spread of the virus, we are taking further steps to re-open more of Wales.”
He added: “As more places start to re-open we must get used to some changes to help protect ourselves and the people working in these businesses. This may mean having to book ahead or giving our details to the places we are visiting to help our test, trace, protect service in the event there’s an outbreak of coronavirus. It’s the responsibility of all of us to follow these new rules so we can keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.
“Coronavirus has not gone away. But if we all work together we can keep Wales safe.”
The news comes after Wales recorded no new coronavirus deaths for the third time this week.
Public Health Wales (PHW) confirmed yesterday that the number of deaths with lab-confirmed Covid-19 since the outbreak began remains at 1,548.