Responding to the Welsh Government announcement of a £500million Economic Resilience Fund, Ben Francis, FSB Wales Policy Chair, said:

“Many businesses will feel reassured by the grant funding announced by Welsh Government this afternoon. Welsh Government made a promise to go above and beyond the level of support offered in England, and they have.

“This increased grant funding will provide a safety net for those businesses who will not have benefited from the initial round of grants, and demonstrates that Welsh Government has sought to fill those gaps. We were also pleased to see a particular focus on social enterprises, which until now had not been a large part of the conversation. This will help ensure that those businesses can make it through this disruptive time.

“The emphasis for the Economic Resilience Fund must now must be on delivery; ensuring that the detail of this fund is made available to those eligible for it, and making sure that the money gets out of the door as quickly as possible, so that it can start to have an impact on the ground.

“This is reassuring news for businesses, and for the Welsh economy. We must now turn our attention to how we can fill other gaps, including for those that are recently self-employed.

“Once we come out of the other side of this crisis, Wales will need our entrepreneurs to be innovating and stimulating our economy. Those businesses need us now, and we are encouraged to see that Welsh Government has introduced such a strong package today.”