Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the most persistent claims made by Labour is that the Welsh Government’s business support package is the most generous of the UK’s nations.
Call me old-school, but you can only make claims like that that if you’re certain – and we haven’t been given any solid proof (yet).
England’s is the most generous in terms of the overall amount spent and the amount available – but that’s a given considering England’s size. You can’t judge anything based on that other than proportionally more generous support being offered to sports and culture than other nations.
Business support in England also seemed to come with fewer terms and conditions attached than in Wales, but Wales continued a blanket business rates exemption (100% relief) for the hardest-hit sectors through 2021-22 rather than a rates cut.
Scotland’s business support appears to be the most carefully targeted and flexible when responding to sudden changes. This includes far better support for businesses that had to close in second/third etc. and subsequent lockdowns. The downside is what comes across as excessive micro-management compared to the other home nations.
Northern Ireland’s support is probably the least sophisticated of the four nations overall, but most businesses seemed to receive some form of support (due to blanket business rates cuts) while the processes involved seemed far simpler.
So that leaves Wales. One advantage Wales has that Scotland doesn’t is the Development Bank – which has been a major player in the Welsh Government’s response and has a much broader remit than Scotland’s equivalent (which is focused on sustainable development).
Wales also seems to be the only UK nation that had/has a formal scheme to help businesses get hold of PPE – and I know local government has helped out with that too.
However, Wales applied more terms and conditions than comparable schemes elsewhere in the UK – particularly requirements relating to the Welsh Government’s economic contract. Also, repayable loans were used alongside grants. You can argue that loans are, on principle, “less generous” than grants because they have to be paid back with interest (apparently around 2%).
At varying points in the pandemic, the Welsh Government have also been accused of “holding back” anything between £660million- £1billion in relief funding, which implies it hasn’t been spent (possibly with good reason – such as anticipating future problems and holding back funding for that).
There’s clearly not enough evidence to say with certainty that Wales comes out on top. If I had to make an educated guess, it’s a case of Wales’ support being the most generous at some points – particularly at the start – rather than consistently across the pandemic.
The only way you’re going to get a definitive answer is probably through a Senedd committee inquiry or academic research – but safe to say your chins should be feeling itchy.
