A view from Clwyd South’s Member of the Senedd

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South constituency Members of Parliament and Members of the Senedd to write a monthly article with updates on their work in Parliament and the Senedd, and closer to home. (You can view an archive here).

Clwyd South MS Ken Skates writes…

The Welsh Government’s unique Economic Resilience Fund (ERF) has already supported more than 9,000 businesses in Wales, helping protect around 75,000 jobs.
The fund has seen £150m worth of crucial grants provided to businesses to help them deal with the impacts of coronavirus. Almost £138m has supported micro-businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) already, with more funding arriving by the day.

Coronavirus has placed unprecedented pressures on the business community, and the Welsh Government has done everything in its power to provide practical and financial support.
We established the ERF to plug the gaps left in UK Government support and I am pleased the fund is supporting so many firms that could have been left behind.
The ERF is part of the Welsh Government’s £1.7bn package of support for business, which is the most generous and comprehensive offer of help anywhere in the UK. This also includes more than 65,000 awards worth £750m of business rate relief to help firms respond to the challenges of the pandemic.

Playgrounds, community centres and outdoor gyms will reopen across Wales today.

This is the second round of a three-week package of measures to re-open large parts of Wales’ tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors, which was announced as part of the latest 21-day review of the coronavirus regulations earlier this month.

You can read the Chief Medical Officer’s latest advice here https://gov.wales/cmo-advice-indoor-gyms-indoor-and-outdoor-playgrounds-and-funfairs and for frequently asked questions about coronavirus regulations you can visit https://gov.wales/coronavirus-regulations-guidance

The Welsh Government also announced last week that driving lessons will resume in Wales next Monday (July 27), with theory tests starting again on August 3 and practical tests from August 17.
A number of constituents have contacted me on this issue, so I’m pleased we have now confirmed dates, so I’m pleased we have been able to offer this clarity for learners.

The Welsh Labour Government recently set out a tax holiday for homebuyers in Wales.

People buying main homes costing less than £250,000 will not pay any tax under temporary measures announced by the Finance Minister aimed at helping the housing market and homebuyers.

The starting threshold for Land Transaction Tax will increase from £180,000 to £250,000 when this new measure is introduced next Monday, July 27. This is a tax reduction that will last until March 31.

This move will further reduce the tax burden in Wales, with around 80% of homebuyers liable for the main rate of Land Transaction Tax not paying anything.

The reduction will not apply to purchases on additional properties such as buy-to-let and second homes, and the savings made by adopting these temporary rates in Wales will release £30m in new funding to support the construction of new, energy efficient social housing.

This will also create much-needed jobs. Investing in social housing will provide a direct economic stimulus to the construction sector, creating and sustaining jobs rather than fuelling house price rises.

Locally, the campaign for a new health centre in Cefn Mawr continues. Cllr Derek Wright and I have met with the health board numerous times to push for this new facility and we have made the strongest case possible.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, the pros and cons of a number of possible sites were being weighed up and further, more detailed, investigations and survey work were due to be undertaken. Understandably, everything has been turned upside down in the last few months.
There has been a lot of discussion and a lot of hard work on this, and like everyone in the area Derek and I hoped there would be spades in the ground by now. But we have been making real progress and I look forward to hearing the health board’s plans whenever we can this back on the agenda.

If you need advice or support, please email [email protected] and include your full home address and contact number.

You can find useful information about coronavirus support on my website www.kenskates.co.uk and regular updates on my Facebook page @KenSkatesMS.

To stay up to date with Welsh Government coronavirus news and my work in Clwyd South, you can also subscribe to my e-newsletters either through my website or by emailing me.

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South constituency Members of Parliament and Members of the Senedd to write a monthly article with updates on their work in Parliament and the Senedd, and closer to home. (You can view an archive here).