Ken Skates, Economy, Transport and North Wales Minister, has announced that businesses and organisations that have successfully applied for the Welsh Government’s £500 million Economic Resilience Fund will start receiving payments by the end of the week.
Since applications opened, the second phase of the fund received almost 9,000 requests of support.
Due to the high demand, the Welsh Government increased the funding for this phase to £300 million. Around 700 applications are being assessed daily, the first batch have now been approved.
The fund will be paused midday today (Monday 27th April) following the large number of applications.
The Minister said this will give the Welsh Government an opportunity to consider further business support, charities and social enterprises in need.
He also called upon the UK Government to further its support and provide vital funding Welsh businesses need to survive and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Economic Resilience Fund from the Welsh Government will support a significant number of businesses facing cash-flow issues, although it has been made clear that it will not reach all of them.
Economy Minister Ken Skates said: “Demand for our Economic Resilience Fund speaks volumes about the scale of the national crisis.
“The rate of applications has been unprecedented and I want to thank the team of Welsh Government officials which is working at pace to process applications and get money into the accounts of those businesses and organisations, which need it as quickly as possible.
“We have taken the decision to pause the fund on Monday to examine how we use the remaining funding to maximise the benefits for those firms who need it and to protect our economy.
“As a government, we have a number of considerations to explore – supporting those businesses which we haven’t yet reached will be a primary concern.
“I welcome the actions the UK Government has taken to date in supporting businesses but there is a lot more it can – and should – be doing.
“There is a real need for the Chancellor to learn lessons quickly from the schemes implemented so far, not least on getting funds out to businesses faster.
“It is essential the UK Government now goes further by providing the financial support needed for firms of all sizes to survive and recover to the levels of growth and prosperity that were seen before this pandemic.”