THE WELSH Government has announced a £200m support package for small businesses after strict new guidelines were introduced, advising the public against going to bars, restaurants and social gatherings.

Shops, leisure and hospitality businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 or less will received 100 per cent business rate relief; pubs with a rateable value of between £51,000 and £100,000 will receive a £5,000 reduction on their bill.

And a further £100m will be available for a new grant scheme for small businesses which are not eligible for this new business rate relief.

The Welsh Government said further details of this new grant scheme will be confirmed "as soon as possible".

It comes as the hospitality industry warned that many businesses will suffer from the UK Government's new social guidelines.

A spokeswoman for UK Hospitality said: "The industry has suffered unprecedented drops in visits and many business are already on their knees. This latest advice leaves the industry in limbo."

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And Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “The severity of the COVID-19 crisis is now impacting on Pubs with devastating effect. The very existence of thousands of pubs and a lot more jobs is now at risk.

“The government needs to give clear instructions and detail on the support package to rescue the sector and hundreds of thousands of jobs.

“Urgent measures to support cash flows and enable cost reductions is an absolute necessity. Government action now will save thousands of jobs and save our pubs.

“Support for pubs now is an investment in the long-term future of communities across the UK without it we risk losing our community assets forever.”

Welsh Government Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said she was "pleased we can offer this package of support".

We added: "We are allocating every penny of the funding we will be receiving as a consequence of the schemes the UK Government announced in England last week to support businesses in Wales.

“But I know that helping businesses with their rates bills will not be enough to protect them from the severe drop in custom many are experiencing as coronavirus cases increase.

“We will be calling on the UK Government to act quickly and decisively to provide a very significant support package for vulnerable businesses and their employees.”