THE Welsh Government has announced that businesses affected by the spread of Omicron can apply for emergency financial support.

The funds will come from the Economic Resilience Fund (ERF) and economy minister Vaughan Gething previously said that £120 million would be available for retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses and their supply chains.

The money is intended for businesses affected by the move to alert level two in December and eligible businesses can apply for grants of between £2,500 to £25,000.

The application window is open for two weeks and the Welsh Government says that payments should reach businesses within days.

Mr Gething, said: "Following positive engagement with businesses, trades unions and other partners, we recently changed the eligibility criteria for the ERF support.

"The ERF grant is a Wales-only top up payment that currently supports eligible businesses who have seen a 60 per cent drop in their income between December and February compared with the same period two years ago.

"The new criteria means that businesses in these sectors who have seen a 50 per cent reduction in their turnover will now also be able to access the ERF.

"This means more businesses will receive more support from the Welsh Government."

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Non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses in Wales can also receive support from the Non Domestic Rates (NDR) linked grant which is being administered by local authorities.

Businesses that apply to this can receive £2,000, £4,000 or £6,000 depending on their rateable value.

Local authorities are also administering a fund for sole traders, freelancers, taxi drivers and businesses that do not pay business rates.

This discretionary fund can pay out up to £1,000.

To make an application to the ERF, click here.