Minister Isola’s Statement - COVID-19 Briefing
Here’s Minister Isola’s statement at today’s COVID-19 briefing:
Good Afternoon,
As we continue to manage all aspects of this dreadful pandemic, I would like to give you some background as to where we are in terms of our Business Community.
Many of our businesses continue to work, as best they can, servicing their clients needs all over the world.
Many of our own Governments functions continue to work servicing you across all areas, in as normal a manner as is reasonably possible.
When our movement is restricted, and every contingency plan in the world is unworkable, how are we able to do this?
The answer is simple – technology.
Who would have believed that much of our public sector would have been able to carry on working from home in the manner we are doing or that most of our financial services firms and Gaming firms are continuing to work remotely, servicing their clients and having virtual meetings.
Our investment in technology will continue. Our ITLD team have delivered remote working capability to our public sector and we have changed the way we work in the month or so that we have had to.
Just imagine if we had not been able to.
To have such plans in place has been a regulatory requirement for our financial services and Gaming firms and these have been successfully triggered.
We continue to engage with these firms and as part of our work on Task Force Future, I have this week invited all of our associations and Gaming firms to work with us in developing our strategy for the future.
The response to this call has been phenomenal.
My colleagues Ministers Licudi and Daryanani have done similarly in their respective fields. We will work together to present to Cabinet a comprehensive and coordinated plan for our future.
The GFSC, The Gambling Commission and the Finance Centre Council continues to function and support our work.
Next Tuesday, as we do every month I will join Marc Ellul and his members at their monthly meeting of the Council, albeit remotely, with my colleagues from Gibraltar Finance in preparing for our future. My thanks to them all.
Today we have published our BEAT COVID 19 regulations to support Inactive Employees in the sectors that we have identified.
The Relevant Sectors list has been extended from the previous list, but please note that this extended list is ONLY for the purposes of the BEAT Covid measures in these regulations.
This list of firms eligible for BEAT COVID support now includes security and cleaning related businesses, Courier and Freight businesses, Estate Agents, Bureau de Change and Wholesalers who do not have a tobacco licence.
The Excluded Sectors listed in the Schedule continue to cover for example Law firms, Accounting firms, Gaming firms and all firms regulated by the GFSC.
As at Midnight Tuesday 14th we have had applications from 1,170 firms covering a total of some 5,700 Employees.
Since last Tuesday Midnight we have had a further 54 applications.
Most of these firms will have had an email from us acknowledging receipt of the applications.
We have received some 780 email queries to our dedicated Beat Covid email and all but 9 of these have now been individually responded to.
Each of these applications are being considered and scrutinized by the Employment Service, The Tax Office and the team at Treasury.
Any application can be referred to the office of the Financial Secretary for further investigation or clarification.
Our sincere thanks to the incredible work being done by all of those involved in this process.
In just a few weeks we have designed, built, processed and scrutinized data and details pertaining to a significant chunk of our businesses and working population.
In that time we have also developed and now published complex Regulations giving legal effect to our Beat Covid plans to support Employees in Gibraltar.
In less than 10 days time, payments will begin to flow to support these employees.
All applications received by 21st April will be considered and processed by 30th April. Those received after the 21st may take a little longer.
Only Employees that have been INACTIVE for the ENTIRE month of April will succeed.
Applications for the month of May will only be accepted by the system on or after the 5th May, for payment at the end of May.
All Employers and their individual Employees will be notified by Government if their application has been successful or not.
Appeals of Government decisions may be referred to a purpose-built Appeal Board.
It is important to recognize the support we have received from the wider community in completing this work; CELAC representing the private sector and all associations, the Unions and of course the Opposition who have significantly contributed to this work.
We face an unprecedented pandemic and economic crisis. We have never faced anything like this.
Our ability to move on as a centre of international business will depend on our ability to move on from this pandemic.
A joined-up approach is where we are working towards. We need to hold our nerve, prepare and be best placed to move on, once we are able.
