Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

Welcome to this Plenary meeting. Before we begin, I want to set out a few points. A Plenary meeting held by video-conference, in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Welsh Parliament, constitutes Senedd proceedings for the purposes of the Government of Wales Act 2006. Some of the provisions of Standing Order 34 will apply for today's Plenary meeting, and these are set out on your agenda. I would remind Members that Standing Orders relating to order in Plenary meetings apply to this meeting.

The first item is questions to the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, and the first question is from Caroline Jones.

Thank you. Well, of course, we’ve provided the most generous package of support for businesses anywhere in the United Kingdom since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, worth over £2 billion, and £1.7 billion of that is now in businesses' accounts. In south-west Wales, the latest restrictions fund has seen over 3,600 businesses receive over £12.4 million, and the sector-specific fund has made 268 offers worth £2.8 million to date.

Thank you, Minister. I recently contacted you regarding the plight of gaming arcades, and in your response you state that you had to take difficult decisions on eligibility criteria. These businesses, which your Government has classified as being the same as casinos or licensed betting establishments—which they're not—are being denied the same support as other leisure businesses in Wales. And whilst their counterparts in Scotland and England receive support, why is it the case that bingo halls can receive support but high-street gaming arcades cannot? Minister, will you arrange to meet with representatives of the three impacted businesses within my region to hear their plight? If these businesses are forced to close, hundreds of people will lose their jobs. Thank you.

Can I thank Caroline Jones for her question? I'm always willing to meet with businesses and with representative bodies. Of course, if a formal invitation is made, we'll give it very, very sympathetic consideration. In relation to the issue, though—to gaming and gambling—the guidance that is used by local authorities clearly states, in relation to those venues, arcades of the type that could be classified as amusements rather than gambling premises are considered leisure establishments and are eligible for the grants, either via the small business rate relief route, or where the rateable value of the premises makes them eligible for the larger £5,000 as leisure facilities. But as I've already said on numerous occasions during the course of this pandemic, very difficult decisions have had to be made, and, in so doing, we are still offering the most generous package of support anywhere in the United Kingdom to protect jobs. To date, we've been able to protect more than 140,000 jobs across Wales as a result of our direct action.

South Wales West is already experiencing its own economic shocks, not least due to the exposure of supply chains, which feed into the now fragile hospitality, tourism and leisure sector. Minister, you've recognised that fragility with ring-fenced financial support for many front-line businesses, but, of course, they still won't be buying stock or committing to capital improvements at this point. Developing the foundational economy is a big plank of your policy, as is the promotion of Welsh food and drink. You've insisted that viable businesses should still be with us once we're through the pandemic, so where are you at the moment in securing the viability of that gate-to-plate path?

Can I thank Suzy Davies for her question? I should actually say that, in terms of considering capital investments, we did make available £100 million in business development grants, which was taken by a huge number of businesses—great interest in that particular scheme and the demand was incredible. That was specifically designed to encourage businesses to invest in their future. So, we have already made a considerable sum of money available for capital improvements. And in terms of that pathway to recovery, just last Friday the First Minister announced an additional £200 million to the restrictions fund, taking it to a total of £650 million, to enable businesses to have that bridge to the period of recovery.

In terms of the supply chain, we've also been able to allow supply chain businesses to access funds where they are able to prove a significant downturn in turnover. And it's worth just mentioning to Members that, in direct regard to that key sector that Suzy Davies has mentioned—hospitality—a typical hospitality business in Wales with the equivalent of six full-time staff could now be eligible to receive between £12,000 and £14,000, to help them through this desperately difficult period of restrictions. And that compares favourably to what's on offer across the border, where £9,000 is the highest award available to businesses in that sector of the same size. That demonstrates just how generous the offer is in Wales and how determined we are, as a Welsh Government, to secure the futures of as many businesses and as many employees as possible. 

Minister, over £32 million has been given out in business grants to businesses across Neath Port Talbot and I very much welcome that. But many of those small businesses depend upon one large business—Tata—in my constituency, and they have previously applied to the UK Government for help from the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme funding. They haven't heard yet. Have you had a chance to speak to the new Secretary of State for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to discuss how he can support Tata during this particular time? 

Can I thank Dai Rees for his question and say that a call with the new Secretary of State is now scheduled? It's in our diary. I have previously had very constructive relationships with other Ministers in BEIS, including, I'd particularly mention, Nadhim Zahawi, who is very collaborative in his approach, and we spoke on numerous occasions about the need to support the steel industry. Of course, that support has not yet been forthcoming from the UK Government. It's absolutely crucial that a deal is provided to the sector as a whole, but that specific support is agreed with Tata, recognising the strategic purpose of Tata as the UK's primary steel maker, and that is absolutely vital in terms of our national security and our economic well-being. So, these are the points that I'll be pressing upon the new Secretary of State when I speak with him. 

Yes, of course. In Caerphilly, the latest restrictions fund has seen over 1,500 businesses receive more than £4.5 million and the sector-specific fund has made 61 offers worth £478,000 to date.

I'd like to thank the Minister for meeting with representatives of businesses in Caerphilly and for the constructive responses that he gave. I just wanted to follow up on a few issues that have come out of that. Over the past few weeks, I've been contacted again by those businesses, who've expressed some concerns about the current financial package. One has said—a dance studio in Ystrad Mynach—that they cannot access support from the economic resilience fund due to them not paying their staff through PAYE, despite being in more or less the same position as other businesses of similar size otherwise. Another that contacted me is a farm park, who told me that the economic resilience fund cannot be used to support staff salaries even though the staff cannot be furloughed due to having to care for the park's animals. And I've had further concerns from representatives of the hair and beauty sector, who can't access support from the present round of ERF funding despite being unable to open. There's a fine line in the hospitality sector between being eligible and being not eligible, and I think, sometimes, businesses are falling on the wrong side of that fine line, which I'd like the Minister to address, and particularly with the next round of funding in mind. So, in the next round of funding, can those issues please be addressed to make sure that those businesses are catered for? And can he also tell us, with the First Minister having announced £200 million in the next round, when the detail of that next round of funding will be announced? 

Can I thank Hefin David not just for his questions, but also for the opportunity to meet with him recently and the representatives of businesses from Caerphilly? I thought it was a very valuable discussion that we had, and certainly we are always exploring how we can plug the gaps that people and businesses are falling through as a result of the UK Government and the Welsh Government schemes. Now, the Deputy Minister, I should, first of all, say, recently met with ExcludedUK—my colleague Jane Hutt—to discuss issues and problems faced by many millions of people across the United Kingdom, including here in Wales. In addition to this, the Minister for Finance and I recently wrote to the Chancellor, pressing him for further support to be made available to businesses and to working people. Today, Members may have seen that, in Prime Minister's questions, the Prime Minister was asked about extending business and employee support to ensure that fewer people and businesses fall through the gaps, and he said that a statement would be forthcoming regarding that very matter. 

Our package has been designed with, obviously, affordability in mind, but also with the available funding that we have, and sometimes we have had to make difficult decisions. But our purpose has been to plug as many gaps as possible left by UK Government schemes. And with regard to some of the examples that Hefin has outlined, and first of all the dance business, while a business without PAYE staff can't access the ERF sector fund, a business that has a rateable property would be able to, via their local authority, secure a grant of £3,000 or £5,000 from the ERF restrictions fund. And that also applies to the businesses within the hair and beauty sector. Now, Hefin is also right that, last Friday, the First Minister outlined an additional £200 million that will be made available to support businesses in the coming weeks. The details of that additional support package will be published very soon, in a matter of days. In the meanwhile, I should also assure Members that the discretionary fund operated by local authorities remains open to applications. That's a £25 million fund, and that fund is designed to allow businesses to secure grants of up to £2,000. 

Thank you, Minister. As an extension of that question, I wanted to ask you about businesses falling through the gaps because there are still quite a few businesses falling through the gaps. So, I welcome what you've said, and I look forward to seeing more detail and what you're planning to do about it. Can I ask you specifically about support for the self-employed who work from home and have recently set up new businesses? I've been contacted by a constituent who set up a new business venture in November of 2019, and, after undergoing the appropriate training he needed to do, he was planning on starting trading in that business in the early part of 2020. However, this couldn't happen because it entailed visiting people's homes, which was banned, obviously, under the coronavirus regulations. As a result, he made no profit and accrued a significant debt as a result of setting up his business. I'm just wondering what assistance you're providing to businesses like his who were very unlucky in the time they started their business, obviously. 

Can I thank Laura Jones for highlighting that particular case? And, obviously, if Laura Anne Jones would write to me with some of the detail, I will give it specific consideration as well to see whether we are able to assist. But, in general terms, in regard to start-up businesses, we did of course make available during the pandemic grants for start-ups to protect them, and within Caerphilly itself 84 start-up grants have been awarded, totalling more than £200,000, demonstrating the Welsh Government's commitment to start-ups. And we are currently considering further support for start-up businesses in the coming weeks and months as part of that overall package of support that has been announced by the First Minister. 

As stated by the Minister, we acknowledge that the support offered to Welsh businesses has been the most generous of all UK Governments. However, the finances available to Welsh businesses, even with the help of the UK Government, are patently not enough, given the number of businesses across all sectors who are either closing permanently or are shedding jobs at an alarming rate, as evidenced by three large retail outlets that have closed recently in Pontypool town centre. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the only possibility of stopping this catastrophic damage to the Welsh economy is to end the lockdowns. Could the Minister give any indication as to when this will happen so that those in desperate economic situations may see some light at the end of the tunnel?

Can I thank David Rowlands for his question and say that, first and foremost, this is an unprecedented crisis that we are facing globally? We have never faced such a pandemic in our lifetimes, and so the support that's required for businesses, of course, whilst it's been substantial indeed, goes no way to actually covering many of the additional costs and the loss of revenue that businesses would have experienced during the course of the pandemic. Most businesses want to be open, as I think all Members would recognise, rather than be forced to close due to lockdowns. 

The plan for emerging from lockdowns is pretty clear in terms of where we need to be in regard to test positivity and infection rates. But, in the meantime, we stand ready to support every business during this period of lockdown to ensure that they can survive. Again, in regard to the Caerphilly area, there are some excellent examples of how the Welsh Government has supported businesses and secured jobs in recent months—businesses like Bergstrom, IG Doors, Hydro Sapa, MII Engineering. Between those, we've been able to grant award more than £1 million and secure the best part of 1,000 jobs. That's an impressive achievement for Caerphilly and demonstrates how, in every single part of Wales, the Welsh Government is stepping in to secure employment, to save people's prospects. 

Questions now from party spokespeople. The Conservative spokesperson first this week, Russell George.

Diolch, Presiding Officer, and good afternoon, Minister. Two weeks ago, Minister, you launched the £180 million sector-specific fund to support  the hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors. How many businesses have already been supported and how much has been allocated, and how much money is still left in that pot to be allocated to those businesses?

Well, can I thank Russell George for his question? The sector-specific fund at the outset came under intense demand from businesses, obviously, because there is a desperate need for support for those enterprises that are suffering so dearly right now. I can tell Russell George and Members that, as of today, more than 7,600 applications have been submitted, worth in the region of £70 million already. The fund, obviously, remains open as planned and we continue to provide status updates on the Business Wales website as and when required. So far, more than 880 offers, worth in excess of £5.5 million, have been made, with £3 million of that accepted by businesses and more than £2 million has already been made in terms of payment.

Thank you for your answer, Minister. I would suggest that those figures aren't particularly good. If only 7,600 businesses have actually brought forward applications, then the money hasn't even got to them yet; they're just applications that have been received. That tells us that there are thousands and thousands of businesses across Wales that haven't been supported in this particular sector. And from my perspective, it's so important that this financial support gets to businesses as quickly as possible. I know that you will agree with me that any business that was viable last year should be viable later this year when we see, hopefully, the end of this horrible pandemic.

But I'm particularly concerned about the hospitality sector, because it's this area that has been under the greatest level of restriction for the longest period of time. They've been under restrictions before the late December lockdown. Now, I know in response to question 1 today, Minister, you mentioned that the latest package of support for a typical hospitality business in Wales with the equivalent of six full-time staff would be eligible for between £12,000 and £14,000 in total. My concern is that I've had dozens of businesses contact me—small businesses in the hospitality sector, and other Members have had the same, because we've heard from some today also—who have fallen through the net of financial support, mainly because they don't meet the criteria for the economic resilience fund because it's too restrictive for a range of reasons: either the businesses have to employ staff on pay as you earn or because the fund is aimed at larger value-added-tax registered businesses, and so on. Can you either introduce a discretionary fund for those small businesses in the hospitality sector or can you look at the eligibility criteria for support and make that less restrictive?

I thank Russell George for his further questions and say that, in terms of the overall numbers, there are between 8,500 and 9,000 businesses within the sector that the specific fund has been established to support. So, of those 8,500 to 9,000 businesses, I think 7,600 applications is pretty impressive so far, but obviously we are leaving the fund open to give every opportunity to those remaining businesses to apply for support, and indeed we made the decision to extend the period the fund is going to be open for. Obviously, this is vitally important money for businesses that will continue to suffer during the winter months. But, as I've already said, we're already putting money into the bank accounts of those businesses—a significant sum of money has already been awarded and drawn down.

In terms of a discretionary fund, obviously we wouldn't want to duplicate what is already on offer and local authorities still have their discretionary funds open for applications—a £25 million fund. We're open to ideas as to how we can support every sector across the economy, and crucially the hospitality sector. If we look at some of the comparisons as well with the UK, with the larger businesses, we'd see that for businesses with a rateable value of between £12,000 and £50,000, in England, the maximum award is currently around about £6,000; in Northern Ireland, about £14,400; in Scotland, for hospitality, it's around £12,000; here in Wales, £25,000. And if you look at the larger businesses, those with rateable values of between £50,00 and £500,000, in England the maximum would be £9,000; Northern Ireland, £19,200; in Scotland, again, specifically for hospitality businesses, it would be £34,000. There is an opportunity here in Wales for those businesses of that size and type to draw down £110,000. That demonstrates just how significant our funds are in Wales and how we are still offering the most generous package of support for businesses. But, of course, as we consider future rounds of support, we are always open to ideas, and any suggestions from any Members will be welcome and received very well here in this department.

Well, can I thank the Minister for his offer, and I'm certainly happy to take him up on that? I think the headlines from me, in terms of ideas, would be to make the criteria less restrictive on the economic resilience fund, to allow more businesses to apply. I appreciate that hospitality businesses on the high street might have got the non-domestic rate relief, but they weren't able to have any additional funding because of the restrictions in place for many of those types of businesses.

I was interested in the evidence that you and your officials gave last week, of course, to the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee. Your officials seemed to acknowledge that there is a large sum of money that the Welsh Government has not yet allocated. You also suggested that your department is perhaps reluctant to draw down or ask for further money from the finance Minister because you're fearful that you won't be able to design and deploy suitable funding schemes quickly enough in order for that money to be spent before the end of the financial year, which, again, would make me push for that to be less restrictive on the criteria, in terms of the economic resilience fund. From my perspective, businesses in non-essential retail, hospitality, tourism and leisure—a whole range of businesses—are crying out for additional support, and that money needs to be spent quickly, and every single bit of money that is available, that the Welsh Government has, has to be spent rather than lost, to ensure that struggling businesses survive through this pandemic.

I'd agree entirely with Russell George that there is a need for urgency in terms of how we support businesses, get money into business accounts and, I think, between Welsh Government, Business Wales and local authorities, the effort has been really quite remarkable in Wales, in terms of the speed at which we've been able to administer grants and awards. But Russell George is also right that we need to ensure that we have systems in place and teams in place that enable us to get money into business accounts by the end of the financial year. We would not wish to send back any financial resource if we can use that money instead to support businesses, and that's why we've always been keen, as we've designed these various schemes, to ensure that we can guarantee that we will be able to deposit money in bank accounts before the end of year, and that mentality will continue.

And in terms of asking the finance Minister for additional financial resource, well, I can tell Members that that £200 million additional fund that was announced by the First Minister last Friday came off the back of discussions between myself and the finance Minister, and the finance Minister kindly agreed to the more generous option of support that was put before her, recognising, as all colleagues do across Government, the urgent need and continued need to support people in employment and to make sure that we save as many businesses as we possibly can.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson now, Helen Mary Jones.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Further to the Minister's responses to Russell George, does he share the concerns that did seem to be being expressed to the committee last week about actually getting the money out of the door quickly enough? In saying this, Llywydd, I completely acknowledge that this is a huge task, and that many of the people who've been involved, at all levels, in delivering support for businesses in Wales have made absolutely heroic efforts. But I, like others who've spoken already today, have got some concerns about actually getting that resource to the right place fast enough.

I have, for example, heard that, in one part of Wales, a survey of hospitality businesses showed that 75 per cent of them had been refused for one or another of the Welsh Government's schemes. They were unable to be clear to me about which schemes they'd been turned down for. And I put this to the Minister as well, that there is quite a bit of complexity out there between support that is available from UK Government and support that's available from the Welsh Government, and I ask the Minister what further he can do to ensure that businesses understand what they should apply for and how they can access that. Does the Minister consider that there may be a case, if there are issues in getting money out of the door centrally, let's say through Business Wales, to divert some of the new resource to provide additional discretionary support, administered by local authorities, who may find it easier to determine if some of those businesses that perhaps don't meet the formal criteria, but they will have a better idea of whether those are genuine businesses or not?

Well, can I thank Helen Mary Jones for the points that she raises and the very valid questions? And I should begin by saying that, normally, this department would administer something in the region of £20 million to £30 million of business support grants through the business and regions budget line in an average year. And, of course, there would be other grants that would be awarded for entrepreneurial start-ups and so forth, but that pales into insignificance compared to the amount of grant awards that we've made this year: £1.7 billion of money is already in the accounts of businesses from the £2 billion available to us. One hundred and seventy-eight thousand grants have been made to businesses, worth £1 billion, through local authorities. That is a remarkable effort. Five hundred and twenty million pounds has been made available to businesses through the Welsh Government's economic resilience fund, supporting thousands and thousands of businesses and 140,000-plus people in employment. So, in terms of being able to get money into bank accounts swiftly, I think we have an incredibly strong story to tell. But we wish to make sure that we continue with that swift pace of administration in the weeks and months to come.

What we are keen to do, as well, is to ensure that businesses don't submit duplicate applications for grants, and, unfortunately, it's become quite apparent of late that a significant number of businesses have indeed submitted duplicate applications, and that can sometimes then hold up an award because we have to cross-reference applications against others, so that we don't make multiple awards to the same business. And so, what I would urge businesses to do, to ensure that they support us in helping them, is to sign up to Business Wales so that they get regular updates, regular digital news letters, and to ensure that when they are considering making an application, whether it be for UK or Welsh Government support, that they do look at the eligibility criteria very carefully, so that they are not then disappointed as a result of either missing details of the eligibility criteria or, indeed, ignoring them completely. It's absolutely essential that businesses help us to help them by applying only once for grants and by applying for the ones that are relevant to them.

I'm grateful to the Minister for his answer. There is still quite a complex picture out there, and I'll return to this through correspondence with the Minister about the issue of whether we can use local authorities more, particularly for getting support to some of the very smallest businesses that are still really important in terms of the people that they employ.

Can I ask the Minister now about longer term support? Obviously, we hope we're going to have an election in May, but we also know that some of the major UK schemes—and I'm thinking in particular of the job retention scheme, the furlough scheme—at the moment are scheduled to come to an end at the end of March. I wonder if the Minister has any sense, given that, unfortunately, the position with regard to the virus is still very serious—we can see some improvements, but it's still very serious—does the Minister have any indication from the UK Government as to whether or not these UK Government schemes are likely to be further extended, if we do find ourselves in a situation where businesses like hospitality can't reopen? And what consideration are the Minister and his team giving to what the Welsh Government will be able to do if that UK support does not continue or does not continue in its present form? I appreciate, of course, that the Welsh Government isn't resourced to do something like the furlough scheme, but I put it to the Minister that you may be wanting to consider what sectors are going to be most likely to continue to be impacted and whether or not you will be able to provide some support, going on further into the summer, particularly for hospitality and tourism businesses if they can't open.

Well, can I thank Helen Mary Jones for her further contribution? And she's absolutely right, we would not be in a position—we would simply not be able to afford to replace schemes such as the job retention scheme and the self-employment support scheme in Wales. That requires the might of the UK Treasury. But, throughout this pandemic, what we have done is respond swiftly and appropriately when the UK Government has made announcements regarding support that they are able to offer, and we have shaped our packages to ensure that we plug the gaps and that we add value.

We are awaiting a response from the UK Government with regard to the very many asks that we recently made—and have been calling for for some time—in a formal letter to the Chancellor. I and my friend and colleague Rebecca Evans wrote to the Chancellor asking for the job retention scheme to be preserved for longer. We also asked for other guarantees, including flexibility from HMRC for deferred payments to be allowed for schemes such as the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme. We're awaiting the response from the Chancellor. We haven't had any indication as to whether our ask will be met with a degree of sympathy.

I've also been calling for clarity as to whether the UK Government is going to bring forward a directors income support scheme, which I know that ExcludedUK have been campaigning for and that many people have been requesting. So, we are awaiting details from the UK Government as we approach the budget, and I would hope that the UK Government would, again, recognise the need to extend that crucially important job retention scheme and other schemes, and to be acting with fairness and flexibility with regard to the other areas of activity that I've outlined.

I'm grateful to the Minister for his answer, and I'm particularly pleased to see that he's continuing to take up the case of those excluded from support, as represented by ExcludedUK. I know the Minister is very well aware of the extent to which this COVID crisis has highlighted and thrown into sharp relief some of the underlying structural injustices and inequalities, whether that's between communities geographically in Wales—we saw Dwyfor Meirionnydd being the county where the most people signed on to receive universal credit, because they weren't able to access their employment in tourism—and we've seen the black and minority ethnic communities particularly badly affected.

I met—virtually, of course—last weekend with some young people from Kidwelly and the wider Llanelli area, and they were telling me that they're really keen to be able to build successful careers here in Wales, but also their focus was wanting to stay in their own community if they can—much more, perhaps, than might have been the case in the past. They wanted to be sure that there would be opportunities for them to do that. They were also very concerned about others, and particularly spoke to me about black people and people of colour in the context of Black Lives Matter. What can the Minister do today to set out for those young people, and young people like them, how he will plan to ensure that those opportunities are available in communities where the economies traditionally have not been strong—and west Wales and parts of the Valleys, of course, are typical of that—and how he will ensure that some of those structural inequalities that have excluded people from opportunities will be addressed in his plans to rebuild the economy after the crisis comes to an end?

Helen Mary Jones raises yet another important point, and that is that no young person should have to move out of their community in order to move up in the world. They simply should not have to move away from home if they do not wish to do so. In support of young people, who we know from previous recessions will find it more difficult to enter the jobs market, we have established the barriers fund, we've established the COVID commitment and we've enhanced the Communities for Work Plus budget.

In particular, the COVID commitment provides for thousands of apprenticeship opportunities that would otherwise be lost, an extension to the pilot schemes of the personal learning accounts—we're making it a national scheme—and, of course, it provides, crucially at this time, I think, further support for mental health and resilience, which is most definitely needed for all people, but particularly for young people. The barriers fund is focused on young people in particular, but also people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. That allows individuals to draw down grants of up to £2,000 to set up their own businesses. That fund will also be aligned with support and advice from Business Wales to give those start-ups the best prospects for the future.

There are other schemes in place that are designed to support those who are furthest from the jobs market and those who are most likely to be adversely impacted by coronavirus, including the incentive scheme that we established for apprenticeships, where a business is able to draw down up to £3,000 if they take on a young person as an apprentice. All of these schemes are designed to ensure that as many young people as possible do not experience the long-term, deep, scarring effects of an economic downturn that we know, in previous generations, too many people have had to endure.

The agreement reached between the UK Government and the European Union on 24 December 2020, following negotiations, makes trading with the EU considerably more complex. We will continue to do everything possible to support businesses, including Holyhead port, as they adjust, whilst working alongside the UK Government.

Thank you for that response, because I was going to pursue the future of the port of Holyhead. It's clearly a cause of concern given the changes we've seen over the last few weeks, with business on the Dublin to Holyhead route having halved from what we would usually see at this time. Stena Estrid has also been shifted to the Dublin to Cherbourg route, although it's back now for the short term; in the longer term, it won't be. So, there is concern, of course, about the long-term impact on the port. What I want to ask is what the Welsh Government is doing to assist with the work of facilitating the use of the port when it comes to working with haulage companies, businesses and, when the time comes, passengers too. Because we do need to safeguard the future of the port, of course, but it does make an important contribution, not only to the Anglesey economy, but the economy of the whole of north Wales.

Indeed. Llyr Huws Gruffydd is absolutely right; it makes a very significant contribution to the Welsh economy and, I'd argue as well, to the UK economy as a whole, which is why it's vitally important that the UK Government respond favourably to the letter that I sent just yesterday addressed to Grant Shapps. In that letter, I expressed my very deep concern over the significant bureaucratic pressures that have been placed on businesses and hauliers involved in trade between the UK and the EU, and how it was having a disproportionate impact on Welsh ports, primarily Holyhead, but also Fishguard and Milford Haven. What we are seeing is that there is a significant increase in capacity on certain routes, including from Rosslare port to Europe, where capacity has been increased by over 500 per cent to meet demand. That demonstrates the real risk to Holyhead and other Welsh ports, and that is why we are calling for the UK Government to respond urgently to support our ports. As soon as I receive a response to my correspondence, I'll be sure to share it with Members.

Minister, last week was Farmhouse Breakfast Week, and as you will know, being a representative in north Wales, farming is an important part of the north Wales economy. One of the opportunities presented by Brexit is the opportunity to change public sector procurement rules so that farmers and other producers can get more of their produce purchased by the public sector. What action are you taking as the economy Minister to ensure that this is something that the farming community and others across Wales can take advantage of going forward, and where are we at in terms of the Welsh Government's review of procurement processes, given that we have now left the European Union?

Can I thank Darren Millar for his question and say that, first and foremost, it's not just through procurement that we can promote more and better local sourcing? What I've been very impressed by is some of the outcomes of the foundational economy challenge fund, where there are examples, particularly in terms of seafood, of businesses within the foundational economy capturing more business locally, rather than purely relying on exports. That's being driven by collaboration and by the seed funding the foundational economy challenge fund has provided, and, of course, now we're looking at scaling up and learning from those lessons that have emerged as a consequence of the challenge fund. I'll certainly invite my colleague the finance Minister to respond in detail regarding where we are on procurement policy, but, obviously, we wish to see local procurement take place wherever and whenever possible. There are good examples—there are superb examples—of that happening across Wales. We want to make sure that it's scaled up and that lessons are learnt and applied.

Our strategy is to lay a strong and positive foundation for change across the area. To date, the Tech Valleys programme has made commitments of over £27 million, which will facilitate at least 600 sustainable jobs. The Transforming Towns programme, too, has a strong Heads of the Valleys focus as part of its £110 million investment.

I'm grateful to the Minister for that response. We've seen a number of different reports published over the last few days, and without spending time listing them all, they all say essentially two things: first of all that the depth of the economic challenge facing us post COVID and post Brexit is far greater than, perhaps, we would have recognised some time ago, and the second thing they say is that the depth of this challenge is also not borne equally, that we're seeing equality across different communities and different parts of the country having an impact whereby the poorest communities are affected far more harshly than richer communities. One of the issues that's facing the Heads of the Valleys, of course, is that an economy requires support and needs continued investment. We've seen the UK Government respond to this by cutting back on the European funds that they promised us—not a penny less—and also breaking their promises over the shared prosperity fund and other things. How is the Welsh Government going to make good the broken promises from the Conservatives? How will the Welsh Government look towards the investment to take forward the Heads of the Valleys in the future to ensure that the reports we're seeing this week do not become a reality for the people that we all seek to represent?

I think that's an excellent and timely point. I was just reading earlier the report from Sheffield Hallam University by Steve Fothergill and Christina Beatty on the impact of coronavirus on older industrial Britain. I believe that they are soon to speak to the cross-party group on industrial communities that Vikki Howells chairs. They were making the point in their report that the downturn has wiped out 10 years' progress in the economy of older industrial Britain. So, clearly, there is a challenge here right across the UK in communities facing similar challenges, which the European structural funding, of course, was designed to address. The UK Government does now have a moral obligation to replace those to make sure that its successor programmes are attuned to the needs of those communities. So far, they have not done so, but there is still time for them to keep their promises. 

On top of that, the Welsh Government is doing a number of things. Obviously, the project I mentioned in my earlier answer—the Tech Valleys and the Valleys taskforce project—has made a number of very practical and useful interventions in Alun Davies's own constituency, and we've got some further announcements due on that soon. But allied to that, touching on the interventions from Darren Millar and from Helen Mary Jones, it's about what we do for the grounded communities, essentially—for those young people in Kidwelly and in Blaina and elsewhere who want to make a future where they and their families have grown up. That's where our everyday economy project really is tightly focused: how do we make use of the money we're already spending through the public sector to make sure that as much of that does not leak out of the community as possible. That can make real tangible impacts.

I know Alun Davies and I have discussed before the opportunities for food processing and production along the Heads of the Valleys road in particular. In NHS Wales, we know from our own analysis that 49 per cent of the money we spend on food goes outside of Wales. Now, we can shift some of that back into Wales, and in every part of Wales there are food producers that could be supplying their local health boards. That will make a real, everyday impact to our economies and communities. And food is just one example. So, that is part of a reform programme that I'm leading work on and that we have early progress on, but there's much more to do. 

Increasing the frequency of services to Maesteg is a key component of the south Wales metro. Transport for Wales are now undertaking stage 2 of the WelTAG process to assess the options for increasing service frequency on this vitally important route.

Minister, can I welcome that response? I genuinely give my thanks to you, your officials, Network Rail, TfW and Bridgend council officers for their engagement on this vital matter of increasing the frequency of the service on the Maesteg to Bridgend and Cardiff line. It's something, as you know, I've been campaigning on relentlessly—probably to your frustration in some ways—since I arrived in the Senedd back in 2016. I'm like the squeaky wheel on the locomotive, demanding attention. We've completed the WelTAG stage, now on to WelTAG 2. So, can you today reconfirm clearly and loudly Welsh Government's commitment to give us those more trains on the Llynfi line to add to the welcome Sunday service that we gained last year, and to the improvements to carriage stock we've already had? And when the pandemic allows, will he meet with me and campaigners to discuss the welcome progress that we now see? 

I most certainly will, and can I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for the campaign that he's mounted on behalf of his constituents regarding this matter? We're now working on phase 2 of the WelTAG process to develop options further, and it's important this work continues to take place with the support and engagement of local stakeholders, and Huw Irranca-Davies has been hugely supportive of our efforts to bring together those stakeholders with Transport for Wales. I'll ask my officials to provide Huw Irranca-Davies with details of the five options being considered, and how the next stages of work will be taken forward by Transport for Wales. Obviously, I need to just state that rail infrastructure is not yet a devolved matter, and so we do need the UK Government to step up to the plate and to help us to do this work, and we expect Network Rail to deliver, and UK Government to fund a safe system for crossing at the railway at Pencoed, and we're working with them to ensure that we can make this happen and it is most certainly a priority of mine and this Government.

Yes, of course. We'll do all that we possibly can do to make sure that businesses are able to recover from the pandemic and we'll continue to support jobs and our economy.

In South Wales Central, the latest restrictions fund has seen more than 4,700 businesses receive in excess of £15.5 million and the sector-specific fund has made 175 payments worth more than £1 million so far.

Thanks for that response. Minister, you will have heard the exchanges in the Chamber yesterday regarding Cardiff Airport, which has, of course, been badly hit by the pandemic. Now, the claim from the Welsh Government side seems to be that Bristol Airport is receiving grants from the UK Government, which is ignoring or neglecting Cardiff Airport. It may be that the UK Government has seen the many millions of public money that have been poured into Cardiff Airport since the Welsh Government took the decision to buy it, so they may take the view that Cardiff Airport has received more than enough public money via Cardiff Bay. Now, in terms of value for money, there has been a struggle to make a return on this public investment into Cardiff Airport. A lot of people in Wales, particularly in north Wales, see much taxpayers' money poured into Cardiff Airport with no real benefit to them. Has the Welsh Government put a limit on the amount of taxpayers' money that they're willing to set aside for Cardiff Airport, and do you think they should do that?

I'd first of all say that there's an odd rationale in Gareth Bennett's argument. He says that essentially, public money should be ploughed into privately owned airports, but public money from Westminster should not be invested in a publicly owned airport within Wales. My argument would be that actually, with most passenger airports globally having some form of public ownership, and some form of public support, it stands to reason that Cardiff international airport should be receiving a fair share of support from the UK Government, and the First Minister was absolutely right to compare the generous offer of support to Bristol Airport as a failure to support Cardiff international airport.

And with regard to sentiments towards Cardiff international airport in the north, it's a fact that Anglesey airport exists primarily on the basis of having that vitally important north-south air route provided, and therefore, Cardiff international airport does provide the existence of jobs and prosperity in a significant part of north Wales.

And I would again argue that it's not just the direct financial support that can be awarded to Cardiff Airport that will ensure its long-term survival—and hopefully in the future we'll see it thrive; there are other ways that UK Government could assist Cardiff international airport. We've outlined them on many occasions, and I hope that in the coming months we will see the UK Government respond positively, including, importantly, the devolution of air passenger duty, which could make a significant difference to Cardiff international.

Yes, absolutely. On Friday 22 January, we further enhanced our package of support to businesses affected by alert level four restrictions by £200 million, taking its total to £650 million.

Thank you, Minister. I can tell you that that money will be not just very welcome, but is needed in Wales. Now, I have a number of small accommodation owners contacting me stating that the only Welsh Government funding they can access is the restrictions business fund non-domestic rate grant. It seems that, for some reason, now, tourism businesses are blocked from the sector specific fund that I thought was initially aimed at them. They cannot apply. This is what one Aberconwy business owner told me last week: 'We are approaching breaking point now. We've taken all available measures to keep our outgoings to an absolute minimum, but our monthly overheads are simply too great for us.' You have to remember that, here in Aberconwy, most of these businesses have been in lockdown since 1 October, and then the series of lockdowns that came afterwards. So, there is reason for hope as a further £200 million has been announced, but we've not been provided with the details as to how this will be used, and the set criteria. So, would you clarify this today? But more importantly, do you think that you could look at small guesthouses, bed and breakfasts, and those that don't have half a dozen employees? Sometimes they're just small businesses, but once their income goes, they are in a real fix. Thanks.

Can I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for her question, which is so very important to the economy, not just of her constituency, but to north Wales and, indeed, the whole of Wales? Tourism and hospitality are vitally important, supporting thousands upon thousands of people, many of whom are amongst the lowest income earners, and are most likely to be adversely impacted themselves by coronavirus. So, that's why this Welsh Government is so determined to support the sector as much as possible. Indeed, I've already outlined how 10,600 business in tourism and hospitality have already applied for that sector-specific financial support. We're keeping that fund open for an extra period of time to ensure that many of those businesses that have not applied do apply.

I can't comment on the points raised in respect of the specific business that Janet Finch-Saunders outlined, but of course, if the Member would write to me, we'll look at the detail of that particular case. But I can assure the Member that, within Conwy local authority, 146 offers worth more than £1.4 million have already been made to businesses through the sector specific fund. I believe that 67 businesses have already accepted those offers, and in terms of the latest restrictions fund, which is a significant fund indeed, within the local authority area of Conwy, more than 2,160 grants have already been paid out, amounting to more than £6.8 million. So, that demonstrates how money is getting into those business accounts at speed, and on top of that there is still £25 million available through the local authority discretionary funds, available for businesses—often those businesses that have fallen through the gaps. But of course, if the Member wishes to write to me with those specific cases, I would be happy to respond to her correspondence.

Yes, of course I will. Consultation is about to commence on several minor improvement schemes to address safety concerns in mid Wales. I will also be making an announcement for the start of the new Dyfi bridge scheme shortly having now agreed a revised construction programme.

Thank you, Minister. I'm very pleased to hear about the Dyfi bridge. I know that's a question that's been asked for some time, and I hope we do get that firm commitment and detail that we need on that.

My specific question really concerns delays around the Cefn bridge in Trewern, causing huge congestion and disruption for people living in the area and across Wales. This is bridge that's been hit a number of times. Prior to Christmas, traffic lights were in operation sadly yet again on the bridge. I've certainly conducted my own survey through using my engagement fund through the Senedd facilities, and what people have said is that we do need some significant road improvements on the A458 Welshpool to Shrewsbury route. I would be grateful, Minister, if you could perhaps discuss this with officials. I think there were a number of issues around speed restrictions, et cetera, that need to be looked at. So, can you, Minister, confirm when the Cefn bridge will be repaired again, and can the Minister also forward me proposals for any road improvement schemes on the A458? 

Can I thank Russell George for his question? And with regard to the Cefn bridge, I do apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of the work that is required, and I will write to the Member with a full response. With regard to the A458 Welshpool to Shrewsbury road, of course, we're working with counterparts across the border on improvement schemes to routes that cross Wales and England's border. Of course, I'll be keen to ensure that the Member is notified whenever there is any progress on any of those cross-border schemes and, again, I'll write to him with further details.FootnoteLink

Thank you, Minister.

The next item is questions to the Counsel General and Minister for European transition, and the first question is from Helen Mary Jones. 

We understand the steel industry and unions have cautiously welcomed the EU-UK trade co-operation agreement. We welcome the tariff-free quotas agreed for GB steel exports to the EU, but share the concerns of the industry about the capacity of sales to Northern Ireland counting against these quotas.  

I'm grateful to the Counsel General for his answer. Obviously, the future of the industry depends on being able to move towards a decarbonised future, and I wonder if the Counsel General can inform of us today of any further discussions that have taken place between the Welsh Government and the UK Government with regard to their support for the future of the industry in Wales in that regard. And can he tell us whether the Welsh Government will be able to make further support available for the company in areas such as skills and research and development, bearing in mind that if we are to have a successful steel industry in future, and to be able to take advantage of that tariff-free arrangement, there'll be an extensive need to update the industry and how it operates? 

Well, in terms of the updating of the industry on the operation of the tariff-free arrangements, obviously, she will know that there is a moment in June of this year when the safeguard arrangements need to be clarified, and we are pressing as a Government for immediate clarification from—[Inaudible.]

Jeremy Miles to continue with his response to the question from Helen Mary Jones. 

Diolch, Llywydd. In terms of supporting the steel sector in Wales, in order to respond to the new arrangements, one of the first considerations that we need clarity on with the sector is in relation to the safeguard measures that currently apply to protect certain quantities of steel exports into the EU. Those safeguards expire, as the Member may be aware, in June of this year, and we're seeking immediate clarification from the UK Government about the status at that point. We recognise, certainly, in Wales, that an announcement coming close to the wire would not be in the interests of the sector in Wales.

In terms of the other kind of support that the Member was asking about, obviously we've funded skills support in the sector for a number of years, and continue to do that, including in relation to the workforce at Tata. And, indeed, there's a significant amount of work happening in the sector in relation to decarbonisation, which the industry itself is keen to ensure happens in a way that can support and sustain the industry into the future. And I know in her own—. She mentioned Trostre in Llanelli in her question, and I know from my discussions with Lee Waters, the Member of the Senedd for Llanelli, that he is closely in touch with the works in relation to those sorts of issues as well. 

Thank you, Minister, for that clarity, particularly on the safeguarding agenda, because it is important that we look at how we protect steel imports and exports, and the trade agreement is looking at that. I'm also concerned about, perhaps, how steel comes in and is stored in bonded warehouses or steel stockholders, and the concern is that, when people then say, 'We're using British steel', they're particularly talking about British-sourced steel, not British-produced steel. Now, it's important, therefore, that we go through this next step to ensure that we use Welsh- and British-produced steel, and not simply steel that's sourced in the UK. Will you therefore have discussions with your colleagues in the Cabinet, and with the UK Ministers, to ensure that they now start reflecting upon British-produced steel to ensure that, when they put in their procurement, they are supporting our steel industry and not simply using bonded warehouses to get steel in from elsewhere, which is going to damage our steel industry?

Absolutely. I take very much the point that David Rees raises in his question. It's absolutely essential that we do all that we can, and continue to do all that we can, to support British-produced steel, and in our case, of course, Welsh-produced steel. One of the considerations that we are anxious about is that one of the consequences of the safeguarding arrangements currently in place is that the quota that protects British-produced steel effectively is eaten up, if you like, by transit of steel into Northern Ireland. And so that is one of the concerns—you want to make sure that should not reduce the overall availability of the protection available to British steel. 

We have consistently said to the UK Government, through the Joint Ministerial Committee (EU Negotiations) and in bilateral discussions, that the UK must commit to non-regression from existing standards and employment rights. The UK must stick to the obligations it has entered into in the EU-UK trade and co-operation agreement. 

Thank you, Minister, and can I welcome the First Minister's robust defence of workers' rights in response to questions in the Senedd yesterday, because news that the UK Tory Government is again planning to attack workers' rights should shock no-one? We know our history, and we know the price that was paid to secure and improve the rights of workers, and it should make people angry, and I hope make them organise in resistance through their trade unions. 

Minister, there are less than 100 days to the Senedd elections and we can now clearly see that workers' rights are on the ballot paper. So, to avoid any more broken Tory promises, promises that are now as smelly as the rotting fish in our sea ports, can I ask you to assure me that the Welsh Government, and the party that we represent here in this Senedd, will challenge any attempt by the Tories to sacrifice workers' rights on the altar of their free market dogma?

I thank Dawn Bowden for that supplementary, and for her longstanding advocacy of the cause of trade union membership as well. Workers across Wales and the UK will be utterly dismayed, I think, that, at the height of a pandemic and economic crises, the UK Government think that it's remotely appropriate to consider taking an axe to basic protections on working time and holiday pay entitlements. We want work to be fairer, safer and more secure, and we will absolutely resist the Conservative and the Brexiteer fantasy that our future lies in a deregulated and exploitative workplace. The UK Government says it's committed to maintaining existing protections, and, if that is true, then why is it undertaking a review? I agree with Dawn Bowden—faced with a UK Government that seems determined to strip away their rights at work, it's more important than ever that workers should join a trade union, and we will use every lever to mitigate the damaging impact of any UK Government attempt to dilute workers' rights and protections. Whether that's the power of the public purse or our social partnership approach, we are absolutely committed, as a Welsh Labour-led Government, to justice in the workplace and to fair work practices. 

Questions now from the party spokespeople. Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Dai Lloyd. 

Thank you, Llywydd, and good afternoon, Minister.

It was good to see a written statement from you, Minister, last week, informing Members that you'd issued formal proceedings in the administrative courts seeking permission for a judicial review to the UK internal market Act. Now, Plaid Cymru supports this endeavour. As we've stated before many times, the Act undermines Welsh democracy and drives a coach and horses through the devolution settlement. I hope that the Minister will keep Members continuously informed over the developing situation with regard to this legal action. In the meantime, however, could the Minister update us on whether or not he has discussed this legal action with counterparts in the other devolved administrations? Could he perhaps outline to us what efforts are being made to include the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive, as supporters of this legal action, which, as I'm sure he would agree with me, will undoubtedly bolster the credibility of the case in favour of a judicial review into this latest power grab?

Certainly. Well, the Member will obviously understand that I would not wish to disclose the detail of conversations between law officers in different parts of the UK. However, I can obviously say that he will perhaps have noted from the pleadings that we have acknowledged that both the law officers of Scotland and Northern Ireland are interested parties in the sense of having an interest in the outcome. The Scottish Government, as he may also have seen, has issued more than one statement of support for the course of action that we are taking as a Government. We are now at a stage where the initial application will be for the court to decide whether we have leave to bring a judicial review before an actual hearing takes place. And I think if, as we hope, the court does grant us leave to take the action forward, then I think it's at that point that the decision of other devolved Governments would crystallise about their relationship to the legal proceedings.

Thank you for that, Minister. Moving on, buried deep within the UK-EU trade and co-operation agreement is an article that states that the European Parliament and UK Parliament,

'may establish a Parliamentary Partnership Assembly'

consisting of MPs and MEPs. My understanding is that there is already talk within the UK and European Parliaments as to how to get this moving, but nothing's been formalised yet. As we know, the UK-EU agreement covers many areas of policy that are in fact devolved. Does the Minister agree with me, therefore, that we cannot just accept that only MPs from Westminster would be allowed to be represented on such a committee, and may I ask that, given that the establishment of this partnership committee has yet to be formalised, whether the Welsh Government, if they haven't already, could make representations and work with others to ensure that parliamentarians from across the devolved administrations are represented on this committee?

Dai Lloyd raises a very important point in that question. The agreement makes a number of provisions in relation to the future governance of the relationship. Generally speaking, apart from, I think, in one context, the devolved institutions aren't expressly included in that. And one of the points that I've made already myself to UK Ministers relates to making sure that Wales has that role in the governance structures, going forward, which reflects exactly the point about the devolved nature of many of the areas under discussion through those governance frameworks. We're developing what we would regard as a detailed ask in relation to that, but the principle point has already been made: that Wales needs to be properly represented in that set of structures in the way that, when we were part of the European Union, the Council of Ministers' arrangements made provision for that sort of engagement.

Thank you. Finally, I raised the issue of the UK shared prosperity fund with you, Minister, back in December and how this will impact the Welsh Government's ability to implement their own framework for regional investment in Wales. You stated, in response to my question, Minister, that,

'the UK Government ought to engage with us about how we can, even at this late hour, make sure that the people in Wales have the promises they were made kept, both with regard to how the funds are spent, but also crucially what those funds are.'

Last week, the UK Government announced that they intended to plough ahead and bypass the devolved administrations and replace European structural funds with a centrally controlled fund in Whitehall. Where does this leave, therefore, the Welsh Government's own framework for regional investment, given that you yourself have said that the delivery of this framework is dependent on positive engagement with the UK Government—your words. Are these plans now dead in the water?

They are not dead in the water; they are the fruit of very considerable joint working with the private sector, public sector, third sector, universities, and so on, right across Wales, and they remain the Welsh Government's ambition for supporting regional investment in Wales through the shared prosperity fund and, indeed, in any other way. We are working with stakeholders to understand, obviously, what is a shifting landscape in Westminster in relation to this. What I would say to the Member is that we have not had the close discussions we would have expected to have at this stage, even, as it were, at this late stage, with the relevant Whitehall department. I think there has been a woeful lack of ministerial engagement with us around that. My understanding is that there has been a delay in the piloting—in the prospectus for the pilots—which won't now, obviously, be happening in January, and I think may not even happen in February. I do want to reiterate that the framework provides an approach for the future that has a broad base of support in Wales, which the UK Government would, I think, do well to engage, because that represents what businesses, local government and, as I say, other public bodies across Wales want to see as the future of regional funding in Wales. We have a plan. It's a plan that has been consulted on and co-designed and co-developed, and that is the framework that I think best represents the way for the shared prosperity fund to be put to work, and that should be done in partnership with us, rather than attempting to circumvent the Welsh Government.

The Conservative spokesperson, Janet-Finch Saunders.

Diolch, Llywydd. To my delight, the UK Government has announced that seafood exporters across the UK will now receive Government funding of up to £23 million. That funding is to support businesses that have been most adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the challenges of adjusting to new requirements for exporting. So, I hope, Counsel General, you will join with me in welcoming the action taken by the UK Government to support our Welsh fisheries. In fact, alongside money, the UK Government is, for example, providing clear guidance on the required IT forms, working closely with the individual businesses to help them get used to the new procedures required, and they are co-operating with French authorities and the EU Commission to ensure that minor administrative issues associated with export health certificates have not prevented goods from entering the market. Now, contrast this with the Welsh Government approach. The Minister, Ken Skates MS, wrote to me on 22 January, noting that the Welsh Government are continuing to monitor the difficult market situation for the Welsh seafood industry and what other options there might be for supporting the sector. So, will you advise, please, what steps you will be taking, through your capacity as the Minister for European transition, to provide support for the Welsh fisheries sector in addition to what the UK Government is already offering?

Can I first welcome Janet Finch-Saunders to her new responsibilities? What I want to say at the start is that we obviously welcome the availability of this sum of money. It isn't a fund that has been co-designed, as it ought to have been, with the devolved Governments, and the detail on eligibility and roll-out remain, I think, at this point very vague, so we are working and hope to work with the UK Government to understand that better. What I should say, though, is that the challenge that the fisheries sector is under is entirely the responsibility of the UK Government in relation to the decisions it has taken as a matter of political choice in the negotiations with the European Union. We as a Government were fearful that this would come to pass, and hence our call for the UK Government to prioritise smooth access to markets, which they have failed to do. Many people prioritise their Ruritanian sense of sovereignty above the livelihoods of fishers and others, and those people will have to account to those sectors for having taken that view, and I include the Member in that. Fishers deal with products that are very perishable, and I suspect that the political reputations of those who have been complicit in the deal, which has undermined the well-being of the fishing sector, will find their own political positions perishable as well, in due course.

Thank you. One example of action you could take is to encourage the Welsh Government to review the exclusion of crew members employed on a share-of-catch basis from the ERF sector-specific grant. Now, it will come of no surprise to you that I am again pleased that the Prime Minister's trade deal does allow UK goods and components to be sold without tariffs and without quotas in the EU market. However, I do acknowledge that the Farmers Union of Wales have raised concerns about the impact of trade friction on the agriculture sector. Now, during the Joint Ministerial Committee (EU Negotiations) on the trade and co-operation agreement on Tuesday 29 December, you called for the UK Government to put in place new support measures for the economy to help businesses through the transition. And the UK Government is now taking that action. I'm aware that farming Minister Victoria Prentis has been undertaking discussions with the French, the Irish and the Dutch, so will you clarify what further steps you will take to assist the agriculture sector with mitigating trade friction?

Well, we continue to work with the agriculture sector and, indeed, every other to understand the new barriers to trade that the UK Government's political choices have imposed upon them. I think it's important for the Member, in acknowledging the existence of a zero-tariff, zero-quota deal, to be quite clear sighted about the fact that the complexity in the trading relationship between our exporters and the European Union is vastly greater than it was on 31 December, and that will impose significant costs that those businesses are now wrestling with. We will do all that we can to support businesses in Wales in all sectors to continue exporting and to understand the new red tape that the Boris Johnson agreement has imposed upon them. But let us be clear that the root cause of that is the deal, and no amount of UK Government action or Welsh Government action can change, unfortunately, the fundamentals of that new relationship, which impose new barriers.

Thank you, but again, my questions, really, are trying to ascertain what you are actually doing, rather than saying, 'Oh, this is for the UK Government' or, 'It's for those who wanted Brexit'. I'm trying to establish what you are doing in your capacity. Now, I appreciate that the Welsh Government has urged all hauliers and freight companies that transport goods from Welsh ports to Ireland to familiarise themselves with the process. In fact, there is some hope that the pressure of paperwork will ease with practice and familiarity, and, hopefully, in the short term.

Now, with regard to sailings from Wales to the EU, you will be aware of concerns that there could be a shift away from Holyhead, particularly in terms of weekend and off-peak traffic. Now, Wales office Minister, David T.C. Davies, has highlighted that there are issues that could be some teething problems, and I am very aware that our Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart MP, is keeping a very wary eye on this matter. So, I hope that this situation is only a temporary dip, especially as the fact remains that Welsh ports are the quickest and most efficient route between Ireland and the UK and then onward to the EU. So, what steps, please, will you commit to taking to promote the benefit to EU businesses of continuing to use our Welsh ports? You have a role to play in this, Counsel General, and I'm asking you not only to step up to the plate, but actually to tell the Senedd exactly what you are doing. Diolch.

I'd be glad to take up Janet Finch-Saunders's invitation, and, forgive me, I was assuming that she was aware of the contents of the end of transition action plan, which stipulates in quite close detail everything that we're doing. But, anyway, I'll refer her to the contents of that for detail.

On the specific point that she makes, I myself found it rather offensive to describe these as 'teething troubles', actually; these are consequences of a freely negotiated agreement that were foreseeable and, indeed, foreseen. So, it is incumbent on governments to support port operators and freight companies and hauliers as well. We are doing that, as a Welsh Government. We're working with the UK Government and with the Irish Government, in fact. We've managed to ensure that the turnarounds at Holyhead, for example, have reduced from around 20 per cent of vehicles to something in the order of 5, 6 or 7 per cent—it varies, obviously. We've participated and led on detailed webinars with hauliers and freight companies, with many people coming on board to understand the new barriers that they face. We work closely with the ports, closely with HMRC and closely with the Irish Government in relation to this. What I want to see and what the Welsh Government wants to see is the land bridge protected. It is the fastest route, in ordinary circumstances, and it's certainly more effective and efficient, and we want to make sure that hauliers recognise that and support it. What we do not accept is that these can be dismissed as teething troubles, as UK Government Ministers have done. We think it requires a proactive approach of working together to solve the problem and explain to hauliers, and that is a much better approach than simply brushing them off as teething problems.

[Inaudible.]—new—

If you can start again, David; I'm sorry, the microphone wasn't unmuted in time.

I was a bit quick off the mark.

We recently published a new export action plan, which sets out the support available to Welsh exporters to help them understand and navigate the new barriers to exporting to the EU as a result of the decision to leave the customs union and the deal negotiated by the UK Government.

Thank you for that answer. I'm particularly concerned about small and medium-sized enterprises that export, or have done, into the single market in the past. These SMEs are often sector leaders, they're highly innovative—some of our best businesses—and also have great potential for growth. But now, many of them, to get through the thicket of certification and other bureaucracy, which is going to run into billions of pounds, I'm told, from the UK economy, need, for instance, to employ export brokers. What sort of help are you going to give so that they can at least contract with people who are reputable and operate at reasonably low cost?

Well, I thank David Melding for that question that highlights a very important issue. He will be aware, of course, of the equivalent to the trusted trader schemes that have been introduced as part of the new arrangements. However, generally speaking, those tend to be larger companies rather than many of the smaller and medium-sized companies that his question is concerned about and that, obviously, represent a large percentage of the Welsh economy.

The export action plan highlights a few practical things that we are doing to tackle the challenge that his question highlights. The economy Minister recently wrote an open letter to businesses setting out the support and guidance that we have available, including some that is available through the EU transition portal. There is, in addition to that, a new online export hub, which provides very practical advice around the kind of customs procedures, the paperwork and the finding of new clients that he refers to in his question. 

Alongside that, we've developed a series of webinars, which aim to walk exporters through the new rules of origin requirements, export certification requirements and so on. In addition to that, the economy Minister has expanded capacity through the recruitment of international trade advisers, who are able to work directly with businesses referred on from Business Wales. They provide very bespoke support and advice to particular businesses about how they can navigate some of these challenges in their particular sectors, which offers a very practical and hands-on function to support them.

Minister, I've received an e-mail from the owner of a substantial transport company in my constituency, and he writes to me,

'We are currently in a crisis in relation to exports to Ireland. We were under the impression that once the Christmas Eve deal was finalised, procedures would be immediately put in place to allow exports to Ireland, but we're still unable to export to Northern Ireland, which we believe is still part of Great Britain. Our company specialises in exporting essential medical equipment to Dublin and various areas of Belfast—equipment, we would add, which is tax-paid, and would allow patients to leave hospital, freeing up beds for those in desperate need at this current time. The bureaucracy of the new system is flawed, overcomplicated and inadequate, and no-one seems to want to accept responsibility for what measures need to be put in place to enable the exports to continue as they have previously.'

Minister, who is responsible for this economic shambles?

Well, the responsibility for the new obstacles to export and freight through our ports is the direct consequence of the UK Government's political priorities in the trade and co-operation agreement with the European Union. There obviously were new obstacles to trade introduced on 1 January. What I would say though is that we've put in place, as a Government, plans to handle the transport and traffic impact of that on our ports, and indeed are working with the UK Government and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the Irish Government to ensure that there are as smooth as possible arrangements in place for freight passing through Holyhead and through our ports in the south-west in particular. And that is absolutely having an effect in making that journey smoother. But the point that he makes in his question is that these are, essentially, matters of political choice. They are new barriers to trade that, obviously, we very much regret having seen imposed on Welsh hauliers.

It's clear that the Act creates uncertainty in terms of the Senedd's ability to legislate. Therefore, I have issued formal proceedings in the administrative court here in Cardiff seeking permission for judicial review in terms of its impact on our Senedd.

I'm grateful to the Counsel General for that response. It's clearly unacceptable that we have now lost the power to ban the sale of single-use plastics and to legislate in this area, so I do hope that the Counsel General is successful in the court proceedings.

I'm interested in the fact that the Counsel General said in an external address recently, on the basis of the proceedings, that the basis to take our powers would be unaccountable, even if the Westminster Government were serious about safeguarding environmental standards and workers' rights. You also said that you were in favour of increasing the powers of this Senedd. Now, this is an argument in favour of the principle that the powers that this Senedd needs should lie here, come what may, so that we can regulate in a way that accords with the aspirations of the people of Wales. Does this mean that you are now in favour of a confederal constitutional settlement, with the Welsh Parliament deciding which powers to retain and which to share with the rest of the UK?

Well, I've been clear on this in many contexts, that I believe that we should have as many powers as the people of Wales aspire to have in Wales under the control of this Parliament and this Government, in terms of ministerial responsibilities, here in Wales. So, that's certainly a principle, I would say, that is non-contentious these days. What we have seen after the efforts of the Westminster Government in this recent legislation is that our constitutional settlement is placed under specific pressures, because we have a Conservative Government in Westminster who are certainly trying to undermine the devolution settlement, and all of us who are supportive of it, and want to see more powers coming to Wales, must respond appropriately to that.

Counsel General, I see questions like this, and I hear the answers, and I understand completely why this place is called 'a bubble'. We are still in the middle of a pandemic, people have lost their lives and livelihoods, they've lost hope, and we appear in this Senedd to be navel gazing. That being said, I'd be grateful to know what is the Welsh Government prevented from doing by this Act that it could do unfettered previously? And what difference does it actually make to our constituents? Thank you.

Well, she may feel that she works and lives in a bubble; I certainly don't feel that. The point about the Act is it makes a very real difference to people's weekly shop. So, if you're interested in making sure that food is of the standard that Welsh producers and Welsh consumers are accustomed to, this Act poses a threat to that. If you're interested in making sure that we don't pollute our environment with excessive use of plastics, this Act represents a threat to that. If you want to make sure that there are proper regulations in relation to service providers in Wales, this Act is a threat to that. These are not, as it where, simply constitutional matters; they affect the daily lives of all our constituents, and I think that is why it is of such significance that people should be aware of what this Act contains, and I would ask her to help us extend some of that outside the bubble that she describes.

Well, until December, Welsh ports were the easiest route for traffic between Ireland and mainland Europe. The new regulatory barriers resulting from the UK Government's deal with the European Union have changed that, and we are pressing the UK Government to improve transit procedures to restore the competitive advantage of Welsh ports.

I welcome, genuinely, that constructive engagement by the Minister with UK counterparts, but, you know, I've got to call a spade a spade here. Minister, those people who said that we would have, after EU withdrawal, frictionless trade that would allow these land routes across the UK to continue were either too daft to realise what they were saying to the public in Wales, and across Britain, or they were outright telling porky pies. And, in fact, the UK bureaucracy that we currently have is exactly what Boris Johnson railed against previously, when he pointed his arrows at the European Union. So, I wonder, Minister, I see commercial operators out of Ireland now espousing the benefits of long-term diversion, away from the land link across the UK, and by going direct from Ireland to the EU. Will he push UK Ministers to redress the damage that they have done and to make sure that this is as temporary as possible and that they get this trade going back through our ports in Wales?

Well, that is a top priority for us as a Government. These barriers, if you like, to trade and to transit weren't just foreseeable, they were foreseen. Now, what we want to make sure is that the speed and convenience of routes through Wales will start to attract hauliers back as soon as possible, and we are certainly pressing the UK Government, in the way that he suggests, to do everything possible to help traders navigate this new border and then to limit the economic impact that it's having. And the Minister for the economy, as you will have heard in earlier exchanges in the Chamber today, has written to the Secretary of State for Transport yesterday to highlight our concerns most recently. Obviously, we're particularly worried about the fact that those routes are costlier and take longer, and that tells us, of course, that the land bridge remains the best option, effectively. What we want to do is make sure that we are working with other Governments to persuade the hauliers of that, and that involves UK Government doing everything it can to minimise the practical implications of those checks and so on at the border.

Those whose jobs depend on the port of Holyhead will pay the price if changing trading patterns leads to a loss of trade permanently, shifting to direct passage. Whilst December stockpiling may be a part of the reasons for what's happened, the pandemic also, the elephant on that near-empty vehicle deck is the huge increase in trade on those direct routes. I think trade through Rosslare is up some 500 per cent. And, yes, it's longer, but there's no bureaucracy going that way, and whilst the Holyhead route has traditionally been cheaper as well as being more convenient, it doesn't take a genius to work out what a big increase in direct traffic is likely to mean for prices on those direct routes either. Now, I'm grateful for being copied into that letter that's been mentioned, from the economy Minister to UK Government, calling for support, both financial and otherwise, to deal with those significant new non-tariff barriers. But will the Minister update us on how Welsh Government can assist further now, including through establishing the kind of long-term border infrastructure we need to help trade flow freely and which UK Government have failed to deliver?

Well, what we are doing is very practical, really, in terms of working with the other two Governments and bringing those together. We've been absolutely at the forefront, really, of discussions, both with the UK Government and the Irish Government, as I mentioned earlier, but also with local authorities, including his own, and port stakeholders in relation to these matters, to make sure that we have the latest intelligence of what is happening, as far as possible, in real time to freight. We have seen some action on some of the issues that we've been highlighting, including some of the short-term easements, effectively, that the Irish Government have put in place in relation to the pre-boarding notification procedures, and, as I mentioned in passing earlier, some of those very practical things around webinars and so on.

In relation to the infrastructure that he speaks about, the Welsh Government's new responsibilities, effectively, start from the beginning of July, both in Holyhead and in the south-west, but we are working with HMRC and the UK Government to identify the best locations as near as possible to the port for that infrastructure to be placed. We want it to be as near as possible to the port, for reasons that I think are obvious, and there are a small number of options for us, which we are now homing in on. What I would say to him, though, is that it's almost impossible to imagine circumstances where that could be delivered now by 1 July, given the time we lost last year in the UK Government properly engaging us. So, we are now pressing the UK Government for an understanding of what contingency measures can be put in place so that Holyhead and other ports in Wales, and, indeed, across the UK, are able to do this in an orderly fashion, given the time we lost last year.

The UK internal market Act seeks to hollow out the Senedd's legislative competence in a number of areas. That is why I have initiated legal action. It also gives the UK Government financial assistance powers, as they're called, which are already being used to circumvent devolved competence, most blatantly through the so-called shared prosperity fund. 

I absolutely support the actions that you've taken, and I hope that everybody here will as well. We find ourselves—and I'll use the terminology of the right wing—in splendid isolation in terms of the ports in the areas that I represent actually not having any trade. However, there is nothing splendid in being isolated in a way that threatens jobs and threatens the economy. People are being left stranded with nothing to do and no future to look forward to. So, could I ask you if you will continue with the conversations, but also implore the Secretary of State for Wales, who represents this area, to be a louder and clearer voice in supporting those businesses in his own community?

I would echo Joyce Watson's concerns in relation to this. What we will do as a Government is continue the efforts that we've been engaged in to make sure that the economic impact on the ports in the region that she represents, and, indeed, businesses right across Wales—that they are able to respond to these new barriers that the trade and co-operation agreement have introduced. There is no doubt that there are many challenges for businesses that lie ahead. We are working on understanding the implications of what is still a very new set of arrangements, and we'll be hoping to provide some further specific guidance to businesses in Wales in the coming weeks in relation to that. I'm sure the Secretary of State for Wales will have heard Joyce Watson's pleas on behalf of the part of the world they both represent.

Certainly. I have now endorsed the vast majority of common frameworks of relevance to Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government. These are provisionally operational pending development and scrutiny by the Senedd and by the other legislatures. I anticipate being able to endorse the organic production framework shortly as well. Two further frameworks—the professional qualifications and services frameworks—will be developed this year.

As you will remember, the EU withdrawal Bill, which received legislative consent from this Senedd, agreed that UK-wide frameworks to replace the EU rulebook will be freely negotiated between the four UK Governments in many areas, some of which you mentioned, and also including, for example, food, animal welfare and the environment. As your colleague the Minister for environment and rural affairs said in her statement on the inter-ministerial group for environment, food and rural affairs last autumn, 

'I insisted frameworks had been designed to help understand and manage divergence between the four administrations'.

Indeed, the inter-ministerial group at this meeting agreed a refreshed approach to the finalisation of frameworks to ensure all reached a provisional and usable level by the end of 2020. Last month, in a positive response to the House of Lords, UK Ministers unveiled new amendments to the UK internal market Bill that will protect the common frameworks agreed with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, preventing barriers to internal trade within the UK that would disadvantage Welsh consumers and businesses. Why, therefore, are you using public resources to take legal action against the UK Government when these agreed frameworks enable current levels of flexibility to be maintained within agreed common approaches?

I think the Member may possibly have misunderstood exactly the impact of the amendments made by the House of Lords in relation to this. I'd like to pay tribute, if I may, to Lord Hope, who led on amendments on this particular issue, but also Lords across the Chamber, including some Conservative peers, who recognise, as perhaps the Member does not, the threat that the Act represents to devolution. I should just say that the amendments had the effect, simply, of giving the Secretary of State the discretion to amend the devolution settlement where a framework has been agreed. When one says that out loud, I think the challenges with that are transparent enough: firstly, that the devolution settlement should be capable of being amended by UK Government Ministers in any event, and secondly, that it should be a matter of discretion. Those are two of the examples why we think the Act needs to be challenged in court, and part of the rationale for us doing so.

Thank you, Minister.

That brings us to the topical questions. The first question this afternoon is to be answered by the First Minister and asked by Dai Lloyd.

It's a cause of concern that there have been over the 500 COVID cases recorded among DVLA staff since September. An incident management team was established at the beginning of October to support the health protection response. I've raised concerns on a number of occasions with UK Government on the number of cases and working practices at the DVLA.

Thank you, First Minister for that answer. Obviously, the current situation at the DVLA is inexcusable. The number of staff that have contracted COVID, as you've outlined, is a huge worry, reflecting the concerns expressed by workers at the site with regard to poor working practices and COVID safeguarding practices. Can I just quote from a recent e-mail received from a staff member? 'On my floor, there are still 100 staff on the floor, sharing kitchens, toilets, no windows to open on the whole floor. I imagine this is the same on the 15 other floors'—for those of you who know the DVLA building in Swansea.

I've written directly to the DVLA on three separate occasions since the start of the pandemic. The first time was back in March 2020, as these concerns were expressed to me then, also in October 2020, and earlier this month, with replies from the chief executive. So, I've written three times. Many people were and still do—who are employed by the DVLA—they were contacting me, stating they did not feel safe, as we've heard, with the measures that were in place and in terms of what management were asking of them. Unfortunately, therefore, it appears that the situation has not improved at all—[Inaudible.]—help us in Swansea trying to reduce the spread of the virus within our local communities. We need firm action to be taken on this, and I'd be grateful for further details, First Minister, in terms of how the Welsh Government plans to step up their actions—obviously, the DVLA is a non-devolved issue—working with the UK Government and Swansea council and looking at all possible legal avenues to ensure that the DVLA is a safe working environment.

So, could you outline what further action you could take, particularly around the legal enforcement of Welsh law in this matter? Are you looking at strengthening the law in this area or strengthening the sanctions? If any employer, private or public, cannot guarantee the safety of their employees at this time, then quite simply they should be shut down until appropriate measures are in place. Employees of the DVLA and residents of Swansea certainly want to see further action, and I would urge you to do all that you can to ensure that Welsh law, in this instance, is adhered to. Diolch yn fawr. 

Dr Lloyd raises a series of very important concerns relayed to him by members of the workforce. They chime exactly with the concerns that our colleague Mike Hedges has regularly conveyed to me over recent weeks. I pay tribute to Mike's work and the assiduous way in which he has pursued this matter. In answer to Dr Lloyd's questions, first of all, he will be aware, I'm sure, that the law has been strengthened during the current three-week cycle. We have placed into regulations a set of requirements that all workplaces must observe to reflect the additional risks caused by the new variant of COVID-19. I wrote twice to the Minister responsible for the DVLA in December and in January. I received assurances from her that Welsh law will be complied with at the DVLA, including the changes in requirements announced for employers in Wales on 15 January. In the meantime, the incident management team that operates in relation to the DVLA continues to meet and to provide both advice and to require action from that non-devolved authority. Members will be, I know, glad to hear that Public Health Wales's records show that, as of Friday of last week, there were only five DVLA staff from across its workforce isolating as a result of the virus.  

Mike Hedges has been raising this in our weekly meetings with the local health board for as long as I can remember, so I'm glad that we're having the opportunity to discuss it today. It's not the only big operation in South Wales West that's been dealing with big figures, though; we have had some difficult news from Tata and from Amazon as well, which have also seen a rise in cases. I've had correspondence very similar to Dai Lloyd with questions about what should be going on at the site, but I've also had correspondence saying that DVLA managers are overzealous in imposing and insisting upon enforcement. So, I think the picture is a bit mixed there, but nevertheless we are in a situation where the figures have been poor. First Minister, have you had any direct representation from workers at the DVLA, or indeed the other two businesses I've heard from? And have you considered any changes to the guidance as a result of those representations? I'm sure they'd be of interest to any big site operators in any part of Wales. Thank you.  

I do indeed get direct representation from workers in many settings across Wales. In the case of the DVLA, for example, by some strange route, a member of staff at the DVLA phoned me at home. Now, I was here in work and my wife ended up speaking to a lady, as my wife thought, in her fifties and living alone who was acutely distressed at what she believed to be the conditions under which she was required to work at the DVLA. And, of course, those concerns were relayed to me and followed up. So, yes, indeed, I do hear directly and, as Suzy Davies said, the DVLA is not the only workplace where workers have concerns. And it's as a result of that direct, ground-floor evidence, fed through to us, and discussed at the new national health and safety forum that we have here in Wales, attended by trade unions, employers and regulators, that we made the decision to strengthen the law here in Wales so that workers' voices are heard, individually and collectively, by the Welsh Government, and, where necessary, we act on their concerns.

As the First Minister is aware, I've been talking about the DVLA for a very long time, and I also spoke about it in a Senedd debate last month. I've also raised it with the health board regularly, as Suzy Davies pointed out. In the first lockdown, after the initial problems, most people at the DVLA worked from home. If you access the distributed system or main network, location is not important. Here are some extracts from three of the many e-mails I've received:

'DVLA are aware of health problems and also that I care for family with health problems.'

'I'm struggling being in the workplace, and I'm hyper-aware of the conditions and the volume of people surrounding me in the office.'

'I have asked to work from home, but unfortunately the DVLA have required me to attend the office.'

I thank the First Minister for the letters he's sent. And I think that, really, I find difficulty asking the First Minister to do any more, because I can't think of much more that he can do. But I think what I would say is that, in the first pandemic, working from home was the norm amongst people in the DVLA; since the second shutdown, it has not been the norm. And I would ask him again to write to Baroness Vere, telling her that you expect that, where people can work from home, they do—it's the law in Wales.

Well, Llywydd, may I thank Mike Hedges for that? And I'm very happy to write again to Baroness Vere, as a result of these concerns expressed on the floor of the Senedd. Llywydd, as I said, I wrote to the baroness, as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, on 22 December. I got a reply dated 23 December. And I must say that, by the standards of correspondence I sometimes see from Whitehall, this was a detailed and engaged reply that did respond to the issues raised in my letter of the twenty-second. I wrote again on 12 January, because I still felt that that first reply left unanswered a series of issues that had been raised directly with us as a Government, including the proportion of staff expected physically to attend the workplace in relation to those working from home. The reply that I subsequently received did deal directly with the issue of the number of people working from home, together with issues of cleaning, ventilation, staff engagement, and a number of other issues that I had set out in my letter. My concern is that there is a gap between the advice that the Parliamentary Under Secretary receives from managers and others on the spot, compared to the evidence that is provided directly to Members here by people who work in the various offices of the DVLA. And I'm very happy to write to her again, relaying Members' concerns, and asking her once again to be sure that the advice that she relies on, or the—[Inaudible.]—that she provides to the Welsh Government, would stand up to examination by those working at the front line.

Thank you, First Minister. The second topical question is to be answered by the Minister for Housing and Local Government. I will hand the chair to Ann Jones in just a moment, but I first of all call on David Rees to ask his topical question. David Rees.

Thank you, David. I want to put on record again my thanks to local authority and emergency services, who are working so hard to support people across Wales who have been impacted by storm Christoph and other extreme events. I certainly recognise the impact on those evacuated from their homes in Skewen, particularly during the current pandemic. And I'm very pleased to confirm that those evacuated for more than 24 hours will be supported in the same way as householders flooded out of their homes during the earlier lockdowns.

Thank you for that, Minister. And can I also put on record my thanks to the workers of the local authority and other agencies who worked tirelessly during that flooding on the Thursday and since? Can I also put on record my appreciation for the community, who have pulled together in Skewen to help residents who have been evacuated, working with The Salvation Army and the local councillor, Mike Harvey, who's been outstanding during this?

You indicated that the funding for flooding is going to be available to all those—can you confirm to all those evacuated, not just to those affected by flooding? Because several residents were evacuated because of safety fears, but were not flooded out as a consequence of this, and they may be some of the ones who will not be allowed back into their homes for weeks to come yet. So, it is important that we look at that. 

Can you also tell us how you're discussing with the local authority extra funding to help them? Because they are going above and beyond and making sure that residents are supported both through social services and other means, as they are still—some are out and some are going back today into their homes, but they face devastation in their house, they're being assessed, they won't be able to stay in their homes because some of the damage that's been caused. So, it is important we look at how we support the local authority in that agenda. 

Can you tell us as to how you will look at those who are uninsured? Not everyone was insured, and there are several homes that were uninsured and they are going to be facing some serious difficult times ahead of them, particularly during the pandemic, as they can't go and get other places and accommodation will be difficult to find as well.

Can you also tell us as to what discussions you're having with the Coal Authority as to their responsibility and liability in funding aspects in relation to this? I know that they have taken tremendous efforts to fix the mine full of water and the actions—. But that's going to be up to six months. But there are people who have had their homes devastated, and had their lives turned upside down in this process, and we need to know how they're going to be helped, and who is responsible, and who is accountable and who is liable for the financial aspects of that help. And those residents need to know that now, and they need to know that in the future. They want to be able to have the confidence that they know exactly who is going to be helping them and how that help will come. 

Thank you, David. I'm really pleased to say that all residents will be covered. You don't have to have been flooded, but you do have to have been evacuated for 24 hours to access the funding. And, as you rightly say, many of the residents will have been affected for much longer periods of time than that.

We're also activating the issue of an additional payment for people who are without insurance. I know the argument is made that this might encourage people not to have insurance, but it's a £500 payment and I can assure anyone who is worried about that that that is not enough to cover your uninsured losses, but it is a help to just get people back on their feet in the extreme circumstances of the first day or so out of their homes. 

Exceptionally, because of other pressures on councils at this time, the eligible cost of responding to flooding by councils during tier 4 restrictions will be covered entirely by the Welsh Government funding under the terms of our existing local government hardship fund. There's an additional fund of £6.5 million being made available from now until 31 March for councils for those costs. There are a number of places around Wales that have found themselves in similar situations. So, I'm pleased to say that that's, of course, a pan-Wales fund for everyone who's been affected. 

In terms of the Coal Authority, we've had a series of discussions with the Coal Authority and the UK Government. As David rightly said, investigations are being carried out by the Coal Authority to determine exactly what happened in Skewen last week, and we look forward to their findings with concern. And the First Minister is convening a summit with UK Ministers and key partners to help ensure that the devastating incident is not repeated, and we understand, once we've got the report from the Coal Authority, how to take that forward. That will be a summit specifically on the issue in Skewen, but there is a series of conversations with the Coal Authority and the UK Government going on about the fact that the responsibility isn't devolved to Wales. The Coal Authority should be taking responsibility for a large part of the coal tips. That responsibility, of course, lies with my colleague, Lesley Griffiths, but I am part of the discussion group that the First Minister convenes on coal tip safety. 

Minister, the fact that it will take at least six months to rectify the cause of the blowout will mean that residents will need long-term help, particularly if there are other adverse weather events. What additional support will the Welsh Government be providing to the local authority who are already dealing with the fallout of other repercussions of the region's mining past? From landslides to flooding, homeowners in my region are being put at risk. And what discussions has the Welsh Government held with the UK Government about ensuring no other homes or lives are threatened as a result of former mining activity? Diolch. 

Deputy Presiding Officer, as I just said in my answer to David Rees, we were giving £6.5 million additional to local authorities through the hardship fund to claim for the additional costs of these extreme weather events. The Skewen incident will be covered with that, except that we wait on the Coal Authority's investigation to see what else may need to be done in the longer term. We have a continuous set of discussions, as I also said in my answer to David Rees, with the Coal Authority and the UK Government, to get to the bottom of the extent of the difficulties in Wales, and to plan for the future, so we that we can ensure that all our residents are safe. 

Can I just associate myself with David Rees's remarks and the thanks that he conveyed? I think we've all been amazed by the response to this, not least by the community. Anyone who's been through a flooding experience knows how distressing it is, and when you've got all this dirty water, it genuinely is heartbreaking. This local authority, of course, has had to deal with the Aberdulais floods last year, and two years ago. They've had lots to deal with, actually, in recent years despite cuts to the environment budget in Cardiff Bay. But while immediate relief is obviously needed now in Skewen, I wonder if you can tell me either what legislative powers you've got, or a bit more about those conversations you're having with the UK Government about ensuring that landowners whose infrastructure fails, shall we say, because this is not just about the Coal Authority; we're talking about owners of land where there are waterways, for example, and what can be done to make sure that they not only recognise their responsibility and liabilities, but that they're suitably financed in order to meet those liabilities? Is there anything that you can tell us at this stage that can give us some reassurance on that point? I'm very pleased by your answer that Neath Port Talbot will be getting emergency funds to cover the immediate costs of the Skewen situation. 

Well, as I said, the fund is open to all authorities who have residents affected by extreme weather events. The one in Skewen, of course, is a particular issue caused by the collapse of mine workings, and, as we've already said several times, the Coal Authority is currently investigating the exact cause of that, but no doubt, it was exacerbated by the particularly high levels of rainfall.

We've been very well served by the good partnership between the Welsh Government and local authorities right through the pandemic, but the idea that their funding is restricted by Cardiff Bay after 10 years of Conservative austerity is a real piece of chutzpah that I think the Conservatives really need to get over, because the 10 years of the cutback of the so-called back office services that people feel are unnecessary turn out to be the very planning officers and environmental health officers who risk their lives going out in these weathers to make sure that people are well served. So, I'm really not putting up with that kind of remark. 

We've had a series of extensive discussions with the Coal Authority and the UK Government. When the mining industry closed in the early 1990s, the Coal Industry Act 1994 transferred responsibility for disused mines to the UK Government. At the same time, the Coal Authority was established and given the responsibility for managing the effects of past coal mining and dealing with the myriad of environment and safety-related issues that are a legacy of the coal-mining industry. And although the response by the emergency services, the local authority and the local community has been absolutely exemplary, we do need the UK Government and the Coal Authority to step up to the plate of their responsibilities. As I said, the First Minister is convening a summit to make sure that this happens in this particular instance, but we have had a series of ongoing conversations with the Coal Authority and the UK Government about the need for proper funding for the Coal Authority in Wales, which clearly cannot be part of any devolved Government settlement given the extensive nature of it, and the fact that it's not devolved to the UK. My colleague, Lesley Griffiths, leads those discussions in combination with the First Minister, and I'm sure there will be opportunities for Members to ask her more extensively about that in the days to come. 

Thank you very much, Minister. Item 4 on our agenda this afternoon is the 90-second statement. I call on David Melding. 

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. This year, we are called to be a light in the darkness, and at 8 p.m. to light a candle and display it carefully. The Senedd will be lit purple to mark the memorial. To be a light in the darkness, we are called to remember those who were murdered for who they were and stand against hatred and prejudice today. As a Senedd, it is our duty to ensure that all people in Wales recognise the shared responsibility we have to prevent genocide in the future. We must be a light in the darkness, in public, in the workplace, at home and online. 

On this day in 1945, Primo Levi wrote the following, while at Auschwitz:

'Dawn. On the floor, the shameful wreck of skin and bones, the Sómogyi thing. There are more urgent tasks: we cannot wash ourselves, so that we dare not touch him until we have cooked and eaten.... The Russians arrived while Charles and I were carrying Sómogyi a little distance outside. He was very light. We overturned the stretcher on the grey snow.

'Charles took off his beret. I regretted not having a beret.'

Dirprwy Lywydd, we are all called to be a light in the darkness.

Thank you.

Item 5 on our agenda is the appointment of an acting Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, and I call on the Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee to move that motion—John Griffiths.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I am pleased to move this motion and recommend to the Senedd that Nick Bennett is appointed as the acting Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for an eight-month term.

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales is an important public role. The appointment to the post is significant. In the normal course of these matters, the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee would have held a process to recruit a successor for the full seven-year term. Unfortunately, following the initial lockdown in March last year, the committee responded to the pandemic by prioritising work on the effects of the pandemic, of the crisis, on the committee's remit, and that subsequently meant that factors around a full recruitment process would be very precarious in terms of timings and due process. Therefore, we carefully considered the range of options available to us as a committee before coming to a decision. We unanimously believe that this acting appointment was the most pragmatic and prudent approach in the current situation. 

As the short report that we published last week outlined, there was a real and significant risk that, if we had embarked on recruitment for the substantive post, we would have been unable to complete it before the scheduled date for dissolution in April. This could have led to the very real possibility of there not being someone in post to replace Nick Bennett when his substantive term of office ends in July of this year. As the committee that has been responsible for scrutinising the current public services ombudsman for much of his term, we have been satisfied with his and his office's performance. Our first preference was therefore to approach Nick Bennett to see if he was in a position to continue in post for a time-limited period. We were pleased that he was able and willing to do so. We also believe this will provide some stability, as the ombudsman's office, along with all other organisations, continues to deal with the challenges of the pandemic. We hope that by the time the sixth Senedd undertakes the recruitment of the next substantive postholder we will be starting to move out of the immediate crisis. 

I therefore call on the Senedd to support this motion and appoint Nick Bennett as acting Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for a limited eight-month term, ending in March 2022. Diolch yn fawr.

Thank you. The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] I see an objection, therefore we will vote under voting time.

Item 6 on our agenda is the Member debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv) on care and support for stroke survivors, and I call on Dai Lloyd to move the motion.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. As chair of the cross-party group on stroke, I am pleased to introduce this motion on how COVID-19 has impacted on the 70,000 stroke survivors in Wales and their carers. I am grateful for the support of Members across my Senedd screen and look forward to their input, as, in the time allotted, I cannot possibly cover all bases.

Now, the cross-party group on stroke meets regularly and I'm regularly astonished by the number of people attending and the breadth and excellence of experience of all attendees, be they survivors of stroke or the foremost consultants in Wales. And the Stroke Association not only provides huge support to the cross-party group, but, more importantly, invaluable work with survivors of stroke themselves, as well as carrying out the research that outlined the huge impact of COVID on stroke survivors and their carers. The situation is desperate and there is huge suffering. The figures are there, and doubtless will be quoted by Members. Their truly heroic work goes on in our communities and our hospitals, and epic tales of heroism, of pioneering and inventive medical genius regularly peppered our cross-party group review into various aspects of stroke delivery over the last couple of years. Thank you to all who contribute to that in-depth review.

We've been inspired by the experiences of those surviving stroke, by their heart-rending tales, their suffering, the heartbreak, seeking services, and the huge pressure on carers, and the nurses and doctors going that extra mile, and incredible treatments such as thrombolysis and thrombectomy being provided, and then COVID struck, and the significant challenges of accessing services during a pandemic when everything is closed, and trying to get physiotherapy, speech and language therapy so that you can recover whilst the nation is in lengthy lockdown. Virtual support has increased during the pandemic, but stroke rehabilitation services and mental health support have suffered terribly in the face of COVID.

Wales needed a new stroke delivery plan before COVID; after all, early treatment is key to recovery. COVID has stretched already-struggling stroke services as it laid bare the fragile state of health and social care services, and mercilessly flayed our phenomenal staff and carers who are naturally programmed to go over and above the call of duty for stroke and so many other conditions.

I know the Welsh Government has been discussing successor arrangements to the stroke delivery plan. Such arrangements must address the huge present challenge of care for stroke, as well as progressing the tremendous medical advances that Wales must embrace. The new stroke delivery plan must include progress on hyper acute stroke units—HASUs—and developing the expertise of thrombectomy on an all-Wales 24/7 level.

Stroke costs over £1 billion in Wales today. That will rise to £2.8 billion per year by 2035. Wales has exciting opportunities under the new and enlightened leadership of the new national clinical lead for stroke, Dr Shakeel Ahmad. Thrombectomy is a marvellous invention: hooking out a clot from an artery in the brain to transform paralysis back into normal function—truly reflective of Lazarus's biblical experience, absolutely amazing, and we do a little of it in Wales now, but we need to do far more of it, and we need that comprehensive network of hyper acute stroke units—HASUs—dotted around Wales to do this, to clearly transform acute stroke care. We can do it.

Finally, nearly 40 years in health has taught me there is always more than one crisis at any one given time. I salute the heroic efforts of our staff. In the midst of this huge pandemic, Government cannot forget the future of stroke services: it must implement the cross-party group recommendations. Please support the motion. Diolch yn fawr.

The impact of stroke can be considerable, as Dr Dai Lloyd has just explained, not just for the patient, but also for their family, in ways that can be challenging and terrifying, particularly—as has just been said—at this time of the pandemic and lockdown. Many people will experience a range of consequences after having a stroke: the physical challenges of fatigue and paralysis in those cases where mobility is impaired, cognitive changes affecting memory, communication and concentration, and the psychological impact of depression and anxiety. Many recover, but others don't, and, as we know, the impact is dependent on the range of consequences that an individual experiences, and for how long those challenges will remain.

Colleagues will also talk about the range of care and support needed for those who have a stroke, and rightly so. But one of the areas of this debate that also causes me concern is the level of support for those who find themselves quite unexpectedly caring for a loved one who's had a stroke, particularly given the current restrictions and the current difficulties of accessing support, including language therapy. It's hard to imagine the sense of shock when a family member has a stroke, the feeling of panic and worry as someone is admitted to hospital and having to face a future life with a potentially different set of expectations. Suddenly being thrust into the role of carer, having to manage the range of consequences that that loved one will experience, plus potentially life-changing implications for the family, financial concerns—all of these affect families of sufferers of strokes. For family members it can be truly daunting, which is why the support offered by groups like Chepstow stroke club in my constituency is so important for supporting families. How many people in Wales are now caring for someone living with the consequences of stroke, and how do we support the needs of those without whom that caring role could not be provided? Are we doing well enough in providing all that we can to those who care for a loved one, and, if not, why not?

Whilst I'm very supportive of this debate today to allow us to explore the support and care for those who experience strokes, we should be mindful that it is one of those big public health indicators that ought to concern us. There are a number of factors that contribute to a stroke, as has been cited—high blood pressure is one of them. Often that's linked to lifestyle choices, and we know, during the pandemic at the moment, the importance of people exercising and making sure that they're keeping well.

In conclusion, Dirprwy Lywydd, we have to get better at radically responding to this public health challenge. If COVID has taught us anything, it's that we need to take the past 10 months as a wake-up call. Public health has to be a bigger focus in the next Welsh parliamentary term. People's lifestyle choices aren't just freedoms without consequence—we're continuing to suffer the impact of the decisions we take about our own health, and, sadly, for many, a stroke is that consequence. Let's make sure that we give sufferers of stroke and their families the support they need at this time as we, hopefully, come out of the pandemic.

It's a pleasure to follow on from Nick and from Dai, and from the work of the cross-party group this year, who have worked with the support of the Stroke Association, providing the backbone of the secretariat, to go out and listen to people who themselves have experienced stroke during the pandemic, but also their family, their friends, their carers and their loved ones as well. It has been tough, and the statistics show how tough it will be, and I'll turn to them in a moment. But what it clearly shows, as both Dai and Nick and others will say as well, in following me, is that we need now that refreshed new stroke delivery plan, because, even before now, even before the pandemic, we didn't have universally good, universally strong provision of stroke support and care services, let alone those hyper acute stroke units across Wales. We hadn't seen the progress that we wanted to see, so, if the pandemic has done anything, it has shown even more acutely the need to progress on these measures. We haven't seen as much progress as we wanted to, and I think, in bringing forward a new national plan for stroke, which we so much need—a delivery plan—we need those hyper acute stroke units to be right at the forefront of that.

Let me put some of the facts that we found through the survey that we did of people experiencing stroke. Sixty-five per cent of stroke survivors in Wales told the Stroke Association they had received less care and support during the pandemic. It showed as well that, despite 50 per cent—half of stroke survivors—having therapy appointments cancelled, only less than a quarter went on to receive therapy over the phone or online. Now, I am grateful, I have to say, for having a brilliant Stroke Association in my area who, through the years, have been tremendously good at providing support and signposting support for local people in the Bridgend area, but look at what has happened during the pandemic. Not only is that support more threadbare, but the ability as well of those Stroke Association support services to signpost as well has been lessened as well. And the mental health impacts: nearly 70 per cent, seven out of 10, of those surveyed are quite anxious or depressed, and nearly 57 per cent of carers felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.

So, I think the message is very clear: services were stretched already; those hyper acute units, we haven't seen the progress that we wanted to see; the therapy services that were not universally consistent and good right across Wales. So, if anything now, on the back of the CPG's work, on the back of the Stroke Association's work and on the back of this pandemic, we call on Government as a cross-party group to put a new urgency behind this work, and for local health boards to actually take forward their work on hyper acute units as well, and support services. Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lywydd.

The past year has, of course, been difficult for everyone in their different ways but, for many stroke survivors in Wales, it's meant putting their recoveries on hold, and people who are desperate to regain mobility, independence and fitness have, as Huw referred to now, seen cancelled therapy sessions—around half of those surveyed by the Stroke Association experiencing that. As he mentioned as well, more than two thirds said that they'd been feeling anxious and depressed since the pandemic. No-one should feel hopeless after a stroke and, of course, it's not just the stroke survivors who are affected; carers for stroke survivors have also been feeling the impact, with two thirds of them also saying that they were carrying out more caring duties during lockdown.

A big part of stroke recovery are the social clubs and meetings, so that people can share their experiences and help each other on that road to recovery. These were important in terms of therapy, yes, but also broader socialising and, of course, as fundraisers for those little extras that can make such a big difference in enabling stroke survivors to recovery. Now that fundraising, of course, has come to an abrupt halt, and the face-to-face socialising has all now gone online, as we all have, but what I've been told is that for many, particularly in rural parts of Wales, far too many stroke survivors are finding that their broadband service isn't good enough for a Zoom call and that increases the sense of isolation. That's particularly the case, of course, when you have speech difficulties in light of your stroke, and need that practice to recover.

We've all faced the frustrations of buffering and lagging internet connections at some point, and we've experienced that in our Plenary session this afternoon, but imagine that when your speech is already compromised and, of course, your resilience is low. It's demoralising to say the least. The same applies for people leaving hospital and unable to access services because of their geographic remoteness. So, my call in this debate is simple: we need a stroke service that recognises these specific challenges in more remote and less well-connected parts of the country. We need parity of service, because for far too long there's been a high level of variation in treatments and support at different stroke units in Wales. 

Of course, the pandemic has been exceptional across the health service, but let's not kid ourselves that things were perfect for stroke survivors beforehand. In recovering previous services available to stroke survivors, we should also be looking to strengthen them with a new national plan for stroke survivors. It's been almost four years since the Government had a stroke delivery plan that agreed to deliver hyper acute stroke units that would improve survivability, and despite some good work by Betsi Cadwaladr and other health boards, none have been delivered so far because the commitment by this Government wasn't matched with the funding necessary. So, these hyper acute units remain on the drawing board because of a lack of leadership from Government in that respect.

So, in conclusion, let's make sure that despite this awful pandemic, we see some good come out of this crisis, and for stroke survivors, let's ensure that they get the services they need in all parts of the country, and that we finally start to deliver on aspirations and strategies.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a drastic impact on our health and care systems. Not only have waiting times for treatments vastly increased, but we have also seen fewer people seeking help for fear of contracting a disease that has killed millions of people in the past 12 months. So, whilst this issue has affected all services, it's keenly felt in stroke services.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and a leading cause of adult disability in Wales. Each year, around 7,500 people in Wales die from a stroke. Thankfully, thousands more survive, yet they are left with life-limiting disabilities that require a great deal of care and support. And it's believed that just over 2 per cent of the Welsh population are stroke survivors: that's around 66,000 people in need of services such as rehabilitation and mental health support.

Pre-pandemic, these services were already struggling to meet the needs of survivors, but since coronavirus took hold on our shores, around two thirds of survivors have not received sufficient care and support. It is little wonder, therefore, that in a survey of stroke survivors and their carers, over two thirds of survivors have felt anxious or depressed, and nearly six in 10 carers felt overwhelmed or unable to cope—hardly surprising when half of all appointments have been cancelled. We weren't doing great pre-pandemic, but we now have the opportunity to build back better.

We must have a new stroke delivery plan, and the new plan must put an end to the regional variance that has existed since the introduction of the last delivery plan. But more importantly, we have to ensure that we focus on implementing the recommendations of the stroke cross-party group to reconfigure our existing units into hyper acute stroke units. I urge Members to support this by supporting the motion. Thank you. Diolch yn fawr.

Thank you. Can I now call on the Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething?

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I want to thank Dai Lloyd and Members for bringing this important issue to the Chamber, and for Members' contributions. I have listened to what the speakers had to say and I am generally supportive of the motion.

We are aware, as indeed many speakers have set out, of the impact that COVID-19 has had on stroke services since the earliest days of the pandemic. You'll recall that I have frequently highlighted the reduction in admissions of people coming into our hospitals with stroke, not because the public health had rapidly and miraculously improved, but because people were avoiding the service. We have worked diligently with our health boards, guiding planning activity to try to alleviate this impact.

Last May, in our essential service guidance, stroke and transient ischaemic attack services for the population were recognised as being essential in the face of the overwhelming pressure upon our NHS. The framework we provided was designed to help organisations and services to deliver stroke services during the pandemic and the subsequent phases. We wanted to maintain the integrity of stroke services and patient outcomes, alongside acute COVID-19 care. That framework includes guidance on secondary prevention and rehabilitation to minimise long-term disability, support for carers, and, indeed, life-after-stroke services. We have consistently set out messages with the public to try and encourage all of us to continue to attend emergency departments for serious or life-threatening illnesses, such as stroke, throughout the pandemic.

We do, of course, remain committed to improving support for stroke survivors, and welcome the Stroke Association's 'Stroke recoveries at risk' report. Last year, we announced an additional £1.4 million for rehabilitation services for all people at risk of losing their independence, and we published our rehabilitation framework to help organisations to plan for those rehab services during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.

I note the calls for a new stroke delivery plan. Clearly, it isn't possible to develop such a plan in the time left to us before the pre-election period, and I don't think we could honestly rely on a new Government, yet to be formed and determined by the voters of Wales, to adopt a strategy decided before they're elected. It's possible that a new Government may want to focus on matters differently. So, that will be for a new Government.

We have rolled forward the current approach, and that would mean that the current approach is in progress. That means it's been extended to March 2022, and a new plan would be ready at the start of a new Senedd term, to be ready for implementation from March 2022 when the extended plan comes to an end. That will allow for reflection on the lessons learned and new models of care used during the pandemic.

It must also fit in, and, I believe, take advantage of the opportunities set out in 'A Healthier Wales'. These include the development of the national clinical framework and the NHS executive function, and I welcome the recognition Dr Lloyd provided for the clinical lead for stroke services in Wales, taking on board the excellent work done by his predecessor. And it should also properly consider the recommendations of the cross-party group on stroke, and the Stroke Association's 'Stroke recoveries at risk' report.

I welcome the focus many Members have had on stroke service reform, and in particular the hyper acute units. We already have a number of these in place across Wales and the challenge is having more of them to cover the rest of the country. That will require specialisation and fewer admitting stroke units in the country, but the evidence is clear that, in doing so, we will improve outcomes, and that specialisation must also go hand in hand with the improvement in wider community and rehab services that all speakers have recognised.

So, I welcome the debate, and on a personal note, I'll just remind Members that my own father recovered from several strokes and eventually lost his life to a stroke, so I do understand the need and the benefit from a further improvement in stroke services. While I'm not able to support the motion in its entirety, I'm certainly supportive of the sentiments and where Members from across the Chamber politically want to go. The Welsh Government will therefore be abstaining in the vote later today.

Thank you. I now call on Rhun ap Iorwerth to reply to the debate. Rhun.

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you to everyone who has participated in this very important debate. I would like to thank the Stroke Association for the work they have done over the last few months. The document on stroke recoveries at risk that was produced back in September is a very valuable contribution in terms of measuring the impact of the pandemic on services.

We know that the pandemic has made it more difficult for those affected by stroke to access the services that they need. We know how important effective and early treatment is, and not only is that difficulty in accessing care impacting on how well people recover physically after stroke, but it also has an impact on their mental health and well-being too. Now, the situation has been described very effectively by those who've contributed to this debate today, and I thank them all.

The motion before us calls for us to ensure that health boards are supported in maintaining stroke services at these difficult times, given the context of the pandemic. But the main demand on the Welsh Government is clear: we need a national stroke plan. Because what the pandemic has done, if truth be told, is to place even more pressure on services that were already under pressure, and now, more than ever, we need a plan showing a way forward to ensure that people, wherever they are in Wales, can access stroke services of the highest quality.

I'm grateful to the Minister for his comments. I also recognise the huge pressures that he referred to on services as a result of the pandemic, and that, inevitably, has had an impact. I, of course, also note that the Government and the Minister have told us that the current plan will be extended until 2022 because of COVID, and that work is ongoing on what will happen following that. But I don't hear that work is being done now to prepare for a national delivery plan of the kind we need, to be actioned by whoever is in Government. And I would like to see consensus being built across political parties, and that work could commence on that plan now. And that's the kind of commitment that I would've hoped to have heard from the current Minister, who, I assume, hopes to be Minister following the election too. We need that new plan, we need something that is more robust in terms of a commitment, rather than just continuing beyond 2022.

Deputy Presiding Officer, the cross-party group has done a lot of work on this. It's almost a year since the group consulted on how the current stroke plan has been delivered and that report was published in April. The fact that our main focus at that time was on the general response to the pandemic that had just hit us doesn't take away from the importance of that report and the conclusions reached by our inquiry. Yes, it identified very good practice, elements of the current plan that have been very successful, particularly, one has to say, in terms of the preventative work, but there is still too much inconsistency in terms of the service. It's clear that there's a lot of work to be done to strengthen governance structures in relation to stroke service delivery. 

And once again, we've heard how important it is that we move up a gear in terms of this work, to ensure that stroke sufferers in Wales receive the support that they need. I am confident that the Minister—who agrees with the sentiments, as he said, of this motion, although he didn't quite give the answers we would've hoped to have heard—has heard the arguments made very clearly. Once again, it's very important that they're aired here in the Senedd.

Thank you. The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] I see an objection; therefore, we'll vote under this item at voting time.

Item 7 on our agenda this afternoon is the Welsh Conservatives debate on the supply and roll-out of COVID vaccines. I call on Angela Burns to move the motion.

Good afternoon, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion tabled in the name of Darren Millar and ask the Senedd to welcome the swift action taken by the UK Conservative Government in securing access to 367 million vaccine doses and ensuring the UK was the first country in the world to authorise a vaccine. We won't be supporting the Government amendment, given both the 'delete all' and the hubris on display yesterday. But we will support Neil McEvoy's amendment; indeed, I'm very interested to know whether the Welsh Government has turned down any vaccines, let alone the numbers Mr McEvoy cites.

Without doubt, the swift and detailed work done by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in approving the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines a month before European regulators has enabled the UK to lead on vaccine roll-out in Europe. However, it is now down to you, the Welsh Labour-led Government, to use all of the vaccines made available to you as quickly as possible, because without a vaccine our economy will be destroyed by an endless cycle of lockdown after lockdown. We already see businesses closing and people losing jobs.

Without a vaccine, the future learning of our children is at stake. Remote learning isn't working or possible for all, and exams are to be teacher assessed. We cannot continue to gamble with children and young people's futures. Without a vaccine, the Welsh NHS will continue to be crushed under the pressure of seriously ill COVID-19 patients, and we cannot allow waiting lists to spiral even further and non-COVID harms to escalate. Members, I feel the need to rehearse these arguments given the First Minister's comments, made several times, that he is spacing out the vaccines in order to ensure that vaccinators aren't standing around doing nothing—totally absurd comments met with anger by the public and in stark contrast to other nations. On the same day as the First Minister's comments, over-70s in England were already being invited for vaccination appointments.

I acknowledge the hard of work vaccinators up and down the country; to you all, I say a heartfelt 'thank you'. However, Minister, it is you I must call to account. Planning an effective vaccine roll-out was surely the mandate of the Wales COVID-19 vaccine delivery programme board. They've been in place since June last year, with the mandate of planning the vaccine roll-out. So, why were some health boards only recently formulating plans for mass vaccination centres or for mobile testing units? Why have GPs had to go through bureaucratic hoops to access the vaccines from the Welsh Government and PHE? Why are so many of the over-80s in the community worried sick that they have heard nothing? Why are some health boards leaping ahead and others falling back?

Yesterday, you refuted any notion of a postcode lottery, but that is exactly what is happening in parts of Wales. Minister, can you clarify what input the vaccines delivery board has had in bringing together Wales's response to the vaccine roll-out? How many times has it met since it was formed in June? What are its outcomes and performance measures? Minister, while it is welcome news that nearly 70 per cent of care home residents were vaccinated by the end of last week, your target for the over-80s has slipped substantially. What are the reasons for this? I don't believe it's just snow.

Last week, the First Minister claimed he had access to rolling data that showed that the over-80s target would be met. How? Regrettably, some people are queue jumping and back-room staff are being vaccinated ahead of priority groups; this is reported by a number of health boards. Minister, what efforts are you making to ensure that these reports are being thoroughly investigated and guidance offered? Some GPs have e-mailed to say that vaccinators are being told to bin excess vaccines. I understand the British Medical Association are aware, but what is the Welsh Government's policy about excess vaccines? Even a few instances of this are, in my view, morally and economically indefensible.

Minister, it is estimated that to reach the target of 740,350 people with a first dose by mid February, Wales needs to administer 22,358 vaccines a day. You've hit that target three times so far. How confident are you that all of the priority groups will receive the first dose by mid February? The Welsh Conservatives have a clear plan for speeding up the vaccine roll-out including a dedicated Minister, cutting the red tape preventing health professional from taking part, setting clear targets, enabling volunteers, and instigating 24/7 vaccination centres. Your plan does not seem clear, you're already missing targets, and I'm concerned as to your ability to be fleet of foot and pull this around. Therefore I commend this motion to the Senedd.

I have selected one amendment to the motion. In accordance with Standing Order 12.23, I have not selected amendment 2 that was tabled to the motion. Can I call on the Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething, to move amendment 1, tabled in the name of Rebecca Evans? 

I formally move, Chair.

Minister, we are in a sprint to save lives and businesses and mental health. It is very welcome to hear today from the medical officer that the R rate has gone down and there is noticeable improvement in community transmission rates across our country. This is very encouraging. However, as we heard from Helen Whyley from the Royal College of Nursing on the BBC today, we cannot be complacent. The NHS is still under enormous pressure. So, we'll need to have a plan in place, not only for the new Kent variant of the vaccine that has spread across Wales, but also a plan in case further strains of the virus present themselves to us.

We must now concentrate on what we can control. We must ensure that the vaccine is rolled out at speed. Yes, it's great that we've caught up with Scotland and Northern Ireland, but we still, percentage wise, have a long way to go to catch up with England. Forty-four thousand vaccines need to be administered to reach that target—that's the size of Merthyr Tydfil. You can't be disingenuous and blame the snow for missing your target this week. The Government missed your own clear target that you gave of vaccinating 70 per cent of the over-80s. When are you going to reach that target? I have not heard you say when you're actually going to reach that target. We need to know that—not the blasé, 'We're going to reach everything by mid Feb.' We need to know clear targets.

We have a situation where couples are not being called to be vaccinated together, where carers are not being vaccinated at the same time as the person they're looking after. We have, for example, one mass vaccination centre in Monmouthshire delivering the Oxford vaccine only two days a week, whereas if it was moved to the Pfizer vaccine, it could be delivered seven days a week, like in Newport and Cwmbran. Simple practical steps are not happening. Our local health boards are doing their best, and I commend them for the work they've done—it's been fantastic—but these sorts of mini failures lie with you, Minister, and they have a massive impact on us getting the vaccine out as fast as possible.

The Government needs clear targets, it needs to publish more data on the roll-out, to be analysed not just by us but the general public, so that they can clearly what's going on. I run coronavirus help and support groups, and the information I put on there is the only information that a lot of people are getting because they go to the Government site and it's not there. You need clearer communication, easy-to-read communication, and understandable communication for the public on where you're at and what targets you're trying to meet.

A dedicated Minister to ensure the speedy and efficient roll-out seems to me to be an absolute must. You must have an awful lot on your plate, Minister, and I commend you for what you're doing, but this roll-out needs a dedicated person to ensure it's rolled out as soon as possible, not just for us, but the people of Wales—

Can you draw your remarks to a conclusion, please?

Many thanks.

We will be voting against the Conservative motion today. I agree with many elements of it. I do regret the slow start of the plan in Wales, although things are now speeding up. But on one specific point—. Well, (1) I don't want to take any lessons from the way in which the Government in England have dealt with the pandemic, but (2) I specifically don't think that we need a dedicated Minister for vaccination. As I've mentioned in the past, I think this is such of a priority for Wales at the moment that this has to be the focus of the health Minister, and the First Minister, even. I can't but think that going through the process of appointing a new Minister would actually diminish the focus required rather than providing full focus on this important work.

We will also be voting against the Government's amendment today—although there are elements of it on which I agree—first, because there is still some failure to recognise and to prioritise the pace of the vaccination process, but also because the amendment makes so much reference to supply. We are still waiting for the data that I have requested time and time again on supplies, so that we can measure that. I was very pleased that the Minister, at last yesterday, when responding to questions from me, has admitted that making such data public would be a positive step and that he is to consider how those figures on the allocation of the various vaccines to the four nations of the UK could work, by discussing that with Ministers across the four nations. I look forward to seeing that.

In terms of further comments, I'm pleased that we have an opportunity again to pay tribute to vaccination teams across the NHS. A great deal of ground has been gained over the past week, and we should all take pride in that. But we are still short of where we would like to be and where the Government told us we would be by this point. We're not just falling slightly short of the target of vaccinating 70 per cent of those over 80 when you hit only 52.8 per cent; we need honesty in that regard. Therefore, we will continue to ask questions and push the Government to ensure that the vaccination teams do receive the support and the supplies that they need.

Just two further points. First, I want to see the necessary investment in vaccination infrastructure for this period. This won't be the last time that we will need broad-ranging vaccination. We need to ensure that when we go through vaccination processes such as this again, possibly as part of this pandemic, we don't see the sluggishness that we have seen over the past few months. We need to invest in vaccination infrastructure. Secondly, I hear that Labour in England today called for the prioritisation of key workers such as teachers and police officers, as I have done. But the Labour Government here have said that we would be deprioritising others. I say that that's not deprioritising others, but building into the system that plan as to how those groups can be included and added to the plans that we currently have in place. So, let's hear that from the Minister in his response to this debate today. Thank you.

I want to welcome Angela Burns to the health portfolio, as I'm sure she would not have crafted this motion quite in this way. On point 2, we are supposed to be grateful that the significant supply of vaccines provided by the UK Conservative Government is being given to all home nations. I mean, is it not the job of the UK Government to deliver vaccines to the different nations and regions of the UK? That is their job. Why we should have to be grateful? Obviously, in other departments, they have treated Wales in a discriminatory way, in the way in which they distribute aid to Bristol Airport but not to Cardiff, or they renege on the Brexit promises that Wales would not be worse off financially, which is absolutely not true, or the billions that they're giving to HS2 but are not electrifying the south Wales main line beyond Swansea.

The Tories' five-point plan seems to be scoped to guarantee maximum chaos and minimum impact on the success of the Welsh vaccination programme. I have had many people suggesting that we ought to go along with the Tories' proposal for a vaccinations Minister, but in which case, which ministerial portfolio would you want to abolish? As Angela Burns well knows, the number of Ministers is restricted to 12; the alternative logic is that we have an online learning Minister, an active travel Minister, a bovine TB Minister. That is just not how Government operates. The second point is that you want all pharmacists and retired or former health professionals to be able to administer the vaccination. They are already doing that, but obviously they have to be vaccinated themselves before they start meeting lots of people, otherwise they'll be spreading the disease themselves. That's not a very good idea.

The final, genius idea is for a 24/7 vaccination centre across the country. How many people in the top four priority groups are going to be wanting to go along to have their jab at 03:00? How would they even get there when there are no buses running? There might well be demand for a 24/7 vaccination centre once we're vaccinating adults in their 20s—they can pop down there on their bikes; but not now. I'm fully aware of the concept of postcode lotteries, and indeed the inverse care law that applies to the disadvantaged, but the Tories have provided absolutely no evidence that this is what is happening with vaccinations in Wales. It's just false news thrown out to try and confuse the fact that the Welsh Labour Government is actually getting on with the job. And thank goodness there's very little chance of the Tories ever getting their hands on running the NHS in Wales.

I just want to point out that all the residents of the care homes in my constituency have already been vaccinated, and the remaining ones in Cardiff will have all been visited by the mobile vaccination unit by the day after tomorrow. All these care homes have already been—

Can the Member bring her remarks to a close, please?

—eight weeks after the first, and GP surgeries are busy sorting out all the over-80s, and will then move on to the over-75s. In short, the Welsh vaccination programme is—[Interruption.]

You do need to bring your contribution to an end.

[Inaudible.]—vaccinate all these priority groups before the middle of next month.

Before I start my contribution, I'll just say I'm disappointed to see amendments rejected when one amendment by Neil McEvoy reads:

'Calls on the Welsh Government to confirm whether it turned down 200,000 Pfizer vaccines at the beginning of January 2021.'

So, I'd like that as a specific question as part of my contribution.

Now, despite the Welsh Government receiving over 327,000 doses of both the Pfizer and the Oxford vaccine so far, we know that 312,305 have been used, leaving around 15,000 left to vaccinate. So, that's 15,000 risks to life. So, as the medics here have said in my constituency: you are simply failing to reach out to these residents quickly. We should note that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has seen the lowest percentage in Wales to be vaccinated, and this is made even more serious when considering that the board is responsible for the local authority area of Conwy county, with the highest percentage of older people aged 65. And I must make it clear that all those trained to vaccinate are wanting to vaccinate—so, absolutely no criticism on them. And I would like to say that Ysbyty Enfys, on Friday, despite the bad weather, managed to conduct 1,300 vaccines, working 13-hour days. So, we've got people there wanting to do this.

Now, I am still being bombarded—my office is as well—from concerned older residents. For example, I responded to an e-mail on Tuesday, which referred to a constituent aged 100 years old very worried about her vaccine. As two other constituents put it to me: 'The vaccination roll-out should be done at a sprint, and it is a competition against the virus, which, if lost, could result in thousands of lives lost unnecessarily in Wales.' Imagine how my constituents felt when learning that the pledge to vaccine 70 per cent of over-80s by the weekend was missed. Imagine how they feel when the local health board promised to open a local vaccination centre in Glasdir, Llanrwst, but cannot even provide an opening date. Imagine how they feel when the same health board promised to send a letter to every household in north Wales, but a lot of my constituents haven't received it. Imagine how they feel when they see that Venue Cymru is still not operating seven days a week, and imagine how they feel when friends and family younger than them are receiving vaccines in England, whilst they are still waiting here in Wales. They are fearful for their lives, upset, and suffering serious anxiety. And a local GP said to me only yesterday: 'This is now playing heavily in terms of mental health issues.' We all need to see urgent changes, and the Welsh Conservative plan offers that change. Imagine how my constituents feel when they learn that you simply choose to delete our proposal.

And finally, will you take heed of our older people’s commissioner and the fact that she too is disappointed with the missed targets? She also calls for some reassurance, and I'm asking for that reassurance, that those targets that you have set now to vaccinate all those living in and working in a care home by the end of January, and all over-70s by mid February will be met. The people of Wales deserve this, and you as a Welsh Government are responsible for the delivery of this. Diolch.

There's no doubt that, initially, the vaccine roll-out in Wales could be said to be tardy, but we have to acknowledge that the Welsh Government very quickly got its act together and the figures show that we are now in advance of both Scotland and Northern Ireland, and very close to figures for England. I will, of course, point out here that we are far in advance of southern Ireland whose presence in the European Union left them exposed to the bureaucratic debacle we have witnessed over vaccines there.

I would like to support item 1 on this motion and acknowledge the swift action taken by the UK Government in its acquisition and acceptance of the authorisation for vaccines and their distribution to the UK as a whole. This was, of course, only possible because of Brexit and the freedom of the UK to work unilaterally. This is in complete contrast to the European bureaucratic debacle, though I would add that I take no pleasure in the discomfort of our colleague citizens in Europe.

We shall not be supporting 4a in the motion, but we will be supporting 4b, because there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence showing that—[Inaudible.]—procedures are too complicated and time-consuming. We will be supporting the Welsh Government's amendments, and we would call upon the Welsh Government to continue the progress made to date, because it is becoming obvious that mass vaccination is the only way out of continued lockdown.

One thing I would like to draw the Government's attention to is the fact that we are sending out personal letters to those who are to be later notified of their attendance for vaccination. As, quite rightly, they are in both Welsh and English, each letter contains four pages. We would question the necessity for this letter, as it simply notifies the recipient that they will be notified at a later date. Given that approximately 2 million of such notifications must be sent out, can we call on the Welsh Government to reconsider this strategy? Thank you. Quite ridiculous.

I hope one advantage of sending out those letters is when people get them, fewer will be ringing up and complaining that they haven't got it and worrying and taking time that could be used for the programme, and I hope everyone will get their vaccinations when they are offered.

We support the motion that is before us today. We intend to abstain on the Government amendment, but support the motion if it is amended. Just one point around the Conservative motion—appointing a Welsh Government vaccines Minister, we think that Plaid Cymru are right to argue that it shouldn't be a new Minister, and I think Jenny Rathbone said it would be disruptive at this stage to appoint a new Minister. We agree with that, and in the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party, we would like to see Welsh Government appoint the existing vaccines Minister, who is doing a very good job, Nadhim Zahawi, a UK Minister. He should be given an overview role, and particularly with that supply interface, working with what Welsh Government is doing.

I'd like to say congratulations to Welsh Government on the past week, because they have been vaccinating at around the same speed as in England. There's still a great shortfall to make up, but the past week's progress has been good, notwithstanding the snow. It would be good, though, to know when we do now expect to hit that over-80s 70 per cent target the First Minister told me yesterday wasn't met when it should have been.

Looking at congratulating the UK Conservative Government versus congratulating the MHRA, actually, we think they should all be congratulated, and the MHRA is an independent regulator, not just independent of the UK Government, but independent of the European Union and the European Medicines Agency process, and it is the UK Government that ensured the MHRA could and did proceed without waiting for that EMA process. It's been fantastic for us that that's happened, and very unfortunate for the European Union that the EMA has delayed things to such an extent with the EU Commission, and in particular when four national Governments were taking a hand and then great delay happened after that. It's most unfortunate.

The other person I think deserves huge congratulation is Kate Bingham and her vaccines taskforce, everyone who worked on that. All it seemed to get—she got brickbats and criticism for taking part in a private equity conference explaining how successful the programme was and what she had done to do that. She wasn't even paid for what she did. So, Kate, thank you very much for that work. It was very, very important. 

So, what we would like to see is the vaccination process speed up, but we've got a good supply. It's not perfect; there's a reference in the Government amendments to delays in supply, and obviously we are dependent on that supply, but the supply has been very, very good. It's hardly surprising that there was one batch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that had to be redone and there was a period to do that. Of course, it's a new manufacturing process. And actually it's been done very, very well. 

We heard Jenny Rathbone say that we shouldn't be grateful to the UK Government because it's only doing its job. And of course she's right, it is doing its job, but it is doing its job very, very well on this vaccination side, and for that I think we should be grateful. Only Israel, I think, has done a better job than the UK Government, and I think we should recognise that—everyone involved, the vaccines taskforce, MHRA, the overall supply. I'm pleased to see Welsh Government catching up with what it's meant to be doing on its side, and let's celebrate what's been achieved on the vaccination side. 

Thank you. I now call the Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething. 

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome the opportunity to debate the roll-out of the COVID vaccine programme today. The vaccination programme is our top priority, and we're doing everything we can to vaccinate as many people as quickly and as safely as possible with the minimum amount of wastage. We should all reflect upon how far we've come in such a short space of time. The vaccines we're using were only approved in December, with Pfizer in early December and the most recent, Oxford-AstraZeneca, less than a month ago.

In Wales, we're now delivering the fastest growing vaccine programme within the UK, with the quickest rate over the last week of any UK nation, and we're doing so in line with the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, and we will not be throwing away the independent expert advice of the JCVI, Public Health Wales and the chief medical officer. That advice on priority groups is based on protecting and saving the maximum number of lives, and I will not depart from it. A huge amount of work was completed nationally and locally before any patients could be safely and legally vaccinated, including creating and then using vaccine-specific training, patient group directions and protocols, professional guidance and patient information resources. None of this can take place before vaccines are approved and the characteristics are known.

As of today, we have vaccinated at least 312,305 people in Wales. That's an increase of more than 22,700 on yesterday's figures. That's almost one in 10 of our population, and that is thanks to a Herculean effort by everyone involved. This is the biggest challenge we have faced as a nation in peacetime, and the planning, logistics and mobilisation of people involved has been an immense undertaking. And we do have a robust plan for delivery. The roll-out of the AstraZeneca vaccine and the involvement of primary care in administration has meant that we have been able to substantially increase the pace of vaccine delivery, especially over the last two weeks, and we are now vaccinating someone every five seconds, which is a startling figure and shows you something about the pace of our delivery here in Wales.

We hit two markers in our vaccine strategy last week in offering all front-line Welsh ambulance service staff their first dose of the vaccine. We also exceeded our end of January marker to have more than 250 GP practices deploying the vaccine. I announced on Monday we had at least 329 GP locations and over 300 practices involved in running vaccine clinics. Our approach encompasses all primary care professionals, including dentists, optometrists and pharmacists as well as GPs in the delivery of the vaccine programme. This includes a community pharmacy pilot, community vaccination centres and, from last weekend, clusters of GP practices running clinics in local communities. And those three GP cluster clinics that ran last weekend administered over 3,000 vaccines with the Pfizer vaccine, despite the snow. Many of those, of course, in the priority over-80s group. This is a significant step forward in terms of increasing our capacity to deliver the vaccine outside of mass-vaccination centres and closer to home, especially in those communities where access to these larger centres is difficult. Health boards will continue to work with GP practices across Wales to establish whether this can be rolled out more widely and to further build the capacity and speed at which the Pfizer vaccine can be deployed. And we are also making strong progress towards our final marker—that is, offering a vaccine to all care home residents and staff by the end of this month. We're currently vaccinating on average around 1,000 care home residents a day. Already over 11,000 care home residents at least, or nearly 70 per cent of this priority group at least, have already received their first dose, and more than three quarters of our care home staff have also received their first dose.

And on the original motion, whilst I recognise and respect the UK Government's role in securing these vital vaccines, and I do have a practical, grown-up working relationship with Whitehall Ministers, the subject of vaccine supply is always part of our discussions. We all recognise that we cannot succeed without it, and the provision of vaccines is, of course, a matter of fact. We started before other European countries because the independent regulator approved the vaccines for use. The vaccine supply chain itself is complex, and our plans adapt constantly to changes to delivery volumes and schedules, all of which have the potential to impact on achieving the milestones in our plan. Currently, health boards have a balance plan that is kept under constant review, in line with that changing information on the supply schedules. I'll be writing to the vaccines Minister for formal confirmation that we will be provided with sufficient vaccine in the short term to be able to vaccinate our mid-February milestone of cohorts one to four, to provide clarity and assurance that is needed to inform our expectations in the planning process, and I'll publish the letter and the response through correspondence with the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, so Members will have access to it.

On perceived red tape, health boards are already making the process of onboarding volunteers—[Inaudible.]—as streamlined as possible. There will, of course, be some parts of the process that are necessary to ensure patient safeguarding. There are already clear targets published in the vaccine plan, with daily information on the number of people vaccinated already being published and more detail being planned week on week. An army of people is involved in the deployment programme, including the military. A sustainable infrastructure has been our priority and it is now paying dividends. We already have 30 mass-vaccination centres and are using 70 acute and community hospital sites to roll out more centres as we progress through cohorts one to four. Health boards already vaccinate seven days a week and work extended hours. We're monitoring take-up of late and early appointments, and we'll continue to review as we move through the age cohorts to ensure that we reach as many people as quickly as possible.

And of course, Wales already has a Minister in charge of vaccines and that is me. It is ludicrous to suggest that the Welsh Government would ever turn down a supply of vaccines that are essential to protect our people. This never has been done nor would be done, and the suggestion is wholly without foundation. It is wearing and irresponsible to use this national Parliament as a platform for scaremongering fiction, and I'm disappointed to hear Conservatives helping to promote fake news and being prepared to vote for it.

I am committed to transparency in the roll-out programme. Last week, we began daily releases of data, showing—

I do have to ask the Minister to wind up, please.

—the total cumulative number of vaccinations and we will continue to do so openly and transparently. We have scale and pace in our programme. As long as we receive our fair share of vaccines in fair times, I'm confident we'll achieve the milestones set out in our strategy.

Thank you. I call on Suzy Davies to reply to the debate.

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and can I thank all Members for their contributions? No-one is suggesting this is easy, which is why congratulating the UK Government on securing supplies so quickly really shouldn't have been very difficult. But I'm afraid, Minister, that you and the First Minister have made this a far more fraught experience that it needed to be, because of the poor communication surrounding your plans, as pointed out by Laura Jones. I think the least you can do is get that right, because you need our constituents to trust you. Our poor old health boards are dealing with all this; they're having to divert precious time answering constituents' questions on all this because of your central messaging—for example, one constituent who writes, 'My father has had a letter from the NHS informing him that his surgery will notify him when he is due to have the vaccine. The surgery has a note on its website saying that they will be notified by the NHS when they are due to receive the vaccine.' The NHS advice on avoiding scams quotes:

'The COVID-19 vaccine is free of charge'

we

'will never ask for…personal documents to prove your identity such as your passport, driving licence, bills or pay slips.'

But the letter inviting you to the mass-vaccination centre says, 'When you attend, please bring with you some ID, such as your passport, driving licence or utility bill in your name.'

Vaccinations for school staff administering intimate care to pupils who need it—do I really need to go through the three versions of that announcement? Or that question about students on health work placements being entitled to vaccinations—now, clearly, universities didn't know what was going on at the time, and they still don't. Just today, this from a letter from a Welsh university to a student: 'I'm aware that some of you have had COVID-19 vaccinations whilst on placement, but we currently have no data on vaccine uptake availability to students and would like more information on this'. On top of that, we've got the corkers that the vaccine is being eked out so that vaccinators aren't standing around doing nothing, and 42,000 over-80s waiting for their jabs because of snow. I don't think so—I think Angela Burns has got you there.

So, there's no getting away from the fact that Wales has been behind the other UK nations on this—boy, you really have been pushing out on catch-up these last couple of days, but you're still behind, as Mark Reckless pointed out. We do all say a massive 'thank you' to those who've been diverted to this work and who are volunteering in support roles, but you could have saved yourself and our constituents a lot of heartache by temporarily appointing a Minister with focused responsibility for the vaccination programme. You've heard today from Janet Finch-Saunders how inconsistent the roll-out has been. Despite your—[Inaudible.]—it's not seven days a week everywhere. But if, as Jenny Rathbone says, that's not how Government works, then she's making it clear that it's you, Minister, that has to carry the can for the failures here.

Thank you. The proposal is to agree the motion without amendment. Does any Member object? I see an objection, and therefore we'll vote on this at voting time.

Item 8 on our agenda is the Plaid Cymru debate on flooding in Rhondda Cynon Taf, and I call on Leanne Wood to move the motion. Leanne.

Diolch. I'm returning to this question of an independent inquiry into flooding for a second time in just over a month, and I make no apologies for that. After the devastating floods in February 2020 and the flash floods that followed on later in the year, there are still homes in Rhondda Cynon Taf where people are waiting for them to be restored. Aside from some of the more concerning land movements, the Rhondda was largely, thankfully, unaffected by the heavy rain last week, but I know that many other people in other parts of RCT were not as lucky, and my heart goes out to each and every single person who has been affected by flooding across Wales and beyond. All of this demonstrates that our country is vulnerable to flooding. It also demonstrates that the current system is not protecting our citizens or our communities. We are in a climate crisis. There is now a greater likelihood of extreme weather patterns becoming more regular. We don't know how this worse weather will combine with our coal tips and our underground mine workings, and we need to know, and we need to know that urgently.

When we last debated this, I didn't get answers to my questions, and so this time I'll keep it simple. I have one question for the Government. If Labour MPs from Rhondda Cynon Taf are calling for an inquiry into flooding in England, how can you oppose one here in Wales when you have the power to instigate one? Help me and the thousands of people who signed a petition calling for this independent flood inquiry to understand your reasoning in this. We know from Labour's leaked internal document that you understand that your approach to dealing with flood risk has not been good enough. The manifesto consultation document recognises the, and I quote, 'need for investment and policy change to build greater resilience to intense weather events of the kind we have seen in 2020.' This chimes with the advice from insurers, who urge the Welsh Government to spend more on building and maintaining flood defences, increase the use of flood resilience measures within properties, and change the planning system to prevent developments in flood-risk areas.

Tree planting has to be a key component in flood prevention. People in the Rhondda understand only too well that tree felling has had an impact. They believe that the felling of trees and the failure to remove the brash and the debris is why their homes were flooded. Replanting these trees would help tackle climate change, protect biodiversity and protect people from flooding, and there's no argument about how important tree planting is. Yet this Government's dismal record on meeting its own targets for tree planting is asking for trouble. Your target to plant 5,000 hectares of new woodland every year until 2030 was dropped to 2,000 hectares. Even this less ambitious target could not be met. In recent years, you've averaged around 300 hectares a year, and, in the 12 months up to March of last year, the effort was even worse, at 80 hectares planted. This is abysmal. 

We cannot ignore the impact of our industrial past on flooding. Last week's events in Skewen showed how we are still paying the price for heavy industry long after the profits and the jobs have gone. The same can be said about the fear felt in our communities every time one of our coal tips moves. Right across Wales, we have former mines, ironworks and other remnants of heavy industry that have to be taken into account when addressing the impact of flooding and futureproofing our communities. But who is looking at all of this in a joined-up way, and who is listening to the people who are affected by all of this? 

These are all things that can be analysed and further looked at in an independent public inquiry. We have to have an independent inquiry to look at what went wrong, to understand who is accountable and, most importantly, to see what needs to be done to put things right in RCT and elsewhere. Please reject both of the 'delete all' amendments. Join Plaid Cymru and the many thousands of people in Rhondda Cynon Taf who have called for an independent inquiry into last year's flooding. They really deserve it. 

Thank you. I have selected two amendments to the motion. If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be deselected. I call on Janet Finch-Saunders to move amendment 1, tabled in the name of Darren Millar. 

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and, yes, I would like to move those amendments. I would also like to pay tribute to all emergency services, our local authorities and Natural Resources Wales, who were out just last week assisting our residents as a result of storm Christoph. Our hearts must go out to all those affected. However, we should all offer more not only to the people of Rhondda Cynon Taf, but all of Wales, because so many constituencies now on a regular basis are seeing their areas devastated. And I would like to thank members of the community, because, when these situations arise, they go out all hours, early hours and everything, helping. 

Now, step one, we need to ensure that funding is immediately available to get residents through the initial clean-up stage. Lessons have to be learnt from the past. The £500 and £1,000 grants are welcome, but a guarantee is needed that this will be with affected residents immediately, and, you know, 'immediately' to the Welsh Government can sometimes be four to six weeks, and it is simply too long. The Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee's short inquiry into your response to the February flooding unearthed serious problems. You advised committee that you would take away old funding barriers to enable local authorities to deliver schemes. Caerphilly, Monmouthshire and Rhondda Cynon Taf provided clear evidence to the contrary. Even the WLGA warned that authorities are a long way away from being fully prepared and resilient. So, how will you take away funding barriers this time, and empower local authorities to implement schemes quickly?

Now, there is an urgent need to look at NRW. The organisation was going into battle already wounded. Up to 70 additional staff are needed to sustain the overall service at the levels described by the actions and the improvements in the 'February 2020 Floods in Wales: Flood Incident Management Review' report. NRW has employed only half of what is needed. In fact, of the 2,000 staff at NRW, only around 300 have some responsibility for flooding. We need a team that is 100 per cent focused on flooding. Wales should have a Welsh flood agency to co-ordinate flood risk management and the response to flooding events. This would help mitigate unjustifiable errors by NRW. There is a need to designate blue belts to restrict unnecessary developments in areas of significant flood risk. I've listened to residents from Bangor-on-Dee explaining how the number of homes has doubled from 200 to 550 affected.

And finally, that community of Rhondda Cynon Taf, the Conwy valley, and all across Wales subjected to significant flooding, each deserve independent inquiries. I have been making these calls since 2019. The Welsh Conservative plan for decisive action is one you should all support. Thank you.

Thank you. Can I call on the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to formally move amendment 2, tabled in the name of Rebecca Evans?

Formally.

Flooding can be devastating enough when it happens once to a community—the clean-up, the high costs, the insurance companies who often find loopholes and too often refuse to pay—but another aspect I'd like to draw attention to is the psychological effects that flooding wreaks on those affected by it. In February last year, the residents of Edward Street in Ystrad Mynach were woken in the middle of the night by a neighbour who'd noticed the waters rising. Many of their cars were already ruined. Half an hour later, the water had got into their homes. I visited the residents that week, and I've been back a few times since, and I can tell you that it isn't just anger or frustration that some of the residents feel; it's fear. Every time it rains heavily, every time they're woken in the night by rain on the roof, the worry sets in: 'What if it happens again?'

Last February, I wrote to the Deputy Minister for social services to ask whether counselling support for children affected by the flooding could be made available. Of course, shortly thereafter, the pandemic took hold and usual school routines were disrupted, but in the midst of COVID, I'd like us all to remember that residents affected by those February floods had to stay at home in those houses where they didn't feel safe. That takes a toll on adults and children alike. So, when we talk about the need for improved mental health provisions in response to COVID—a move I support wholeheartedly—let's also please remember that there are many effects of the flooding that still lurk in the background too.

I welcome the fact that we're having this debate. I'd add to our motion. I'd call for a fundamental reassessment from the Government of how it doesn't just respond to flooding, but seeks to prevent it, to learn lessons. Those residents in Ystrad Mynach raised concerns with the council on numerous occasions, but they went unheeded. Flood defences that could have protected their homes weren't in place in time. Sand bags were given out instead of making sure that drains were unblocked. Dirprwy Lywydd, their story is indicative of stories in streets across Wales, streets that have been flooded before and that are, frankly, full of residents terrified that it could happen again every time it rains. So, I'd support the calls for an inquiry and I'd further urge the Government to remember the need for counselling. That hasn't gone away.

I'm pleased to participate in this debate, as we approach the first anniversary of the flooding that my constituency was very badly affected by. I visited at the time the affected areas with local councillors and the First Minister, and we met with families whose homes were devastated by the flooding, and I've continued to meet with them on a regular basis.

Now, there has been a considerable amount of work that has been done since then, but there is still much to be done. The estimated cost of infrastructure damage for Rhondda Cynon Taf alone is estimated at in excess of £70 million. The promise of financial support from the UK Government has still not been fully honoured; we've had to drag them kicking and screaming to get the first instalment of £31 million from them, and we still face uncertainty over the remainder. And I have to say, we've had absolutely no help from the Welsh Conservatives when it comes to getting full payment of what was promised.

There has been considerable work done by the council, Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Water: culverts have been cleared and repaired, collapsed drains repaired, drains cleared, damaged road infrastructure repaired, flood defences assessed and repaired, and pumps replaced. There are major works, I know, planned in my constituency in respect of damaged bridges in Trallwn and Treforest, and this work, I know, is going to continue throughout the year. But that is why the promised funding from the UK Government is so important. Of major importance is the ongoing work assessing flood risk in the broader Taff Ely area to assess the overall adequacy of existing flood defences and the alleviation measures. So, I and my colleagues will continue to monitor the ongoing work and the plans and ensure that the flood-affected areas are certainly never going to be forgotten.

The damage that occurs when an area is flooded, as has been said, is not just physical, it is the mental scarring: the impact on the elderly and the children and the heightened anxiety that occurs whenever there is a flood warning posted. So, tackling mental well-being in the community, I think, is as important as repairing the physical damage, which is why I raised this with the local health board to ensure that all the mental health support that is necessary is available.

So, as well as the NRW report, which has been published, we're now awaiting eight flood investigation reports, prepared in preparation in accordance with section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. I've been informed that these are expected imminently. There are another 11 reports for the other parts of Rhondda Cynon Taf, which are being prepared. And I've been involved in preparing my own inquiry report, along with my local MP Alex Davies-Jones, as a product of something like 30 meetings that we've had. On the issue of an inquiry, I'd like to say this: there are already all these inquiries under way, and it is vitally important that they are completed and we are able to evaluate their conclusions. Yet another inquiry set up under the Inquiries Act 2005 will not add anything to what we already know and what we will find out from those section 19 reports. There is a time and a place for public inquiries and, well intentioned as the request is, just now is not the moment. Setting up an inquiry under the terms of the Act would have the effect of delaying or preventing much needed work being carried out. And I know from my own personal experience that it would take at least 12 months, and in all likelihood 18 to 24 months, minimum, to complete its work, as well as the setting up time. So, I much prefer actually getting on with the work. In the light of all the inquiries already under way and nearing completion— 

The Member will have to draw his remarks to a conclusion, please.

—setting up a statutory inquiry would be an obstacle to real progress. Dirprwy Lywydd, I'm not prepared to see the urgent work that is ongoing being delayed in this way. Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd.

I am, of course, going to support the motion. The motion would have been very different, I'm sure, had it not been tabled before the flooding that we've seen in recent days, but it is an opportunity to look at the responses that are required. Of course, I did call for financial support for those affected over the last week, and I'm very pleased that the Government has committed to the same level of support for those affected this time as was provided last year. But there are lessons to be learned from that too, as we've already heard.

It's important that the delays we saw in getting those payments out last time aren't repeated. It's not acceptable that it took up to two months for those people who had been affected to receive the support, because they need that support now. It's now that they're losing their salaries and it's now that they need to respond to the mess and destruction in their homes and businesses.

They also need practical assistance in terms of improving the resilience of their homes immediately, because many, of course, fear similar things happening in the next few weeks, and it's not just those who've been impacted but those who were almost affected too, because we are talking here about things like flood gates, which could prevent damage to homes that came within a hair's breadth of being damaged last time. We need a plan in place that can respond in order to provide that immediately. 

We need to strengthen as a matter of urgency the infrastructure that has failed over the past few days. I know in Rhuthin that local residents are very concerned that neither the council nor Natural Resources Wales, nor anyone else, has actually strengthened the bund that failed last week. So, we do need to provide people with peace of mind by resolving those problems, but also ensure that this doesn't happen again in the short term whilst the long-term solutions are also implemented.

Yes, we need to continue to invest in hard infrastructure, but we need better soft infrastructure too. This is a theme we return to regularly: natural flood management; more flood plains; more trees planted, as we heard in the opening remarks; dealing with culverts and so on. The Government has been talking about this for years. We haven't seen the interventions at the level that we would have expected or would've hoped to have seen. We need the capacity for NRW, in terms of staffing, and we need to improve flood maps, which are very often nothing more than a finger in the air. So, there's a great deal that can be done and I would take this opportunity in this debate to encourage the Government to take action on all of those issues.

For those who experience flooding the psychological impact is devastating, and these are effects that we can see clearly in our communities when we meet with and talk to those affected. The power of mother nature to cause devastating floods is nothing new, yet there is no doubt that as climate change takes its grip the threat of increased flooding in our communities in future is a serious one, and one that governments at all levels must come together to tackle head on. 

When homes and businesses are flooded, it's important that the relevant authorities do all they can to help and pick up the pieces. When parts of my constituency were very badly affected by storm Dennis back in February last year, I visited many of those affected along with the environment Minister, Lesley Griffiths, and also saw at first hand how Rhondda Cynon Taf staff worked around the clock before, during and after the storm to help local people—an important point recognised in the first part of the Government's amendment. I want to place on record my thanks to all of those who helped.

It is important that we learn what happened, where and why flooding occurred, and what we need to do in future to mitigate its impact. We must recognise also that RCT council has, or is in the process of carrying out, 28 different inquiries into the flooding last year, in addition to NRW's work. There must be the opportunity for these processes to conclude rather than just restarting the process, launching a new inquiry that covers old ground when our public services are under so much pressure and going above and beyond.

But, waiting for inquiries to report back on their findings doesn't, of course, mean that we do nothing. Instead, it means that practical interventions can be, and are being, made now. For example, some of the long-term solutions that recognise the topography of the Valleys and the large number of culverts can be put in place to mitigate the impact of heavy rain, surface run-off and engorged water channels. 

I visited one scheme in Trecynon, again with the environment Minister, last August, where an attenuation pond had been established, bypassing a flood-prone culvert and establishing a new habitat in the process. This was funded out of over £0.5 million given to RCT council to work on repairs and remediation of flood-alleviation assets by the Welsh Government; more money for other schemes has also been allocated since. I welcome this long-term approach from the Welsh Government, in close collaboration with forward-thinking local authorities. Other works carried out by RCT council using Welsh Government funding include interventions in Cwmbach to prevent flooding that has long plagued local businesses there. These are all locally owned, employing local people and contributing to the foundational economy.

When I met constituents who'd been affected by flooding and spoke of the difficulties getting insurance, I was able to inform them of the Government-supported Flood Re scheme. More work should be undertaken to raise awareness of this, and I would like to see the scheme extended so that businesses can benefit from support towards their increased insurance costs too.

Finally, I would like to formally record my thanks to the Moondance Foundation and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust for their help in financing and administrating the Cynon valley flood fund that I established with Beth Winter to support local people whose lives have been turned upside down by flooding.

Can I call the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths?

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to be responding to today's debate. The last 12 months have been extremely challenging, in terms of impact on our communities of multiple flood events across Wales and, of course, the global pandemic.

Last week we once again witnessed the damage flooding can cause, as a result of storm Christoph, with around 250 properties flooded. I'd like to offer my sympathy to all those who were affected, many of whom are still not able to return to their homes. I also want to thank all involved in the response and the recovery efforts to flood events, not only last week, but throughout this last year, as we approach the first anniversary of the February floods, which we are having the debate on today. Without the swift action of Natural Resources Wales, local authorities, our emergency services, water companies and the Coal Authority, I am certain we would have seen many more homes flooded. We must also acknowledge how our network of defences protected thousands of properties and the importance of our ongoing investment to keep these structures well maintained.

Of course, for those people whose homes were flooded, responding to flood events is not just about the day of the incident or the few days following, but also the weeks and months afterwards. Our efforts must continue to ensure such events are investigated, people are supported, and improvements are made to our infrastructure and defences as well as the wider management of water. Following the flooding last February, authorities worked quickly to support residents who had seen their homes flooded and to repair damaged flood risk management assets. I know in Pentre in the Rhondda, for example, the local authority have already implemented a scheme to improve the water course in response to my challenge to risk management authorities to accelerate the delivery of work.

Following flood events, local authorities are required to prepare a section 19 investigation report to look at the reasons for flooding, and bring forward recommendations to reduce future risk. Once completed, these reports are published and subject to scrutiny by residents, elected members and all interested parties. These investigations were heavily impacted by COVID-19 restrictions last year, and some of the hardest hit local authorities needed to prioritise repair and recovery works over investigations. However, I am confident in our local authority staff and their commitment to the safety and well-being of the communities they serve to complete these reports and act upon them where appropriate.

Last month, I responded in detail in the Senedd to the question of an independent inquiry. I announced additional £95,000 revenue support available to each local authority this year to support their flood risk activities, and specifically to help produce and publish their investigation reports. NRW carried out their own internal review following the flooding in February, which complements the section 19 reports and provides recommendations for their improvement around forecasting, warning and response.

In answer to Janet Finch-Saunders about what we're doing to support our risk management authorities, I continue to support them around the country to repair damaged flood assets and ensure they rebuild resilience for the future. Following the storms last February, we acted quickly and decisively in our response to make necessary repairs and improvements. I provided all risk management authorities the opportunity to apply for financial support to undertake emergency repairs to assets, providing 100 per cent funding for this. Welsh Government has provided a total of £4.6 million since then. I was also very pleased to hear her praise for NRW staff—not usually something she does—and I can tell her I was in Bangor-on-Dee on Saturday, and I spoke to several residents whose praise was for the fact it was the highest that the river has been for probably about 20 years and the flood defence was not breached.

We do have a blue belt policy already, and it's about to be toughened through technical advice note 15 and planning policy. That's set out in our new flood strategy. We're also working with local authorities and NRW to fully understand the impact from last week's storm Christoph and how we can best support them. This Government has committed to providing support payments, through local authorities, of up to £1,000 to those who have recently been affected by flooding in their homes or who have unfortunately had to evacuate for more than 24 hours. I just referred to our new national flood strategy—and coastal erosion risk management. I published that last October. It's an ambitious strategy and it does reaffirm the importance we place on flood risk management, along with the growing threat of climate change. We are continuing to work with our risk management authorities and the Association of British Insurers, who are supportive of the approach and additional measures set out in the new strategy.

We know that climate change will bring rising sea levels and more intense storms in the future, and I do recognise Wales faces tough decisions on how to defend low-lying coastal areas and fluvial floodplains, in particular along our estuaries and, of course, in our steep-sided valleys. Our new strategy sets out how Wales will respond to these challenges, emphasising the importance of clear communication on risk, and strengthens our stance in areas including natural flood management, coastal adaptation, planning and prevention, linking with Welsh legislation and other policy areas to ensure a collective approach. Whilst we look to the future, we need to remember the recovery efforts are continuing in places like Skewen, where we saw extraordinary scenes last week. I would like to finish by once again thanking everyone involved in helping to make sure people are safe. Diolch.

I call Leanne Wood to reply to the debate.

We are all eagerly awaiting the outcome of the section 19 process, and that is imminent, but the council are leading on that, and, obviously, the council had a role to play, and have a future role to play, so that is why this process can't be independent. We in Plaid Cymru, and every single one of the people who were flooded who we surveyed, have said that only an independent inquiry will be enough. Unless we have an independent inquiry, I don't think we're going to get the answers that we need. And this isn't about the staff; we all know that staff in all the organisations involved have worked really hard in supporting communities through this. This is bigger than the staff. We cannot accept that now is not the time, and I do not accept that an independent inquiry will hold up other work. That is why we've put this motion today; that is why, if you want to support people who have been flooded in Rhondda Cynon Taf, you will vote to support this motion today, unamended, you will not support the 'delete all' amendments, and you will back the independent inquiry that people in this area really deserve.

The proposal is to agree the motion without amendment. Does any Member object? [Objection.] I see objections. Therefore, we will vote on this item at voting time. 

In accordance with Standing Order 12.18, I will suspend the meeting before proceeding to voting time. So, the meeting stands suspended.

That brings us to voting time. The first vote is on the motion to nominate an acting Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. I call for a vote on the motion, tabled in the name of John Griffiths. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 48, one abstention and two against, and therefore the motion is agreed.

The next vote is on the Member debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv) on care and support for stroke survivors. I call for a vote on the motion. Open the vote. In favour 38, 13 abstentions and non against, and therefore the motion is agreed.

The next vote is on the Welsh Conservatives debate on the supply and roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines. I call for a vote on the motion, tabled in the name of Darren Millar. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 11, one abstention and 39 against. Therefore, the motion is not agreed.

The next vote is amendment 1, tabled in the name of Rebecca Evans. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 31, four abstentions, and 16 against. Therefore, the amendment is agreed.

I now call for a vote on the motion as amended.

Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 32, three abstentions, and 16 against. Therefore, the motion as amended is agreed.

The next vote is on the Plaid Cymru debate: flooding in Rhondda Cynon Taf. I call for a vote on the motion tabled in the name of Siân Gwenllian. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour eight, 14 abstentions, and 29 against. Therefore, the motion is not agreed.

The next vote is on amendment 1. If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be deselected. I call for a vote on amendment 1, tabled in the name of Darren Millar. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 10, three abstentions, and 38 against. Amendment 1 is therefore not agreed.

Amendment 2 is next in the name of Rebecca Evans. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 28, 13 abstentions, and 10 against. Therefore, the amendment is agreed.

The next vote is on the motion as amended. I call for a vote on the motion as amended.

Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 28, 14 abstentions, and nine against. Therefore, the motion as amended is agreed.

And that concludes voting time for today.

But we will now move to the short debate, and I call on Laura Anne Jones to speak to the topic that she has chosen.

Carry on, you're unmuted now. Oh, you were unmuted, then—. There you go.

Now I'm unmuted. Sorry, that took a while. Thank you, Presiding Officer. This is on making a pitch for the future, about artificial grass pitches in Wales. I thank you, Presiding Officer, and I've agreed that Jack Sargeant and Rhun ap Iorwerth can have time to contribute to this debate, and I thank them in advance for making the contributions. 

We all recognise the importance of children, young people and adults taking part in sport. Team sports participation promotes health and well-being, builds confidence, teaches discipline, to work as a team, and it helps to maintain mental health. This Government need to commit to ensuring children and adults of all sporting abilities and all parts of Wales, urban and rural, have easy access to all-year-round, all-weather sporting facilities close to where they live.

For those who need clarification on what I'm talking about, as I mention 3G and 4G to some people and they think I'm talking about phone signal, it's fair enough; not everyone is a sport nut like me. I'm talking about artificial grass pitches, the different levels and the different thickness and quality for professional or community use. However, you don't need to be a sport nut to recognise the ever-increasing importance of such facilities, which, like with many things, have been highlighted by this pandemic. It's imperative, therefore, that we do all that we can to encourage and facilitate those who wish to get involved in sport.

As soon as we hit the winter, many sporting opportunities have to stop due to the weather impacting our pitches and ability to train or play matches. When I was secretary of a local junior football club, the biggest barrier stopping children playing sport throughout the winter was the weather and its effect on the real grass pitches. The major issue has sparked a surge in football swapping from grass to third generation pitches that the whole community can enjoy without the worry of damaging the pitch. The stresses of training and matches having to be continually cancelled for many, many clubs throughout our winter months, particularly in rural areas where facilities are poor, is just not good enough in 2021.

It's true that poor quality artificial pitches in the 1980s did create a stigma that's difficult to shake off, but synthetic pitches have now reached much higher standards than they did when they first became popular, which is great news for players and coaches and forces manufacturers to leave no stone unturned when delivering on quality. The growth in popularity of small-sided soccer means a huge proportion of young players will now develop their skills on synthetic pitches. As a result, many are used to the consistency that man-made services offer and many of our towns are benefiting from that, but not, unfortunately, many of our rural areas. Today, artificial grass pitches don't just replicate the playing conditions on natural turf; in some cases, it can exceed them. From the coaching perspective, as well as the consistency, these surfaces are favoured as they replicate the bounce and run of a natural surface.

I commissioned research into the need and want for artificial grass pitches when I joined the Senedd last year, which was carried out by a Welsh veteran footballer who had the knowledge and access to all levels of football and sports that would benefit from having such closed pitches based in a club close to where they lived. The response was phenomenal and conclusive, from grass-roots junior sports clubs to Newport county manager, Michael Flynn. The need for all-weather training and playing facilities was apparent. Children and young people will be able to play all year round, ensuring continuity in their fitness levels, from mental health from playing sport and seeing their friends, to learning key skills, they'll be able to play sport in the winter months, as many families are unable to take their children the distance required to travel to facilities in local towns that clubs have to hire, or see their children not play sport. It will ensure normal grass football and rugby pitches aren't ruined from overplay when they're trying to play in the wet weather and mud. Adults, too, want to continue playing throughout the winter months. It's essential for our lower-league clubs that they continue to train and play and for all our leagues throughout Wales, because, of course, it mucks up fixtures and they're continually headaches for those sport clubs to try and re-do the fixtures.

For professional sport, it would mean they are on an equal footing with the rest of the UK and world and give children the very best opportunities for us to develop future Welsh sporting stars. Professional clubs could train, play and train in all weather, all year round, to ensure fixtures can go ahead and that clubs can develop academies without having to worry about pitches.

The installation of 3G pitches actually has the potential to create new sources of income and greater opportunities for people to get involved in sport at all levels. A wide range of sport can be played on these latest 3G pitches in addition to football, which means that community clubs can provide multi-sport facilities, creating essential hubs that would undoubtedly be fully booked all year round, from the evidence that I've collected, as the need is so great for these all-weather facilities.

Like with any financial outlay, sports clubs, when considering artificial turf, will need to look at the payback period and the return on the investment. I know the Football Association of Wales, Hockey Wales, Welsh Rugby Union, working in conjunction with Sport Wales have established a nationally agreed vision and model for developing clubs and increasing participation through appropriately located and fit-for-purpose playing surfaces. I've had a conversation with those organisations who wholeheartedly agree there is an absolute need for Wales to invest in more 3G and 4G pitches for our community and professional use. The FAW has set up a target of 100 3G pitches in Wales by 2024. This is very welcome, but where? I would press the Government to ensure the roll-out—for there to be more pitches, and to go further for all parts of Wales. We need it to go further to ensure the whole of Wales benefits from the expansion of the artificial grass pitches, as they are overwhelmingly present in urban areas and south Wales at the moment.

Presiding Officer, as you can tell, I believe passionately in the benefits of us investing in 3G and 4G all-weather facilities for community sport and our league clubs, and for communities to enjoy. There are so many benefits for our country; sport-wise, but also in the mental health benefits for people young and old. It would completely reform grass-roots rugby, football and other sports for all ages and all abilities. It would give our professionals equal opportunities to develop their game, ensuring that we don't lose future stars to England due to the facilities being so much better over the border. It's time Wales caught up.

I was devastated to learn a couple of years ago when applying for a pitch myself that the funding had ceased for the roll-out of these 3G and 4G pitches. I don't want to make this party-political at all, in fact, and I welcome the Government's new commitment to roll out these pitches further. But I ask this Government and the next to invest heavily and invest fast in rolling out a programme of ensuring all-weather 3G and 4G pitches for as many parts of Wales as possible, which are easy to reach for all communities, 3G and 4G sports access for all across our country, with particular focus on rural areas, and a joined-up approach in supporting our lower leagues with those facilities, so we can support the creation at the same time of more academies and more opportunities for our young people to exceed in sport. I please ask you all for your support in this. Thanks.

Thank you to Laura Anne Jones for allowing me to speak in this important short debate. I, too, am very passionate, like Laura, about improving sports facilities, not just in my community but across Wales, and I know the difference that artificial pitches can make.

A community with a real case for an artificial pitch development is Buckley in Alyn and Deeside. They have an amazing Welsh-supported local club, Buckley town. They have had huge battles over the years with issues with drainage, and it would not be uncommon in a normal season for the team to have most of their home games postponed because of the issue. And this is a real issue in Buckley, as it is across in other constituencies and communities across Wales.

Llywydd, I have met with the FAW and Sport Wales and will be using the post-COVID period to urge these organisations to get right behind an artificial pitch for Buckley, alongside the local authority and the local councillors. But I think Laura Anne Jones made a good point in her contribution, and I'll be urging the Minister responsible today, the Deputy Minister for sport, to throw his weight behind these projects, but I'll also be urging the future Minister with responsibility for these types of developments to throw their weight and influence behind these community developments, which are so important to so many.

Llywydd, in finishing, Buckley needs a pitch, and it's not just for football on a Saturday; it's for a whole community, all week, all year round, and we all must do all we can to deliver it. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you, Laura, for the opportunity to say a few words. This is an issue that is very close to my heart. All-weather facilities are so very important. I've played and coached on 3G pitches, including playing for the Senedd on the Arms Park in Cardiff, and there's a 3G pitch in Llangefni that has enabled us as a rugby club to train youngsters through the very worst weather that Anglesey can throw at us. But we need more of these resources. I've been doing everything I can to develop support and attract investment for new 3G pitches in Amlwch and Holyhead. There's a community initiative doing excellent work in Amlwch. There is a plan in place for Holyhead, although it isn't a full-size pitch, and I'm eager to push for the best possible facilities for the town. So, let us truly prioritise this. Let us see the Government prioritise investment in all-weather facilities and there will be community and health benefits to that.

The Deputy Minister to reply to the debate—Dafydd Elis-Thomas.

May I first of all thank Laura Anne?

I'm very grateful to you for bringing this debate forward. It's very timely. It's timely for me, as the current sports Minister, but it's also timely in this crisis, because nothing has more demonstrated the importance—the essentiality, I would say, the essential need—for physical exercise, and to give people a choice of physical exercise, than the crisis that we've been through.

I will respond with my nice formal ministerial speech in Welsh. I know you won't object to that, because you're used to listening to me through translation, and it probably sounds better than I sound in the original.

As I said, this has been a very challenging time, and sport has been hit particularly. I was pleased to be able to announce a package earlier this week of £17 million, which will mean that the total funding for the sector will be more than £40 million since the beginning of this crisis. We are entirely supportive as a Government of what was said earlier during this debate.

Wales, according to Sport Wales's figures—and they're always right, of course—has 84 3G pitches; those are full-size pitches. There are 77 artificial turf pitches for hockey, and 116 other artificial pitches, and that's across Wales. But I'm not sure if 'artificial pitches' is the term that I would favour in either English or Welsh, because they are all-weather facilities. They are still playing fields. We should perhaps not call them 'fields', but I would like to call them all-weather facilities. In the weather that we have here in Wales, that's crucially important, of course. We must have modern facilities in order to ensure that people's participation in all weathers in sport in Wales can occur.

Therefore, the investment that we have already put in place for these facilities does show the possibilities available. At the moment, as you will know, we have a collaborative sports facilities group, led by Sport Wales, which includes the Football Association of Wales Trust, the Welsh Rugby Union and Hockey Wales, to establish artificial playing surfaces—I've just rejected that term, but they are involved with providing all-weather surfaces across Wales, and, in addition to the £3 million invested when the group was established, there has been an additional £731,000 invested in turf pitches across Wales through the new £5 million capital fund I announced last year. That means that the FAW Trust has been able to support 77 3G artificial football pitches, with a target of 100, as we've heard, by 2024.

So, what gives me great joy this evening is that there is three-party support for that project, and if I can do one thing at the end of my term as sport Minister, it would be to ensure that sport is always an issue that all parties in Wales will support without argument, and also support the way in which we can develop these projects. So, I'm grateful to Jack Sargeant, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Laura Jones for their contributions to this debate. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Deputy Minister, and that brings today's proceedings to a close. Good afternoon.