Rhun ap Iorwerth: I won't dwell on the level of support, which has already been pursued by my colleague Helen Mary Jones, other than to say that we must secure that unprecedented level of support and make sure that it has impact on the ground as soon as possible. I'd just like to outline some of the elements that have been brought to my attention to focus our minds on what we're dealing with: a small company...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Very briefly, there are big changes in the size of populations in parts of Wales, particularly in my constituency, from one year to the next, and that's partly because of the number of people who stay in second homes at certain parts of the year. Given the restricted number of acute care beds in certain parts of Wales, including in Ysbyty Gwynedd, for example, and considering the restrictions...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I won't take much of your time. I just have an idea that's been passed to me in the context of the acute need that could arise in the next weeks and months for temporary homes for health workers and other key workers. It arises from a scenario where there is a man who is older and has to self-isolate at present, and his son is a policeman who is a key worker who doesn't want to self-isolate,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Of course, broader events in the health area have put this Bill in some kind of context, but as a party we’ve always been doubtful about this Bill because we believe that it is the wrong solution to the wrong problem. We can't support abolishing some of the most effective voices for scrutinising health boards, for example—the CHCs—even if some of them are not as effective as the one...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I agree with that entirely and that’s been shown, hasn’t it, by the great research that’s been done about the vascular services at present. So, we are very concerned about losing that function and that strength that lies within the CHCs—
Rhun ap Iorwerth: —at present. Of course.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: And their in-depth local knowledge as well, which is something that's very important to note, and we tried to introduce amendments to the Bill that would try to enforce an element of regional working in order to keep that local expertise. Sadly, Government wouldn't agree with us on that.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: But there is more than just the CHC situation that forms the basis of our concerns. This Bill claims that it provides quality at the heart of making decisions, but doesn’t mention specifically the quality of workforce, preventing ill health, reducing inequalities, the need to ensure that Welsh speakers aren’t treated as second-class citizens— fails to set those standards clearly on the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: May I thank the Minister for his update and for our regular conversations? I’m pleased to ask these questions in a public forum such as this one. May I also take this opportunity to thank all of those key workers in healthcare and other key areas who are working so very hard on behalf of us all at the moment? Generally speaking, I think that there are a number of areas that stand out:...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Let me focus on a few of those key issues, then. There's still, I think, a lot of confusion on testing. I remain, as you know, Minister, unconvinced about the Welsh Government's stance on testing. We've been told again today that just over 20,000 people have been tested in Wales to date, but to put that in context: under original targets, we'd have tested 20,000 since Monday morning. Now, you...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: First Minister, I had a very beneficial meeting with the Isle of Anglesey Tourism Association last week. And I'd like to thank the sector for responding so well to the difficult situation that they face, with so many of their members facing grave losses. I would be delighted to see them restarting their businesses, but that's impossible at the moment. There's a bank holiday on its way the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'll start with two brief questions on ventilation and oxygen. The Minister has confirmed that, of the 461 invasive ventilators that were due to come to Wales under UK arrangements, 46 have been delivered. On 9 April, I raised a concern with the Minister and the First Minister—brought to my attention by doctors, I should say—that ventilators earmarked for Wales had gone to field hospitals...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for that response. I move to three brief and distinct questions around the area of testing. The Government's document, 'Leading Wales out of the coronavirus pandemic: a framework for recovery', quite rightly calls for effective case identification and contact tracing when we move to relaxing restrictions, but we still have no clear plan for achieving that effectiveness. Roughly how...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I have a question on supply teachers, who do crucial work in schools the length and breadth of Wales, but many of them have found themselves falling between many stools at the moment, as the Minister is aware, and can't access support, having lost their employment during this period. So, may I ask the Minister to publish clear guidance, so that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much. As local authorities plan their services, they will need data, and they rely on Government to share with them that data in as timely a manner as possible in terms of the latest modelling and what that's revealing. Here in Anglesey, the local authority feels that the work of surge planning, looking forward over the next few weeks—the work that they have to do is being...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: [Inaudible.] It's very important that we appreciate the gravity of what we're discussing. We are talking here about some of the greatest decisions that the Assembly has faced in its history, in a way. The question facing us, in reality, is: are we convinced that we should support Welsh Government regulations that put that legal mechanism in place to enforce these unprecedented and...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 1. Will the Minister make a statement on the steps the Welsh Government is taking to increase capacity to deliver a coronavirus test, trace and isolate strategy for Wales, following reports that Public Health Wales' latest advice is that 30,000 tests a day could be required? 415
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Diolch, Weinidog. We were told in March that there'd be 9,000 tests a day by last week, rather than around the 1,000 or so we're currently hitting. I'll park for a minute the apparent commandeering of 5,000 Welsh tests a day by UK Government. But global evidence on testing hasn't weakened since then, it's strengthened, and it's countries that have set elimination strategies with robust test,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: We have all had to sacrifice a great deal of freedom, and I think it's very damaging for social unity when people in my constituency see visitors to the area that don't have to make the same sacrifices. People tell me that they still see it as being very busy in terms of visitors in their areas. And the more robust we can we be now, I think, the less tension will be created. It's important...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'd like to start with the 'Test Trace Protect' document and thank the Minister for its publication. It's useful because it adds to our sum of knowledge about what Government is trying to achieve, but I think a detailed plan for testing, tracing and isolating was long overdue, and I think it remains, unfortunately, long overdue. What we have here is largely a statement of principle that few...
