Delyth Jewell: Before starting, I'd like to put my thanks to the Minister and the Government on record, and to express my support for the action that you've taken in extending the lockdown. On this piece of legislation, the Minister and her team have done a great deal of work already, and I'd associate myself with the comments made by John Griffiths, as a member of his committee. When the Bill was first...
Delyth Jewell: First Minister, last Thursday your Government announced a change in policy relating to testing people moving from hospital back into care homes. Until the end of last week, care home residents were routinely moving between hospital and care homes without being tested, but that's been rectified now. But I've spoken to one care home manager who thinks it's very likely that the virus entered the...
Delyth Jewell: Minister, ONS data suggests that COVID-19 deaths in care homes are substantially higher than is being recorded, and I've looked at the Aneurin Bevan data and it shows that there's an increase in deaths of non-COVID deaths in care homes this year. Now, that isn't what we'd expect moving from the winter into spring. Surely, the only explanation that's reasonable for that is that COVID-19 deaths...
Delyth Jewell: Minister, I wanted to ask about the higher education sector, please. The main emphasis has been on ensuring continuation of education in our school sector, particularly the need to prioritise what year 12 students will do for A-levels, but can I ask you what consideration has been given in forward planning for the future to ensuring that we reduce as much as possible the interruption to...
Delyth Jewell: I also thank you, Minister, for how constructive you're being and welcoming of scrutiny in this crisis. I'd like to associate myself with what David Melding said about homelessness. I think this crisis is showing that many of the daily injustices that we are so used to aren't inevitable. So, on the point that you just made at the end of answering David Melding, could you confirm that the...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you for that, Minister. Turning to local government, local authorities have reported that it's difficult for them to plan how they're going to be distributing PPE because they don't know in advance how much they're going to be getting, so could you tell us when the Welsh Government will be in a position to tell them in advance how much stock they'll be able to distribute to care homes...
Delyth Jewell: The UK Government is piloting a contact tracing app that asks users if they have any symptoms, and, if they do, for them and anyone they've come into contact with to self-isolate for 14 days. Now, testing, tracing and isolating are together surely the key to stopping the spread of the virus, and, for the app to be effective, 60 per cent of the population have to download it. But, as has...
Delyth Jewell: Minister, it was quietly announced in a notice to the press this week that the Welsh Government has joined the Wellbeing Economy Governments network alongside New Zealand, Iceland and Scotland. Now, Plaid Cymru has been calling for months for the Welsh Government to join this network, so we're delighted that you've listened to us on this. I'm sure you'll agree that making well-being the...
Delyth Jewell: I want to thank the Minister for his statement and to wish him my best wishes as he starts this new role. Repairing the damage our economy and our society is going to face is likely to be the most significant challenge that the Welsh Government has faced since it was first established, so I'm really pleased to see the creation of this new role in co-ordinating the recovery. I agree with what...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you for that, Minister. I am sure that I'm not alone in sensing a growing fatigue amongst some members of the public with the current restrictions, so as much as I fully appreciate that the focus of your work is going to be on wider policy issues, it would be really helpful if you could also consider how there could be a road map of how we are coming out of the lockdown. Some of the...
Delyth Jewell: Research published this week from the Office for National Statistics shows that people living in poverty are more susceptible to catching COVID-19, no doubt for a variety of reasons relating to poor housing and the likelihood of them being in jobs where social distancing is not possible. People living in poverty are also more likely to have medical conditions that make the virus more severe....
Delyth Jewell: Minister, a leaked internal Treasury report contains reference to freezing public sector pay for two years as one measure that's being considered as a response to coronavirus expenditure. That would be a betrayal of the sacrifices made by dedicated public servants during the crisis—a point that was made by the chair of the Police Federation today. And if there's one lesson that we should...
Delyth Jewell: First Minister, this crisis has proved the value of devolution, but has also highlighted a number of structural problems in the political landscape in Wales, and one of those is the weakness of the press. Last week, papers sold in Wales had a front-page advertisement, paid for by the UK Government, with the message, 'Stay alert', which wasn't applicable to Wales. The London newspapers are...
Delyth Jewell: 2. Will the Minister make a statement providing an update on the support and resources that will be available to local authorities in developing contact tracing capacity following publication of the Welsh Government's strategy for lifting the current restrictions? TQ434
Delyth Jewell: Thank you for that response, Minister. It's widely accepted that the most important part of any strategy to tackle COVID-19 is the test, track and trace aspect. Put simply, we have to have that kind of test and track regime in place before we can consider any substantial lifting of the current restrictions. I'm sure you'll agree with me on that. Now, on Monday, I was really pleased to see...
Delyth Jewell: There's a philosophical quandary thrown up by this debate—how can we unlock a door without the key? Surely, the key to unlocking our society and moving out of lockdown is to have a contact tracing system in place, to have adequate stocks of PPE and to have the best reliable measures to support and give confidence to the public. Regrettably, in too many ways, the key is still missing here,...
Delyth Jewell: First Minister, your Government announced on Sunday that the guidelines for people who've been told to shield were changing the following day. I'm aware that there's a lot of concern from people who were told to shield to protect their lives that these changes were brought forward with little warning and when the R rate is still high. This morning you will have received a letter from 32...
Delyth Jewell: Minister, last month, you announced that care workers in Wales would receive a £500 bonus payment for their contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has now become apparent that the sum will be liable for income tax and national insurance deductions, meaning the actual sum people earning over the personal allowance will receive will be £360, not £500. Plaid Cymru believes that this...
Delyth Jewell: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. We also welcome the announcement—
Delyth Jewell: Can you hear me now?
