Helen Mary Jones: I'm pleased to rise to take part in this important debate. In his contribution to this debate, Paul Davies twice used the word 'draconian', and this is a draconian measure; we cannot pretend it's anything else. I’m sure that most of us in this Chamber will not be supporting it with a light heart. We would have loved to see our fellow citizens comply with what they were being asked and...
Helen Mary Jones: I thank the Minister very much for his statement today, and also for his offer of a weekly conversation with the main party spokespeople, where we'll have a further opportunity on an ongoing basis to raise concerns with him. He said in his statement how much he values that non-partisan approach and I know that we wish to work with him to ensure, in this very difficult time, that lives and...
Helen Mary Jones: Businesses are also saying to me that they would appreciate further guidance—and, in some cases, direction or instruction—as to what is or is not to be regarded as essential work. Adam Price raised with the First Minister the issue of non-essential construction, and I've raised this previously, that this is a very difficult area for people to maintain appropriate social distancing, for...
Helen Mary Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm grateful to the Minister for her statement, and I echo what everybody else has said about how important the work that everybody in our food sector is doing, from farms to our shops to the shop workers, and I know that's very stressful for some of them. With regard to the supermarket provision, I'm very pleased to hear what the Minister's had to say now that all the lists...
Helen Mary Jones: Against.
Helen Mary Jones: Against.
Helen Mary Jones: Can I begin by echoing what Russell George has said and thank the Minister and, indeed, his staff, who have been very responsive to specific concerns that I and my colleagues have raised and also very open to new ideas and new suggestions? I would submit that this is a very positive model for the way in which a Government ought to be engaging with constructive opposition at this time, and I...
Helen Mary Jones: I thank the Minister very much for his statement and for the ongoing co-operation between himself and his staff and others of us across this Chamber. It's much appreciated. If I can first refer to the economic resilience fund, I was very pleased to hear the Minister say in response to Russell George that he will try and ensure that as many as possible of the businesses that currently can't...
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Minister for his answers. He's rightly said, and it's also something that the First Minister mentioned in response to questions today, that much of what will need to be done to protect and strengthen the Welsh economy can't be done by the Welsh Government alone, because the resources simply aren't there. And I wonder if the Minister can say a little bit more today about...
Helen Mary Jones: You mentioned, Counsel General, a number of times the effect of this crisis on young people and on their future. And you've also mentioned the pressure on families, particularly families who were already suffering deprivation before the crisis hit. Can I ask you two questions in relation to that? One: how do you plan to consult with children and young people as you're developing your...
Helen Mary Jones: I'm sure the First Minister will agree with me that, while the extension to the job retention scheme, the furlough scheme, is welcome, it's really regrettable that we still have approximately 22,000 Welsh citizens who should have been able to be helped by that scheme who are not, because they were changing jobs at the time that the scheme was introduced. May I ask the First Minister for two...
Helen Mary Jones: Sorry. May I start again? I'm sorry, Dirprwy Lywydd.
Helen Mary Jones: My microphone must have been in the wrong place.
Helen Mary Jones: Trefnydd, I'm very grateful that you've raised the situation with regard to the tourism industry and you've referred to it on a number of occasions in the discussion of your statement. I'm sure that you're very well aware that tourism and hospitality are the business sectors that are likely to need longer term support than other sectors that may be able to get back to work much more quickly,...
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Minister for her statement. Minister, in your statement you referenced the food box scheme, and I think many of our constituents across the whole of Wales, some of the most vulnerable people, will have been very grateful for it, but I know that you're aware that there have been some issues. It hasn't been possible to include local food and local produce, for example, and...
Helen Mary Jones: My apologies, Llywydd, I was so busy concentrating on what was going on on the screen and making sure that I'd unmuted myself there, I forgot to move the microphone, I'm very sorry.
Helen Mary Jones: Lockdown hair. [Laughter.] I'll start again. My apologies.
Helen Mary Jones: 1. Will the Minister make a statement on the future of the higher education sector, following the Wales Governance Centre's report about the financial impact of COVID-19 on universities in Wales? TQ429
Helen Mary Jones: I'm grateful to the Minister for her reply and for the confirmation that she gives, of course, that she fully understands the importance of the sector. But I wonder if she can tell us a bit more about what the nature of the support that's been provided is. The Scottish Government, for example, as we know, has provided £75 million of research funding to its universities. Now, obviously, its...
Helen Mary Jones: Can I begin by thanking the Minister for the helpful and co-operative way in which he's worked with parties across this Senedd in this very difficult time? I'm sure this is a time when, whatever our differences, we all want to see the Welsh Government succeed, and, in the context of our discussions this afternoon, we want to see and to be able to support the Minister in his aspirations for us...
