Adam Price: We called yesterday for you, First Minister, to give urgent consideration to introducing tier 4 restrictions earlier than the twenty-eighth, if, as is clear, many areas in Wales are already at the level of severity that is set out in the document that you published. So, we welcome that. The obvious question is, given that many areas in Wales are already at that level of severity, why wait...
Adam Price: Thank you. I'm glad to move those amendments and to respond to the debate. I think it is welcome that the Welsh Government has produced this plan. We called for a winter plan, and it's important that it's clearly understood, and, of course, it needs to be adaptable, because of the continuing dynamic nature of the pandemic. As well as having that medium-term strategy, which is absolutely...
Adam Price: I don't need to tell you about the value of progressive universalism; the point of universality is that you ensure then that everyone who needs it gets it. In relation to your point about finite resources, we need to be smart, so we need policies that deliver more than one objective. And so you can see, with universal free school meals, if you link it, for example, with the foundational...
Adam Price: First Minister, as you are aware, the Scottish Government has recently committed to universal free school meals for all primary school children. In 1943, Finland introduced a law clearly requiring free school meals to be served to all children, a policy that is in place still today. And as the Finnish experience has shown—we've modelled much of our education system on them, and actually...
Adam Price: Diolch, Llywydd. The UK Prime Minister has repeatedly scored own goals by only partially and belatedly heeding Marcus Rashford's call to provide free schools meals in England. While the Conservative Government has an ideological objection to helping the most vulnerable in society, in Wales, we have a moral obligation. Providing free school meals is one of the best ways of mitigating the worst...
Adam Price: Just to be clear, so, in terms of the pre-isolation point then, will Welsh Government be giving wider advice to families in relation to a pre-isolation period? Finally, on Monday, your colleague the health Minister warned that further restrictions may be necessary in response to the rising level of cases. A few weeks previously, the Deputy Minister for the economy also said that a second...
Adam Price: Thank you for that, First Minister. In the TAC advice that I just referred to, they do say that a period of pre-isolation for families with children, as a result of school closures, could reduce the level of social mixing ahead of the 23 to 28 December period, and therefore have a beneficial effect in terms of saving lives. Are you considering this as an option, First Minister, and if you...
Adam Price: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, a study recently published by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has found that mass testing in Slovakia, which we've discussed before, coupled with other measures—additional support for people who are self-isolating—brought the infection rate down by 60 per cent, which is considerably higher than the impact of the recent...
Adam Price: Jeremy Miles told a Senedd committee that the Government had carried out an analysis of the dual effect of COVID and Brexit on the Welsh language and rural communities, and that you, as the Government, on the basis of that assessment, have accepted that there was room for concern, particularly because of the housing crisis and the increase in the number of people from outside the areas who...
Adam Price: 4. What strategies does the Welsh Government have in place to ensure that young Welsh speakers can stay in the local community, especially in rural communities? OQ55976
Adam Price: The First Minister knows that we in Plaid Cymru have supported the Government, even in making difficult decisions, when we are of the view that the Government has done the right thing. And generally speaking, we do believe that the First Minister's done the right thing by being cautious from the beginning of the pandemic, and to a great extent, he struck the right balance between safeguarding...
Adam Price: While the additional package of financial support announced yesterday is clearly welcome, it does not fully compensate the hospitality sector for the lost revenue over the festive season, and there are other sectors that are continually being locked out of sufficient support—the taxi drivers whose trade in December largely depends on taking people to and from bars and restaurants, and...
Adam Price: Public trust is being eroded, because people don't understand the logic of the decision as it's currently being communicated. How can four people from four different households having coffee together be safer than two people from the same household having a pint? Why is alcoholic mulled wine served in the open air in a Christmas market a danger? This lack of logic risks undermining adherence...
Adam Price: Diolch, Llywydd. As the most recent technical advisory cell report states, the positive effects of the firebreak have largely been lost. We supported the firebreak on the condition that lockdown wasn't the default strategy. We warned that the restrictions coming out of the firebreak needed to be stricter. That mistake and the continuing failure to sort out the testing system have led to...
Adam Price: Turning to matters vaccine-related, where we've had some further good news recently, just 10 days after we heard the first bit of encouraging news in relation to the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine proving to be 90 per cent effective in trials, the Scottish Government's health Secretary presented a comprehensive roll-out plan to the Holyrood Parliament. In that statement, they confirmed the first...
Adam Price: On Saturday, Merthyr Tydfil became the first county in Wales to pilot mass testing, but on the same day, COVID cases per 100,000 of the population in a seven-day period were higher in Blaenau Gwent and Neath Port Talbot. This highlights an inconsistency currently in the way we're dealing with areas of high COVID transmission. When we supported the firebreak, it was on the condition that the...
Adam Price: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, in what has been the toughest year in living memory for so many of us, I'm sure we all look forward to a happier new year and, before then, to spending time with friends and family over Christmas. A compassionate but responsible approach to a limited relaxation of restrictions over the holiday period seems sensible. However, it's also crucial that we don't...
Adam Price: Without doubt, and to build upon the responses to the previous question, a huge increase in second homes does undermine any other work that the Government is doing in terms of ensuring that young people in rural areas can access the housing market. What was a problem already, and had been for decades, has now become a huge crisis. And I understand what the Minister says in terms of the...
Adam Price: I'm grateful for that response, and, of course, any funding that has been provided is to be welcomed. I have visited the community in my constituency, Pontargothi, recently, the Minister is aware, and I look forward to meet to discuss the investments that can prevent flooding in future. But one theme that arises on a constant basis when I visit those who have been impacted is investment for...
Adam Price: 6. What financial support is available from the Welsh Government to Welsh citizens whose properties are regularly affected by flooding and water damage for flood prevention and mitigation? OQ55878
