Rhun ap Iorwerth: He can't even keep a straight face.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for those words. You're certainly right that it's about weighing up risks, and given the nature of the debate in some quarters now, some people will listen to me today and to you and think that I'm being overcautious, that I'm being too risk averse, and it's not that. I'm looking at evidence when it comes to masks, for example, and if evidence can point to ways in which we can lift...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you. I was asking you to give your view on what you think is responsible or irresponsible in Wales, and I do encourage you to retain the requirement to wear a face covering in all locations where people come into close contact, including in shops. I read one scenario over the weekend: it would be very odd, according to Councillor Gwynfor Owen in Gwynedd, if a shop worker had to wear a...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Llywydd. Yes, it's less than a week, now, until COVID restrictions are removed entirely in England. The chair of the BMA council, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, has described the timing, as the number of cases increases quickly, as being irresponsible, in addition to recent comments made by the World Health Organization, accusing the UK Government of
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 'moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity'.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Now, do you agree, given that you are saving those around you by wearing a face covering—it provides some protection for yourself too, of course—that scrapping the need for face coverings now is irresponsible?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I want to finish, Llywydd, if I may, by turning to long COVID. It's a huge concern for me. I have huge concerns about young people, if truth be told, at the moment, as restrictions are relaxed. We'll have an opportunity to discuss that again. But I want to look specifically at the impact of long COVID on the health and care workforce. From my work as joint chair of the cross-party group on...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: If I could turn next to orthopaedic services, there are huge challenges facing you in building capacity. I and every other Member here, I'm sure, will have heard about far too many patients waiting far, far too long in pain. In April of this year, there were 88,000 people waiting for trauma and orthopaedic treatment, with 60 per cent waiting over 36 weeks. The figure back in 2019 was around...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I want to ask about the recovery of the health service too and reference a number of areas. I, too, will refer to this backlog in terms of cancer diagnosis, looking at a different aspect of that. It's a concern to think that thousands of people—over 4,000 people according to Macmillan—who haven't had a diagnosis. But it's a concern to me that what's happened...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for that response. We need to consider every option for new opportunities for the port of Holyhead in my constituency; I've looked at the possibilities of creating a free port for many years. But we need to be very clear about the possible benefits and disbenefits, and that's difficult when things are muddied by political rhetoric. As the Welsh Affairs Select Committee in...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The UK Government mustn't 'create a 'Welsh Freeport'...for optical or political purposes.'
Rhun ap Iorwerth: It's important that people understand that it's not some kind of Brexit dividend, for example, because, in principle, one could have had free-port status while still in the European Union. And, as the Minister said, people need to understand that the UK Conservative Government are offering far less for free ports in Wales as compared to England—some £8 million, as compared to £25 million...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 5. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Climate Change about the economic impact of free ports? OQ56751
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for the statement today, Deputy Minister. I'm not entirely convinced whether this statement was necessary today. It is not a particularly good sign that a Minister has to explain, having delivered her statement, what the purpose of that statement was. Yes, it's an update, but what we want to know is what is the meat on the bone in terms of the development of the White Paper,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: There's nothing wrong in having an inquiry looking at how the interdependency worked. You say I can't accuse the Welsh Government of avoiding scrutiny on this. Let me make it abundantly clear: I am accusing Welsh Government of avoiding the deepest possible scrutiny on this by rejecting a Welsh-only investigation. The figures out today we've heard being referred to already, about the quarter...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: You want it sooner rather than later, but let me be clear: in refusing a Welsh-specific inquiry, you're effectively agreeing to that delay, and the spotlight on what has happened in Wales will be inevitably weakened with having that spotlight trying to be shone, with equal forensic detail, right across the UK. We need to answer questions about what's happening in Wales. Two days ago, the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. Let me continue with that theme, and dig a little bit deeper if I can. For over a year now, Plaid Cymru has called for a Wales-only public inquiry. Your Government—and you've confirmed it now—has opted to have a Welsh chapter or chapters in a UK-wide inquiry. I think in all honesty that opens you up to the charge of ducking scrutiny. If you take...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: It was more seeking clarification than telling you off.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Minister, for that statement with regard to these new regulations. We'll be supporting these regulations, although the context of the regulations is a decision not to relax restrictions further. There was an opportunity here to look at a few elements and to push the boundaries of what was possible in terms of weddings and so on, and I certainly welcome that as a principle—that we...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Does the Minister want to reply?
