Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:57 pm on 25 February 2020.
When Yorkshire was hit with severe flooding in July and in November last year, and again this month, UK armed forces were drafted in to help. In the autumn, RAF Chinooks were called in to assist a pumping station near Doncaster following heavy rainfall. This resource—this level of response—might have been invaluable in the case of Trehafod and elsewhere. Although no infantry units are based in Wales—the First Battalion The Rifles is based, for example, just across the border, near Chepstow—Welsh men and women loyally serve in the forces and would, no doubt, have made a valuable contribution in serving Welsh communities during the crisis if asked to do so. Did you ask the UK Government, First Minister, for the assistance of the army? If not, why not, and will you in future if the need arises?