5. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Coronavirus (COVID-2019) update

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 10 March 2020.

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Photo of Alun Davies Alun Davies Labour 3:00, 10 March 2020

I think the thoughts of all of us in this Chamber and elsewhere are with all those people who are currently suffering from this virus and those who believe that they might be but are maybe awaiting diagnosis, as well the families of those who have already died. I think this is one of the most terrifying threats to us as people and to our society that I've certainly seen in my lifetime. I can remember on no other occasion how a disease like this has spread across the globe and has infected so many people and caused so much suffering in societies across the whole of this world. 

I'm glad that the Welsh Government is listening to experts, and I'm glad that the Welsh Government is following the advice that our scientists and doctors are providing to us. It is absolutely essential that, in responding to this crisis, we follow the best advice and scientific analysis that we have available to us. I'm also very pleased to see that the Welsh Government is working closely with the other Governments across the United Kingdom to ensure that we do have the sort of holistic response that we require. I would say that I believe that the Welsh Government is the only administration, if you like, in this country capable of co-ordinating all of the responses required across all of our public services and across all of the different services that we will require as a country to come through this virus. I hope that the Minister—he hasn't mentioned this in his initial response, but I trust the Minister is working closely with his colleague sitting next to him, the Minister, I think, who is responsible for civil contingencies, and perhaps he would explain the structures that the Welsh Government are putting in place to ensure that we have the full, civil contingency response that we will require.

But I think the thoughts of many of us are with those people working in the national health service who will bear the brunt of this virus and the human consequences of this. Many of us have been seeing and hearing and reading of the impact that this is having on the medical service and the health service in Italy and the impact it is having on the people working within the health service in Italy who have to take life and death decisions, who are working long hours under extraordinary pressures to deal with the human impact of the virus. In my experience, one of the most difficult civil contingencies that we've dealt with across the United Kingdom was that in Salisbury, and the poisoning that took place there some years ago. One of the lessons learned there was the burnout and the impact that responding to these emergencies has on people over an extended period of time. Clearly, the incident in Salisbury was an isolated, single incident; this is something that is going to be happening in every community across the whole of this country over an extended period of time.

I hope that—. And perhaps the Minister will explain to us the sort of measures that the Government is putting in place to protect national health service workers and to ensure that we're able to support people working in the national health service to ensure that they have the support that they need, but to also look outside of the national health service to ensure that we have the care available for vulnerable people, people who may be living alone, people who might be living with life-limiting conditions at present, to ensure that they are kept safely in their homes and in their communities, but also support for small businesses as well. This is extending beyond, perhaps, this Minister's responsibilities, but it is easier for a multinational to withstand this than a corner shop, and we need to ensure that the small businesses of this country are protected as well. That takes us to ensuring that our public services have the support that they require as well. Local government, amongst others, amongst education and elsewhere, will be on the front line in dealing with much of the impact of this virus, and we need to ensure that our public services have the support and the co-ordination that they also require. 

Finally, Minister, in your statement, you outlined four-country legislation that is going to be passed by Westminster to provide Ministers here with the powers that you require in order to deal with this, and I very much welcome that, but can you assure us that the powers that you will be taking will be subject to sunset clauses so that these powers do not remain on the statute book at the end of this emergency, so that we don't, almost by accident, grant the Government enduring powers over our lives outside of this emergency?