7. Statement by the First Minister: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 11:22 am on 24 March 2020.

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Photo of Hefin David Hefin David Labour 11:22, 24 March 2020

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I want to thank the people of Caerphilly for the questions that they've sent me on my Facebook page, and an awful lot of the questions that they've asked have been answered, but I want to specifically focus on those that haven't. First of all, I've been asked about education settings and support for children with additional learning needs. For those children with particularly difficult learning needs that require extra support, the education Minister's statement could have fleshed out that a bit more. So, can we have some more information about support for children with additional learning needs?

With regard to the children of key workers, I've had a specific question from a resident who says: if both parents are key workers with children under school age, can the child be transported to a non-vulnerable relative to provide childcare, or can the relative travel to a house to support childcare for those key workers if they are unable to access a childcare setting, for example?

The other question I've had is from a resident who is running a Facebook page called Caerphilly Coronavirus Support. She's been a wonderful volunteer, and Caerphilly County Borough Council have a database of volunteers who have been wanting to help those people in the community who have no support from family, because they don't have family, or from neighbours, because they may be isolated. Those volunteers still want to volunteer. Given that Caerphilly council has that database, how will they be able to volunteer, if at all?

I've had questions about the trains and the fact the trains were overcrowded yesterday. I suspect that overcrowding will reduce, but one issue is that healthcare workers to the Heath are unable to get there for 8 o'clock starts, because the first trains run on the Rhymney line from 08:15, and there was an issue with that.

A number of people have raised a question about getting MOTs in order to keep their cars on the road, and I understand garages are entitled to stay open. Are people then entitled to use the garages to get their MOTs in order to remain mobile?

Finally, I've had a question about community journalism. The Caerphilly Observer receives £24,000 from the Welsh Government's community journalism fund. Hyperlocal journalism is hugely important. Can you ensure any communication revenue funding made available by Welsh Government and Public Health Wales is fairly and evenly distributed among local and relevant independent community news network hyperlocal journalists' press organisations in Wales? And can the remaining pot of money in the fund be distributed quickly now to support those journalism organisations, as it is currently sitting there and unable to be accessed?