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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:11 pm on 1 April 2020.

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Photo of Paul Davies Paul Davies Conservative 2:11, 1 April 2020

[Inaudible.]—join the COVID-19 core group this morning. As I said in accepting the invitation, I'm of course happy to take part in these discussions but, as I'm sure you'll understand, should they interfere with the scrutiny of the Government's work then I'll have to reconsider my role in attending them. 

Now, last week, I asked you about the Welsh Government's efforts to reprioritise its finances and publish an emergency budget demonstrating what financial changes had been made in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. You did indicate that the Welsh Government would be publishing a supplementary budget and that Ministers are undertaking an analysis of their portfolios to ascertain where spending could be diverted to the coronavirus response. 

Now, the Welsh Government's £1.1 billion announcement earlier this week only consists of 25 per cent of its own money, as the rest is from European funding and the UK Treasury, and so, in order to convince the people of Wales that the Welsh Government is genuinely reprioritising its finance in response to this outbreak, we need to see something more than just 'business as usual'. 

As I've also said before, it's also crucial that, where it can, the Welsh Government redistributes its funding to third sector organisations so that those responding to the outbreak are actually at the front of the queue when it comes to receiving Government funding. Therefore, First Minister, can you tell us when the Welsh Government will be coming forward with the supplementary budget?