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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 20 May 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:48, 20 May 2020

Well, Llywydd, there's a whole debate on the road map later this afternoon, when, no doubt, these points can be rehearsed again. I completely reject the Member's suggestion that there is no leadership on this matter; the road map was very widely welcomed in Wales, and beyond Wales, indeed, as a clear statement of the direction of travel that the Welsh Government has set out for people in our country.

On timescales, let me say, as I've said before when I've been asked, there's a genuine debate to be had as to whether timescales are a helpful way of setting out the future. In the end, we thought that it was more of a distraction than a concentration on the matters that really deserve our attention. We're doing the same as many other countries across the globe, from New Zealand to Northern Ireland. Timescales are no guarantee, are they, as Mr Davies will well know. Look how the 1 June timetable for opening schools in England is falling apart in the hands of the Government of England; how Downing Street last night had to say that 1 June was an aspiration, not a deadline, not a timescale after all. So, I'm not sure that timescales are an answer to everything.

Financial allocations will be set out in detail in the supplementary budget, which will be available to Members next week, and I have already set out, Llywydd, this afternoon, the most generous set of support for businesses anywhere in the United Kingdom, and that detail is available to businesses in Wales and has been very widely welcomed by them.