Okay. Thank you, Llywydd, for the opportunity to make a brief contribution in this debate. It will be relatively brief, because I must admit this is not an entirely comfortable arena in which to be debating, with all the technology, et cetera.

I wanted to start by thanking the First Minister and the rest of the Government for the immense work that they are doing in this area, in particular, the core team of Ministers, Kirsty Williams, Vaughan Gething, Julie James and yourself, who I know have been very much at the centre of responding to this outbreak. I think the First Minister knows me well enough by now to know that I would not say those things if I didn't believe them to be true, but I have felt very reassured by the diligent, detailed and forensic approach you've taken to ensuring that we all remain as safe as we possibly can in these very difficult circumstances. As I've said to the First Minister in private meetings, there remains strong support for the lockdown in my constituency in Torfaen. So, I very much welcome the continued approach that has been taken by the Welsh Government.

I wanted to make a few points about principles that I feel are particularly important as we look at easing the lockdown. The first relates to equality issues. What we've seen with this virus is that although it doesn't discriminate in terms of who it attacks, I believe it is very clear that some of the poorest communities and the most vulnerable are susceptible to it, and I believe that very firmly has to be at the forefront of our minds as we consider easing the lockdown. I'd like to quote Professor Devi Sridhar, who is chair of global public health at Edinburgh university, who said yesterday: 

'What's clear is that wealth is the best shielding strategy for this virus, and from experiencing severe impacts.'

And I think that we need to be mindful of that as we go forward. 

I'd also like to raise the issues of funding. I'm sure the First Minister will have seen David Hepburn, the intensivist from Gwent, who has been very prominent in the media. One of the things that he has called for is for more funding to be directed to the worst-hit communities following this virus. And the First Minister will remember from 20 years ago the discussions we had about the Townsend formula, and I know too that, had that formula been fully implemented, Gwent, over many years, would have had more funding than we have received. So, I hope that that is something that we can look at going forward.

The other area that I think has to be a really prominent focus is that of children's rights. Children are not just massively impacted by this situation, but they are also much more voiceless than many other citizens. It is for that reason, and because of our commitment to children's rights in Wales, that I would like to see much more evidence of child rights impact assessments in taking these decisions. I'd like the Government to start showing their workings on an ongoing basis regularly as regards children.

The third principle I wanted to highlight, which the First Minister's already referred to, is that of partnership and co-production. I think that is vital going forward, and in particular I think a co-production approach with local government is absolutely crucial. Local government have been absolute stars of the show, as far as I'm concerned, in dealing with this virus. And it is crucial that we recognise that and ensure that they are fully involved in all the decisions that we take.

And I'd just like to close by saying that I think there are positives arising from this virus as well. I've seen them in terms of the approach to mental health—hearing about people who are engaging more with mental health services because virtual access suits them better, children and young people who've said that they value that approach, where they can get access to the digital technology. And I hope that, as we come through this pandemic, we can try and take the positives with us and build on them to make a better Wales going forward. Diolch yn fawr.