Diolch, Llywydd, and I move the motion tabled in the name of my colleague Darren Millar. Our motion is clear: we're calling for an independent, Welsh Parliament-appointed, judge-led inquiry into the Welsh Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The people of Wales will continue to have many questions about what happened throughout this pandemic, how prepared Wales has been for it, and the Welsh Government's decisions and actions in response to the pandemic. As the Welsh Government has now started easing lockdown restrictions in Wales, it's time to start considering the way in which those questions should be asked and answered. Even more importantly, it's absolutely critical that lessons are learned from the COVID-19 pandemic should this Government or future Governments be faced with a pandemic like this in the future. Therefore, given restrictions are now starting to be eased, it's appropriate for us now to consider how that public inquiry must look and how it must operate.

Now, I appreciate that Senedd committees are already considering their own inquiries into COVID-19 and the impact it has had on their committee subject areas, and Welsh Government Ministers have been called to answer questions on their portfolio areas. However, given the sheer impact that COVID-19 has had on families and communities across Wales, I believe it's only appropriate that a full public inquiry is launched, led by an independent judge appointed by the Senedd, not the Welsh Government.

We must make it crystal clear to the people of Wales that this inquiry will be open and transparent and that actions will be accounted for. The appointment of an independent judge will send a statement that this institution is committed to accountability, and this inquiry quite simply deserves the authority that a senior judge would command. Indeed, when the process gets to the stage where hearings are under way, a Queen's Counsel and their team would have the most appropriate skills to conduct questioning in a fair, inquisitorial manner. For that reason, we will be opposing amendment 1, which simply deletes the point that a public inquiry should be judge-led, because it should be judge-led, and appointed by the Senedd rather than the Welsh Government. I believe that the people of Wales deserve for this inquiry to be conducted with the highest level of transparency and authority that it can. We cannot afford to allow the Welsh Government to dictate direction or agenda, and therefore I fail to see anything unreasonable and untoward in calling for the inquiry to be led by a judge that has been appointed independent of the Government that it would be examining.

Now, I appreciate that there will be expectations that a public inquiry must be done rapidly, and that's why we need to start seeing some of the groundwork starting to take place. Members may be aware of the recent letter in the Financial Times written by a group of Lords, which called for cross-party dialogue and consensus on the terms of reference of the UK's inquiry into COVID-19. Well, I'm calling for those discussions to start taking place here in Wales, and I hope that, in a spirit of openness and accountability, all political parties will wish to be part of this dialogue. The First Minister has said in principle that he's happy to confirm the Welsh Government's support for a public inquiry at the right time, and that's a welcome step forward. We can now build on that consensus and start to think about how that inquiry can come about. So, I hope, in responding to this debate, the Welsh Government will tell us a bit more about their thinking about when this inquiry can start to take place. I don't think it's entirely unreasonable that we consider some of the timescales for when the people of Wales can expect to hear some answers to the questions they have over the handling of matters relating to COVID-19 in Wales.

Llywydd, we are calling for findings to be made available before the next Welsh parliamentary elections next year. Ultimately, the people of Wales should have the opportunity to listen to the evidence and draw their own conclusions from the inquiry—and they can have their say—and, more importantly, to be able to hold current Government Ministers to account at next year's election. For that very reason, we cannot support amendment 2, which simply aims to remove the need for findings to be made available before the next Welsh parliamentary elections. We must show the world that, here in Wales, we will not shy away from asking tough questions and getting tough answers. The people of Wales have the right to be as informed as possible at the next election, and we must at least attempt to give them the answers they are looking for, so that they can go to the ballot box as informed as possible.

Now, amendment 4 calls for the inquiry to be commenced in parallel with the UK Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm happy to see that take place, and therefore we will be supporting this amendment, but we mustn't lose sight of that, here in Wales, we also have an opportunity to take the lead on this, and we should take it.

Members will all, rightly, have their views on the systemic issues that may be considered in the terms of reference of the inquiry. I believe this inquiry should be wide ranging and look at all Welsh Government COVID-19 policy decisions throughout this time. For example, it's absolutely critical that the public inquiry considers the Welsh Government's strategy for handling the care home sector in Wales. We know that, despite repeated pleas from Care Forum Wales and the Older People's Commissioner for Wales, the Welsh Government was slow in testing care home residents and staff here in Wales.

Now it's thought that a quarter of coronavirus deaths in Wales have been related to care home residents, and yet it wasn't until 22 April that the health Minister decided to test symptomatic care home residents and those returning from hospital to care homes as well as symptomatic care home workers. Following that, on 2 May, the Welsh Government then announced that all staff and residents of care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus would be tested following the latest scientific evidence, which showed that testing should be extended in care homes to manage any outbreaks. That then changed again and, by 6 May, Welsh Government confirmed that it would start the blanket testing of care homes, but this time only to those care homes where there were over 50 beds. With an average of 33 beds per care home in Wales, this announcement meant that much smaller care homes were left without blanket testing until nearly two weeks later, when Welsh Government eventually rolled out testing to all care home residents and staff. So, that's just one example, and I'm sure that, throughout the course of today's debate, Members will contribute their own ideas, based on the correspondence and feedback that they've received from their own constituents. 

The important point that I do want to make is that the inquiry should be a wide-ranging exercise that looks at all issues and evidence. Members will have received correspondence from constituents on a range of COVID-19 policies, with serious questions on how Welsh Government programmes and decisions have affected their lives, and the inquiry must scrutinise all areas of policy in order for those answers to be given. Concerns around issues such as testing and the supply and distribution of personal protective equipment are all very valid areas of inquiry that must be addressed. We know from the Royal College of Nursing Cymru that there is a lack of consistency and guidance for PPE use and delivery at a local health board level. Indeed, a recent RCN survey showed that, during this pandemic, 74 per cent of nursing staff raised concerns about PPE and over half of nursing staff have felt pressured to care for a patient without adequate protection as outlined in the current PPE guidance. 

It's these systemic issues that must be brought to light and fully examined by a public inquiry. Therefore, in closing, Llywydd, I hope that Members will support our motion today and that we can start to move forward and set the groundwork for that inquiry. The people of Wales need and deserve answers, and we must commit to a process that gives them just that. Diolch.