I thank the Conservative Party for bringing this very important debate to Plenary, and can I echo the comments made by both Joyce Watson and Angela Burns with regard to front-line staff and the work that they've done throughout this coronavirus epidemic? We are not talking about an inquiry into their behaviour; we're talking about an inquiry into the behaviour of the Governments of the UK.

It is important to show the public that we're willing—to use that hackneyed phrase beloved by politicians—to learn lessons. We support this motion and hope the Senedd shows the maturity to accept that an inquiry is needed, not as a finger-pointing exercise, but a true attempt at finding what was done well—and there were many things which were—but to accept that there were many other things which could have been done better not just by the Welsh Government, but also by the UK Government.

It is vitally important that we do not make the same mistakes the next time round, and science tells us there will be other such crises. Throughout this crisis, it has often been quoted that these are unprecedented times. Well, this is not actually true—there have been warnings as recent as 2016. The World Health Organization warned that a SARS-related coronavirus would be the likely cause of a future epidemic. They urged Governments to plan for diagnostic tests and to develop vaccines. Yet nothing was done. We in the UK failed to put in place plans to ensure that all agencies of the NHS were equipped with the necessary protection it would need.

It is unfortunate that politics seems to have raised its ugly head in some aspects of the handling of this crisis. The apparent desire in the devolved Governments to assert their own authority seemed at times to be a ploy to exploit shortcomings of the UK Government, rather than acting uniformly across the nations. Sometimes it seemed there was a Welsh Government attempt to rebuild Offa's Dyke from the Welsh side rather than to act as a Government supposedly committed to the union.

The warnings are there: these pandemics will happen again, and possibly sooner rather than later, which makes it fundamentally important that there is a root-and-branch examination of why we were so poorly prepared despite the warnings. Much of the responsibility for this must lie with the UK Government, but there are many areas where we in Wales also failed.

It must be obvious to all that the country, indeed any country, will not be able to instigate a total lockdown in the form we have, indeed are witnessing, on a regular basis. The economic costs are far too high. The youth of this country will be paying for this pandemic in higher taxes for years, maybe decades, to come. These pandemics will have to be countered in some other way.

It is a fact that it's only through science that we shall be able to avoid the catastrophic consequences of pandemics on such a global scale. Given that here in Wales we have some of the best facilities for research in these areas in the world, we need the Welsh Government to commit to funding these institutions and to put as much pressure on the UK Government to provide funds on a UK-wide basis so that we in Wales can remain in the forefront of such research.

Llywydd, science, not lockdowns, is the only answer to viral pandemics.