I want to underline the shock and anger felt by Welsh Government and by so many across Wales and the globe at the killing of George Floyd by a police officer, and the subsequent draconian response by the President of the United States. US citizens are rightfully protesting against overt racism faced by black people, which seems to be entrenched in some institutions. It's clear that the Welsh Government may not have the devolved powers to directly challenge the actions of the Government of another country, but I think we do have the moral obligation to speak out. As our health Minister, Vaughan Gething, stated:

'We must challenge racism, inequality and injustice wherever we find it, including right here at home'.

Now, we know without question that institutionalised racism is not a problem reserved to the USA. We've got a long way to go in our own country to address this issue, but we've made clear our solidarity with all those protesting. But solidarity is not enough. We must be prepared to challenge other countries, particularly when those actions create a response here in Wales. In that vein, I've written to the Foreign Secretary of the United States setting out the position of the Welsh Government and requesting that the President of the United States is reminded of his obligations to respect human rights and to ask if he'll acknowledge, without condition, that black lives matter.

I've also asked our international relations team to monitor the worrying situation in Hong Kong and to underline our commitment in the Welsh Government to the principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights. 

Now, we've used the invaluable information provided by our international offices on how other overseas Governments are easing the lockdown to help shape our planning and our response here in Wales.

The clock is ticking in relation to developing a new relationship with the EU, and, when the transition phase ends, our current trading relationship with many other countries in the world also comes to an end. We're aware of the recent media reports regarding US trade negotiations, and in particular the growing concern with regard to the lowering of UK food and animal welfare standards, and the potential import of chlorinated chicken is of great concern. The UK Government has provided assurances to us that they will not agree to lowering standards in any future trade deals, and that's something that they promised in their manifesto and that we will hold them to.

I'd like to turn now to tourism. There's been a great deal of interest in that this afternoon. From the First Minister down, we're all acutely aware of the scale of the challenge facing the tourism, hospitality and the events sector, and, since the crisis began, the Deputy Minister and I have been meeting regularly with industry leaders. We know that when the summer season is gone, it's gone. It's therefore critical that we continue to work with the industry and local communities to ensure a safe return to tourism as soon as the public health position allows. We know that the industry would like us to provide a date as to when the industry can resume, but we've said consistently that we'll be driven by the science, and not by dates, and will only ease restrictions when the medical advice says it's safe for us to do so.

We've promised that we'll give the industry three weeks' notice as a minimum in order to prepare for reopening and we're giving detailed consideration as to when we can signal it will be approaching the right time to reopen shared accommodation without facilities, which is set out in the amber zone of the First Minister's programme. We're conscious that the industry will be watching next week's 21-day statement very closely and will be looking for a signal from the First Minister in terms of the tourism sector.

We're acutely aware that as businesses approach August, they'll be required to contribute financially to the furlough scheme, and we understand the importance of these dates to businesses. So, we're preparing—and we're preparing in detail—and that's included developing detailed guidance and protocols to support the sector and protect the community and staff and visitors.

Our package of support to the industry is the most generous in the UK, particularly through our bespoke economic resilience fund, under which, as of 5 June, we've awarded over £10 million to tourism businesses, safeguarding over 4,500 employees. And as you've heard, phase 2 of the fund will pave the way for further tourism businesses to access these funds. We'll continue to press the UK Government on extending the furlough scheme or creating a bespoke package for the sector.

Unfortunately, the events industry is likely to be the last to recover, and we're looking to work even more closely with organisers across Wales to consider the way forward. The culture and arts sector is also under extreme pressure. These organisations are often the beating heart of our communities, and they'll be even more important in the future.

We've worked closely with all our key stakeholders to offer advice and guidance and we've prioritised our responses to those activities most critical in the short term, and on supporting organisations with cash-flow problems and general hardship. And we're also providing guidance on the safe return of sport and the reopening of facilities when the conditions are right.