5. Statement by the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:06 pm on 10 June 2020.

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Photo of Angela Burns Angela Burns Conservative 3:06, 10 June 2020

Good afternoon, Llywydd. Good afternoon, Minister. I couldn't possibly talk about anything else apart from tourism, given the area that I represent. As we all know, the hospitality industry was probably the first one hit; it's been hit the hardest and will need to be hit the longest. My cry of—my plea to you is to adopt a one-size-does-not-fit-all strategy.

I've already heard some very welcome indications that you're going to look at some sectors, but I would like to see the Welsh Government use real imagination over this, because I've got so many different kinds of businesses—a business that has three yurts, which will, in total, have six visitors, and they will say to me, 'Okay, they all do share the same bathroom facilities. However, what is the difference between six people using that bathroom and a bunch of workers in the local Tesco all using that bathroom during the day?' So, it's about really being imaginative and really thinking it through, and not just adopting a standard cut-off point. I absolutely recognise that we must make sure that the R number does not spiral out of control, but if we're going to support these businesses going forward, we absolutely need to have that elasticity. 

You also mentioned—one last point—the community consent. Now, this is an area that's really agonised an awful lot of people who've contacted me, because there is nothing out there about it and, again, they feel that they're being put into the hands of other people who may not be as well informed, who may be very parochial about their particular area and that there may be lots of different agendas being run. How are you going to define 'community consent'? Will those businesses be involved, because businesses on my patch, from the very big ones to the very smallest, do not feel involved with anything. They do not feel they're being communicated with, and they do not want to be blindsided by people being able to just put a blanket block on them from some sort of community element that would be unfair. As long as it's fair, above board and transparent, people can live with it. At the moment, they don't see that.