Yes, okay. It's on lifting the lockdown, actually, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd.

There is no doubt that the protection of public health in response to COVID-19 is raising extraordinary economic challenges. The UK Government has tried to freeze the economy using the job retention scheme, generous business loans and various handouts. But freezing the economy is the easy part. Just as we have not mastered the second phase in cryogenics—the unfreezing part—we do not know how to successfully unfreeze an economy. Both are complex systems that cannot simply be turned off and on. The economic scarring has already begun. Thousands of businesses are shutting down, undermining the productive capacity of the Welsh economy. There have already been serious job losses. Many who lose their jobs during a recession never find work again. Young people who are trying to enter the workforce could experience long-term loss of earnings.

Locking down the economy has also had extraordinary fiscal costs, increasing UK Government debt by billions. While this was justified to prevent a total economic collapse, maintaining such levels of Government spending over the long term is simply not sustainable. There's no doubt that balancing public health against the now dire need to unlock the economy is a very delicate and precarious task. But we in the Brexit Party now believe that it has to be done sooner rather than later. We are fast approaching a situation when many once prosperous businesses and enterprises will no longer be able to sustain themselves. Large-scale loss of businesses in this way will undoubtedly lead to health consequentials that may indeed outweigh those presented by COVID-19. The economic crash of 2008 saw 10,000 suicides. I have no figures relating to mental health issues for this particular pandemic, but it is widely predicted that, even if we open the economy up immediately, there will already be substantial increases in mental health issues. 

The First Minister is adamant that we shall not see an easing of restrictions until he is certain that there will be no return to previous death rates from coronavirus. So, I feel we should analyse some of the statistics the First Minister relies on. There have been 1,483 recorded coronavirus-related deaths in Wales since the commencement of the epidemic. However, there is much anecdotal evidence emerging where coronavirus has been recorded as the cause of death, where the true cause has been a long-term, life-threatening illness such as cancer and heart disease, and whilst coronavirus was present, it could not be said to be the actual cause of death. 

Each death is, of course, a tragedy to those who knew and loved those who died. But we must remember that thousands of deaths occur over the same period every year, some of which may have been avoidable if the right actions had been taken at the right time. Indeed, how many people will die because they have been afraid to seek medical interventions whilst this pandemic has been present?

We have to accept that this is the nature of things. We also have to consider how many young, fit and healthy people have died in Wales as a direct consequence of COVID-19. The truth is there have been very few. Again, although each was a tragedy in itself, we must have the courage to ask the question: 'Does it justify closing the whole economy and putting thousands of young people out of work, perhaps for a long period of time?' It can be argued that we should maintain the same lockdown procedures for those classified as 'vulnerable' for some time longer, but the argument for keeping everybody in lockdown is fast losing credibility.

Let me now turn briefly to those businesses suffering most from the lockdown—the service sector, and in particular, pubs, restaurants and the leisure industry in general, including hotels, campsites and holiday parks. I am sure that, with good management and social distancing measures in place, much of this sector could be opened up, as has been done in the automotive trade. I was particularly impressed by a video sent to me by Andy Sinclair, of the Sinclair Group, outlining their strategy for reopening, and I am certain many other car retailers will be introducing similar measures. Risks of infection with such strategies in place would be at an absolute minimum. There are many other business operations that are still under restrictions that could apply the same sorts of measures as the motor trade.

In this debate, Dirprwy Lywydd, we do not denigrate or criticise the First Minister or his Government for their actions during this coronavirus epidemic. Indeed, we would congratulate them on their robust economic interventions, and, in the most part, for the way these interventions have been delivered. There's no doubt that if it had not been for their actions, and the actions of the UK Government, the vast majority of Welsh businesses would be in a very precarious situation. The purpose of this debate is to ask the Government to accelerate its opening up of the economy. The time is fast approaching when, if we do not take action, the economy may take many, many years to recover—indeed, may never recover at all. We have heard that it is the most deprived areas that are worst hit by the lockdown. Valleys towns, which are already struggling, may lose many more retail outlets if it continues. We in Pontypool have just heard the news that one large retailer will not be reopening. Even one such loss is critical to our town centres. How often will this be replicated across our Valleys towns if the lockdown continues?

Yes, First Minister, there are risks, but we risk our lives every time we drive a car, so we take the precaution to avoid accidents, and we rely on thousands, indeed millions, to do the same. Tragically, people do die on our roads every year, but we do not stop people driving because of this. Ultimately, First Minister, how we come out of lockdown is a risk-assessment exercise. We believe that the risk element is now outweighed by the absolute necessity of getting the economy functioning again. There are many in the business community who are desperate to reopen—their finances are exhausted, their health and well-being are being put in jeopardy. First Minister, the people of Wales have suffered enough. We call upon you to accelerate the rate of coming out of the lockdown. The consequences of not doing so are dire, and may be worse than COVID-19 itself.