The next item is the business statement, and I call on the Trefnydd to make that statement.

Diolch, Llywydd. There are no changes to today's agenda. The draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically. 

Leader of the house, is it possible to understand—and I appreciate that because of the COVID crisis, Government has had its whole focus on dealing with the issues around COVID—but is it possible to understand how the Government will get back to being prompt in answering Members' questions and also coming back with constituency queries? Because at the moment, I have an inbox that is showing outstanding questions from April, and certainly, I'm getting replies from Ministers that date back to the end of March, beginning of April. Some understanding of how Government proposes to work through this backlog so that we can respond to constituency queries would be greatly appreciated. 

I thank Andrew R.T. Davies for beginning his contribution by recognising the extreme pressure that Welsh Government is under in terms of responding to the coronavirus crisis.

Clearly, the volume of correspondence and the volume of written questions has grown exponentially; so, we've had over 850 in the same time period as we would have had 250 last year. So, clearly, it is putting a huge strain on resources in order to provide those answers, but we are attempting to respond as quickly as possible. But I would remind Andrew R.T. Davies and other colleagues respectfully that a great deal of information is available in the public domain, and I think that the Welsh Government website does hold a lot of that information. But, as I say, we are doing our best to respond as quickly as possible to the multitude of written questions that we are receiving.   

Leanne Wood. Just pause a second, Leanne, whilst your microphone is turned on. Yes, carry on. 

Diolch. Last week in the Rhondda, many properties were flooded, some for a second, some for even a third time. Now, the causes and the effects of the floods in June may well have been very different to the floods in February, but the effects are exactly the same, and for good reason, people are not confident that the issues have been resolved. And that's why we need an independent, expert-led inquiry—not just about the causes, but to put forward proposals to mitigate future flooding as well and to consider what investment needs to take place. We also need to know more. Why, for example, weren't people able to get sandbags when they were needing them, not just now, but in February as well? Where was the emergency planning? The yellow weather warning had been forecast for days. What has been Natural Resources Wales's role? It's been particularly unedifying to watch various authorities squabbling with each other as to who is responsible while no-one accepts responsibility, and all the while, people's insurance premiums are spiralling out of control. So, none of this is good enough. 

Now, there are numerous options for independent, expert-led inquiries, and, of course, I can understand why the Labour-led Welsh Government might agree with the local MP and not want an inquiry. A bit rich, I must say, when he voted to support one in England. And what is good enough for England should be good enough for Wales, and good enough for the Rhondda. The more the Government resists an inquiry into this, I'm afraid the more people will believe that you have something to hide. It could be swift and inexpensive if the Government wanted it to be. So, can we have a statement, as a matter of urgency, outlining how the First Minister intends to find out what has happened in the Rhondda and put it right?

I think the First Minister did respond to the leader of Plaid Cymru on this point earlier on during First Minister's questions, but, clearly, once again, our thoughts are with the people of Rhondda Cynon Taf who have faced terrible flooding once more. I do know that Natural Resources Wales is currently investigating, and we're in close contact with their officers to understand the cause of the flooding and the related impacts. And, also, of course, local authorities do have that statutory duty to investigate flooding under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, and their flood investigations report will establish the causes of the floodings and then make recommendations as to how those risks can be reduced in future. But, clearly, the point has been made by both yourself and the leader of Plaid Cymru this afternoon, and we'll consider how best we can keep colleagues informed with statements on flooding and the response. 

And, finally, Delyth Jewell. 

I'd like to request a statement explaining three distinct but related matters about care homes. The first is the rationale behind the initial decision by the Welsh Government to refuse COVID-19 tests for asymptomatic residents leaving hospital before going back to care homes. Given the number of deaths and grieving families that resulted from the policy, there's clear public interest in explaining the reasons for this decision. Saying, 'That's just what we were advised' isn't good enough. 

Now, the second is an explanation of why this policy was changed from 23 April onwards. When I originally asked the First Minister during First Minister's questions on 29 April about this, he told me the policy was changed, and I quote,

'not because the clinical advice had changed, but because we recognised the need to give confidence to people in the sector'.

But in a press conference on Monday, he said in relation to this matter, and, again, I quote:

'When the advice changed, we changed the practice.'

I think the First Minister has a duty to explain why he's given contradictory answers to this question.

Then, the final matter is an explanation, please, for the health Minister's claim that the original policy led to no deaths when there's clear evidence to the contrary. I spoke to a care home owner this morning who described that claim as

'breathtakingly stupid. All the evidence points to the fact that not testing people leaving hospital led to these deaths.'

Now, trying to get information from the Welsh Government about this matter is like trying to get blood from a stone, and the continued obfuscation gives the impression they're trying to hide something. So, I would request that a statement be provided, setting out all the facts in relation to this matter as soon as possible. 

I thank Delyth Jewell for raising this important issue, because COVID-19 in care homes is clearly an issue of paramount concern during this ongoing pandemic.

Delyth raises a series of quite detailed questions that would require, I think, a more detailed answer than I'm able to provide today, because I don't have the evidence and so forth, and the advice at my fingertips. Although we have tried to be as transparent as possible by providing summaries of the advice that Welsh Government receives on the Welsh Government website. But if I could invite Delyth Jewell to write to the First Minister, or, probably more appropriately, the health Minister, on those specific questions, then they'll clearly seek to respond in due course.

I thank the Trefnydd.