Questions now from the party leaders. Leader of Plaid Cymru, Adam Price.

Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, this week, we've seen some encouraging news from Scotland, with the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths there falling to three in total over the last five days, and Professor Devi Sridhar predicting that Scotland could be practically COVID-free in terms of non-imported cases by the end of the summer. In England, by way of contrast, it's been reported that the chief medical officer there expects to see the level of new daily infections remaining at the current level of around 3,000 a day for the foreseeable future. First Minister, do you think that a COVID-free Wales, in the terms described, is a realistic aspiration in the near term, and is aiming for zero, in a sense, the surest way of avoiding a second spike?

Well, I'm pleased to say in response to Adam Price that many of the key indicators in Wales continue to head in the right direction as well, with death numbers falling, with hospital admissions falling, with numbers of patients in critical care falling again in the last week for which we have complete figures. In one sense, aiming for a COVID-free Wales is of course what we would want to do, but I want to be realistic with people as well: we have a long and porous border; that it is difficult to regard Wales as an island for these purposes, and that our ability to make Wales COVID-free very much depends upon the efforts that are made across the United Kingdom in the same direction.

We have heard—I know he has heard—stark warnings from the chief medical officer that, in the autumn, when the cold and the damp return, the conditions in which COVID may thrive will be with us again. So, while aiming to have COVID at the lowest possible level that we can in Wales, we shouldn't think that that means that we're out of the woods and that there aren't other dangers in front of us in the rest of this calendar year.

Many countries have successfully suppressed the virus to near-zero new cases. New Zealand is regarded as the world leader, but it's not alone. Greece, Slovenia, Austria, Norway have also suppressed the virus to the extent that restrictions there are now limited and new cases rare, and, like Wales, those countries are not islands either. 

I take the First Minister's point, but would he like to see an elimination strategy adopted across the whole of the UK, and will he ask the technical advisory cell to look at the experience specifically of those countries that have adopted an elimination strategy to see whether that could be adopted in full or in part in Wales?

I'm very happy to ask the technical advisory group for their views on that. We already do get advice from them that draws on experience elsewhere in the world. When I was able to make an announcement on Monday about extended households here in Wales, it was very much informed by the New Zealand experience and things we have learnt from them. I think Adam Price points to some very interesting examples when he points, for example, to Norway and to Greece as places that have borders with other countries where the experience has been different, and, in that sense, if there are things that we can learn from them that will help us on the journey to bear down on coronavirus to the maximum possible extent, I would be very keen that we learn those lessons here in Wales and I'm very happy that we deploy the assistance we get through the technical advisory group to give us whatever lessons they think can be learned from experiences in those places, and then to apply it to be of assistance to us here in Wales.

Even in those countries that have been successful in disease suppression, of course the price of liberty from the virus, if you like, is eternal vigilance, particularly as regards new outbreaks, and we see possibly in Leicester as well, don't we, the danger potentially of not having local intelligence turned quickly enough into local action. So, drawing on recent experience in Wales as well, is the First Minister prepared to make a number of commitments to ensure a rapid turnaround between testing and results, particularly in relation to local outbreaks, and to publishing local dashboards of indicators to identify local spikes? And, finally, can you set out the circumstances and the practical means by which a local lockdown, if it became necessary, would be implemented in Wales?

Well, again, I thank Adam Price for those questions. So, in terms of how we would judge whether a local lockdown were necessary, then in the two examples, the live examples, in north-east and north-west Wales, then, in both those cases, the key test will be whether or not there is wider community transmission from the closed settings of the two factories where the outbreaks have taken place. The most recent evidence is encouraging, but I don't want to overstate that, because this week is a very important week in keeping on top of any evidence that transmission has moved from the factory setting, and those most closely associated with it, and into the wider community. If we have evidence of strong community spread, then that would be the indicator for us of a need for further local measures. 

Now, you could argue—and I've seen people argue—that in Ynys Môn, for example, we already have a form of local lockdown. There are hundreds of people self-isolating because of the outbreak at 2 Sisters, and the local authority took the decision quite early on not to reopen schools in Ynys Môn alongside the rest of Wales on Monday. So, we already have some differentiated policy interventions happening because of that local outbreak. 

We are absolutely clear that—. Unlike in Leicester, where there seemed to be quite a lot of confusion as to whether the legal powers existed and to whom they belonged, we are very clear that, in Wales, Welsh Ministers have the powers through our regulations to take local action to reduce, if we had to, some of the freedoms we've been able to reintroduce in order to deal with local outbreaks. And we would certainly be prepared to do that were the need to be there. 

On the Member's point about local dashboards, I'm very happy again to get some advice on that to see whether that sort of information exists in a way that will be meaningful and reliable at a local level. And, if it is, then the Welsh Government's policy throughout the coronavirus crisis has been to make as much information public as possible, so people can understand their local context and then to act in the way that Adam Price said, because it isn't Governments that take the decisive actions in these areas—it is the actions of citizens being vigilant in the way that Adam Price described that, in the end, gives us the greatest defence. 

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Paul Davies. 

Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, yesterday's news that Airbus is set to cut 1,700 jobs across the UK, as it struggles with the effects of the coronavirus crisis, is a devastating blow to workers in Broughton and, indeed, in north-east Wales, and the Welsh Government rightly responded to say that it would use all of the levers at its disposal to support workers throughout this difficult time. As you said earlier, it's crucial now that inter-governmental work takes place immediately, and I hope that Governments are working together at all levels to best support the workers in Broughton at this time. 

First Minister, you've already described what measures you are looking to take to support the company and its workers at Airbus, but this news will, as Mark Isherwood said earlier, also undoubtedly have an effect on the wider supply chain, which will include a number of local businesses. So, can you tell us what specific measures and schemes the Welsh Government is at the moment considering to ensure that the supply chain is as supported as it can be? 

Well, I think I'd say to the Member that very difficult as that news has been overnight, we can point to the way in which, with the UK Government and with the local authority, we were able to respond to the decision of Ford to leave Bridgend, with 1,300 jobs lost there directly, but the way in which the teams we put together, and the structures that we introduced, were very much focused on the supply chains in the automotive industry as well. So, we have some very recent and practical experience of responding to difficulties of this sort.

The key difference between Ford and Airbus is that the Ford decision was a decision to leave Wales altogether, whereas Airbus has a successful future in front of it, provided we can get it through the next difficult months ahead, and that will mean working with supply chains. The summit meeting that I mentioned in my earlier answer is one that will involve the wider economy of north-east Wales and, indeed, the Mersey Dee Alliance, because many people who work at Broughton live in Chester and across our border there, and the impact on supply chains will be felt across that north-east, north-west economy.

So we will work with all those local players, and with the UK Government, in order to make sure that we have a comprehensive picture of the needs, and co-design with people on the ground the sort of help that they will find most useful. We have some off-the-peg things that we do. We've got some tried-and-tested ways in which we mobilise help, but we want to do more than that. We want to make sure that the help we offer will be the help that people locally tell us will be most useful to them. And working with them, and having a summit, will be a way of drawing all that together, to make sure that the help that we are able to offer is calibrated to meet the specific needs and circumstances of that north-east Wales economy.

I very much agree with you: it's vital that Governments and parties are working together, where they can, to support workers at this time, and I'll do whatever I can to constructively work with you, and colleagues in Westminster, to ensure that everything that can be done will be done to support those affected by this news.

Now, sadly, it's not the only announcement regarding job losses in Wales recently, and given that unemployment in Wales doubled in the month of April, it's critical that support is in place for those who have lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Now is the time for the Welsh Government to be having discussions, of course, with business leaders and skills providers about developing packages to help support people across Wales who may not be able to retain their employment at the end of the furlough scheme because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are families across Wales who are in an extremely vulnerable position, and given that there will be a degree of uncertainty in the job market for some time yet, it is important that families across Wales feel that support and advice is available. Therefore, can you tell us what assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of COVID-19 on employment across Wales, and what discussions has the Welsh Government had with business leaders, and skills providers, about how best to mitigate against any economic shocks as a result of COVID-19?

I thank the leader of the opposition for what he said about playing a constructive part in the response to the position faced in Airbus and the wider north-east Wales economy.

The analysis that we have of the Welsh economy, in the COVID context, is that it's quite complex. He'll have heard, I'm sure, today, the reports from Andy Haldane, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, that they think that the early signs are that a v-shaped recovery for many parts of the economy is under way—a sharp downturn, and a very sharp rebound. And we want to make sure that as much of the Welsh economy is able to recover as quickly as possible in that way. But there will be aspects of the Welsh economy where that will be more difficult—companies and industries who are not able to resume activity as quickly as others. And there, we are talking to the UK Government particularly about the long-term arrangements from the job retention scheme, which I've always welcomed in Wales. I've always appreciated what the UK Government has done, and understand that, as industries get back to work, you can't go on offering a furlough scheme to places where people are back working full-time. But in some sectors of the Welsh economy, we need a more specific, sector-specific furlough scheme that will go beyond the end of October. And that will offer comfort to those industries that they will still be able to sustain themselves through the difficult days of this calendar year, and be there to resume activity next year, when, as we all hope, things will be better.

So, we will mobilise the actions that we have, in consultation with business leaders. I was with the head of the Confederation of British Industry in Wales last week and with the head of the Federation of Small Businesses in Wales last week. There were very helpful suggestions from the CBI about how we could work together in mitigating some of the impacts on the Welsh economy, and then we will need help from elsewhere to be able to do the job that we all need to do, focusing on jobs, relentlessly on jobs, in our economy, during the second half of this financial year.

Well, First Minister, as you know, my party have also brought forward proposals to establish a COVID recovery fund for those areas most affected economically, and I hope you'll constructively look at our proposals, which could make a real difference to people affected by the closures and the job losses at Airbus, and indeed Laura Ashley.

Now, in response to the latest Office for National Statistics labour market statistics for Wales, the Learning and Work Institute Cymru were right to say that the picture now starting to emerge is that those areas that entered the crisis with the highest levels of unemployment have experienced some of the largest rises over the last two months. This just demonstrates that there were communities across Wales that were already struggling with levels of deprivation before the COVID-19 pandemic, and so a resilience package, which includes investment, support and opportunities, is needed more than ever.

First Minister, given that the claimant count has nearly doubled, and now stands at the highest level since August 1994, can you tell us what new thinking the Welsh Government is adopting to start—[Inaudible.]—the picture described by the Learning and Work Institute Cymru? Could you also tell us what monitoring of programmes and funding is taking place to ensure that economic funds are reaching those communities in most need and to identify any gaps in support packages? And what is the Welsh Government doing to help build resilience in communities across Wales, particularly those already struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic?

Well, Llywydd, the economic resilience fund that the Welsh Government has drawn together has, up until now, been very much focused on simply assisting firms and individuals to cope with the impact of coronavirus. But we have already indicated that there will be a further phase of the ERF, beyond phase 1 and 2, which we are currently operating, and phase 3 will be a recovery phase. And there will be many millions of pounds still in the fund that we will be able to use for recovery, and where there are good ideas as to how that money might most effectively be used, then, of course, we will be very pleased to draw on those ideas, wherever they come from. The fact that we have a recovery phase in our economy will be shaped by the work that Jeremy Miles has been leading to put together a recovery plan for us in Wales, drawing on the best people we can bring together inside Wales, but having people from outside Wales, to make sure that we don't miss out on ideas that people are developing elsewhere, and to challenge us on our own thinking and make sure we are making the best possible fist of designing that recovery stage.

We monitor what we do. If you want just one single example of that in figures that the ONS produced only last week, I think it is over 30 per cent of firms in Wales have benefited from assistance provided, either by the UK Government or by the Welsh Government, in order to help them through the pandemic. It's 21 per cent of firms in Scotland; it's 14 per cent of firms in England. And those are ONS figures, which demonstrate, I think, that the impact of the assistance we've been able to mobilise in Wales has been felt strongly in our economy, and we now want the same approach to be adopted, with the same level of success, in helping the Welsh economy into the recovery phase.

Leader of the Brexit Party, Mark Reckless. 

May I congratulate all the children who are back in school in Wales this week, even if it is part time, and all those who have worked so hard to get them back, not least your education Secretary, Kirsty Williams? I would have liked more children to have returned earlier, but I do not want to criticise the Welsh Government, cavil with what is happening versus what was promised, or make comparisons with England today.

First Minister, whatever our own particular views or interests, shouldn't we all respect that it is you, your Cabinet and Kirsty Williams who are responsible and have the democratic mandate to decide when and how schools should return? Can you confirm that, unlike the teaching unions, you must consider not only the interests of their members, including teacher safety and any now far lower risk of infection, but also the pressing need of many parents to get back to work, and, still more, the purpose of schools being to educate our children, who have already lost too much of that right? 

Well, I thank the Member for what he said about the efforts that have been made, and they have been made in the way that we try to do things in Wales, in that social partnership way, by bringing teacher unions, non-teacher unions, the local education authorities and the Welsh Government around the table together to craft a way ahead. I sometimes have felt, in the way that some of these arguments have played out publicly, that the word 'children' has not been given the prominence that it needed and deserves. In the end, the reason why we are committed to bringing young people back to school over these weeks is because of our concerns that those young people get a change to meet their teachers again, to catch up with their classmates, to be able to prepare for the summer, and it is their interests in the end—with all the others that we have to bear in mind—that need to, and we think do do, come out at the very top of our agenda.

The First Minister speaks of social partnership, but an impression many parents have got over the last month or two is that, with powers split between Welsh Government, councils and schools themselves, the teaching unions may have been too dominant an aspect of that partnership. When you, First Minister, spoke about even giving consideration to schools coming back after half term, you quickly were pressed into clarifying that that wasn’t going to happen. It was said under union pressure. We then saw the chief medical officer say that schools returning in the second week of August would be the best, at least in terms of virus risks, but we were then told that wasn't happening because it wasn’t an attractive option to the unions. We then saw your education Secretary announce that schools would come back this week for four weeks, yet almost everywhere, that's not happening, and it will be three weeks. Again, we're told because that’s the position of the unions. Do you share any of that concern that the unions may have had too great an influence on what the timing and what the decisions have been, and what might be done about that?

Well, Llywydd, I congratulate teachers in Wales for everything that they have done during this pandemic. We've had 450 schools open as hub schools throughout the experience, with teachers going in, on the front line, at the height of the pandemic, and doing that every single day, working all the way through their half term at the end of May. So, the big picture for me has been the enormous efforts that teachers, supported by their unions, have carried out here in Wales.

There are contractual rights that people have, and unions are there to speak up for their members where their contracts are concerned. Social partnership is never about cosy conversations. It's never about people avoiding difficult issues. We have sat round the table together with our partners in the local education authorities and the people who represent the workforce. We have forged a way together, which means that, uniquely in the United Kingdom, children in Wales are back in school today, and I think that is a very significant achievement, and I'm very glad we've been able to work with colleagues to bring it about.