7. What assessment has been made of how restrictions in the health service, put in place to contain the pandemic, have impacted those needing the NHS for non-COVID-19 related reasons? OQ55477

Llywydd, exceptional measures have been needed to respond to the public health crisis we have faced in Wales. However, as the demand for coronavirus services reduces, non-COVID-19 services are resuming in all parts of the NHS.

Thank you for that answer, First Minister. The restrictions placed on maternity services have been particularly difficult for new and expectant parents. Expectant mothers are being told that they must attend anomaly scans on their own and that, even in the case of bad news, their partner can't be with them. Instead, they may be given written information they can go home with. Birthing partners are only allowed in once the mother has gone into established labour, and then they have to leave shortly after the baby's born. They're not allowed then to visit again. Even picking up their partner and new baby involves waiting outside, and, even if the baby needs to go into special care, only one parent is allowed in at a time to visit their newborn.

This particularly cruel restriction is in direct contravention of the advice issued during the pandemic by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, who say:

'At such a stressful time, it is important for both parents to be able to be present together, at least for part of the day'.

First Minister, similar restrictions are being lifted elsewhere in the UK. Scotland did so on Monday and their continuation here is causing anxiety to many parents to be. Can you tell worried, expectant parents across Wales when these restrictions will be lifted so they can, hopefully, share the joys of bringing a new life into the world, but also be with each other if they have to go through any heartbreaking experiences? And, on the off chance that they have been relaxed, why has no-one told the concerned expectant mothers?

Llywydd, I'm sorry, I just missed the very end of the question, but the points that were made in introducing the question are very real and important. All of us here will have heard from parents looking forward to the birth of a child and the additional pressure and indeed distress that they face because of the way that services have been provided during the crisis. But the answer as to why these restrictions have been in place is because of the particular vulnerability of people who are giving birth and the vulnerability of the new-born child; they've not been put in place for any reason other than to protect people's health. I can't give the Member, I'm afraid, a date in the way that she asks, because it won't be my decision; it will be the decision of clinicians, because it is the people who are in charge of the health of the mother and the baby who make the decisions here in Wales. And, when they are ready and they believe it is safe to do so, then of course they will want to lift some of those restrictions, because nobody wants to see them continue any longer than they need to.

Finally, question 8, Rhun ap Iorwerth.