2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 11:24 am on 15 July 2020.

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Photo of Joyce Watson Joyce Watson Labour 11:24, 15 July 2020

I would like a statement about the new street layouts being introduced across Wales to support social distancing and rightly revitalising our town centres and helping us to socialise once again. But many of those layouts will present challenges to people with sight loss and they should, in my opinion, be equality impact assessed to ensure that they don't exclude the most vulnerable of people. The Royal National Institute of Blind People has proposed a coronavirus code of courtesy, and that, indeed, would help us all to develop mutual respect, to share spaces safely in what will now become the new normal. They and other charities are calling for the Welsh Government to raise public awareness of the challenge that social distancing will pose for disabled people.

I want to also, at the same time, thank all those people in local authority areas who've worked so hard to reorganise the streets in, very often, their own time, and the charities that have been involved in giving that advice. But what's imperative here is that the Government gives a clear statement about the respect agenda for all.