The Local Lockdown Introduced in Caerphilly

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:22 pm on 15 September 2020.

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Photo of Delyth Jewell Delyth Jewell Plaid Cymru 2:22, 15 September 2020

I thank the First Minister for his answer. When the lockdown was announced last week, it threw many residents in Caerphilly into confusion, and I was inundated with messages from people who are anxious to find out what effect it would have on their circumstances. It took nearly 24 hours before guidance was published clarifying where the parents who shared custody of their children and live on either side of the county border could see their children, whether bereaved family members could attend funerals and whether people who were shielding earlier in the year would be asked to do so again. That was 24 hours of unnecessary distress and angst that could have been avoided if the guidelines had been published at the same time as the announcement. Now that areas like Newport and Merthyr and also possibly facing lockdowns, would you, First Minister, please provide a guarantee that detailed guidelines will in future be published as soon as any lockdowns are announced, and that any changes to guidelines are communicated in advance of implementation, so that people are given time to prepare?