6. How does the Welsh Government plan to ensure local authorities are equipped to enforce local lockdowns? OQ55513

Thank you, Caroline. Environmental health officers have the power to issue fixed-penalty notices or recommend prosecution. They can issue premises improvement or closure notices for breaches of the coronavirus regulations and, from 14 September, they can close premises, events or public places on public health grounds. The police also have enforcement powers if people don't respond to the environmental health officers.

Thank you, Minister. The sad truth is that COVID-19 continues to spread, and far too many people are failing to take this disease seriously, leading to unfortunately inevitable local flare-ups of infections. The only way that we can combat this in a fair and balanced way is to impose hyperlocal restrictions. Local government, already stretched thin before this pandemic, are now expected to impose and enforce lockdown measures. Minister, what additional resources are you providing to partners in local authorities to ensure that they can cope with challenges such as ensuring pubs are adhering to social distancing rules and are collecting contact information to aid our track, trace and protect efforts? Thank you.

Again, I want to put on record my thanks to local authorities and their staff who have worked really hard throughout the pandemic to make sure that essential services keep running and to deliver the additional services that they've been delivering for us across Wales in terms of all of the things I mentioned in one of my previous answers.

I just want, Llywydd, to reassure Members as well that the COVID control plan sets out a clear command, co-ordination and communication structure for managing incidents and outbreaks, including the need for any kind of local arrangements. The arrangements are in place and active now and on a daily rhythm for current incidents and include local authorities fully. So, we have had a range of meetings, you won't be surprised to discover, over the last two days, around Caerphilly, Merthyr, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Newport, et cetera. 

The regional local resilience fora provide for further effective communication and co-ordination between all partners, and there are effective mutual aid arrangements between local authorities in place. So, a local authority that finds itself in a position where it's having a spike in coronavirus will be able to get assistance from other local authorities and their environmental health officers, and that's been working really well.

My officials have also asked local authorities to provide information through the regional local resilience fora structures on what more is needed and what can be delivered so that we can provide financial support in the most straightforward way. We have recently agreed with authorities affected by the current spiking that additional money can be made available either through the TTP process or through the hardship fund in order for them to be able to recruit more enforcement officers or to assist other authorities to recruit them. And you will know that there's been much more enforcement activity in my constituency, in part of your region, recently as a result of that, because the local authorities are very aware of that. 

We are assured by local authorities that they are in the game for that and that they're doing that piece of work, and, indeed, I have a meeting with them later on this week and another early next week in order to discuss that.