Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 29 September 2020.
Minister, thank you for your statement this afternoon. I do regret that it's not on the floor of the Senedd here, but I fully respect that whether you're virtual or in the Senedd it is a part of the proceedings of this institution. But I am concerned greatly by some of the assertions—in fact, an assertion from you today to me on Twitter—that by your actions you are keeping Wales safe, and I am not by attending these parliamentary proceedings. I'd like to seek clarification from you whether the regulations you have put before us today or the regulations that will come next week that cover Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, if you do attend a parliamentary sitting you would be breaking those regulations, because you've insinuated that in a tweet to me. So, can you point me where in these regulations I will be breaking those regulations by attending this Parliament, or indeed, Members of Parliament, such as Kevin Brennan, attending Westminster today, yet his parliamentary colleague from this institution is over in Cathays Park? I think that's an important question that you must answer if you're putting that assertion out there that parliamentarians are breaking the restrictions and not keeping Wales safe. We are all signed up to making sure that Wales is safe and we want to see the end of this virus. That is why today the Welsh Conservatives for the first time in tabling regulations will abstain on these regulations for the way that you're dealing with these matters in such a cavalier way.
I'd also like to seek clarification from you as well: do these regulations start the lockdown process on a more regional footing rather than a localised footing? Is it the case that there is now a lockdown time for pubs and social venues to shut, which is 10:20 rather than 10 o'clock? Because I notice in press comments that you put out last week that, actually, you would expect all social events to close by 10:20 rather than 10 o'clock. Is that included in the regulations or is that merely just your aspiration?
Again, I would ask to seek clarification as to which political leaders, political elected representatives are briefed on these regulations before they are made public, because again, on social media over the weekend, I did notice that some elected Members from other institutions were indicating that they'd spoken to the health Minister prior to these regulations coming out and being publicly available. That is unacceptable. Surely there is equality amongst elected Members, and Members, if they are briefed, should be briefed on an equal basis. I'd be grateful to understand how you go about briefing Members of an elected institution that isn't unanimously included in those briefings if they represent that particular area and play an important role in deciphering that information out to the communities they represent.