Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:13 pm on 6 October 2020.
We have here yet another very impressive Welsh Government document. It has much to commend it, but, once again, I must say, it does read like every other Government document. That might be the result of integrated thinking and working. It may not. I'm deeply concerned about where we are. I thought total lockdown was reasonable, considering all of the circumstances, but I, and many of the people who write to me, never consented to our liberty being curtailed for six months or more. And while there is some relaxation of rules and regulations, we are all aware that the most strict rules can be reimposed at very short notice. There is now talk of the circuit-breaker total lockdowns. The headlines, instead of screaming about numbers of deaths, are screaming about cases now. We're covering our faces. Once again we can't see our loved ones. People have been terrified, and some are still terrified, and Government messaging really doesn't help or instil the confidence needed for us all to play our part to get the country back onto its feet again. It's moved from flattening the curve to waiting for a vaccine, and no-one bothered to tell us when the goalposts again were moved. I know I've said all of this before, but I think it's worth saying again, because it is in this context that I read this document. So, now, there has been another national conversation. Your Government is responding energetically by building resilient communities, encouraging active travel and responding to the climate emergency. I've heard the First Minister say today that his Government is open to a discussion and ideas. However, that same Government doesn't appear to want to discuss the same things in the Senedd, preferring instead to talk to the press. It doesn't bode well, does it?
You talk about housing, and, in the light of the comments I've made over the last few weeks with regard to housing provision, as around 65,000 families are waiting for homes in Wales, I welcome the commitment to get as much out of social housing and council housing as possible, with an increase in the social housing grant. Housing is a need, and indeed your own Government has described it as a right. Your Government didn't need to wait until a pandemic decimated our economy to make this any sort of priority.
You mention resilient communities and our town centres. Our town centres are being destroyed by lockdown and all the more so with the kick in the teeth caused by a 10 p.m. curfew, so let's remember that a night out may also involve a new outfit, hair, nails, aftershave and so on, to bring the town centre back into play. So, further and continued measures will make businesses that may have survived a return to business unviable.
I've been very vocal in expressing my concerns about the other health crisis we're storing up in terms of waiting lists and mental health, so I'm pleased to see some well-thought-out interventions like town-centre endoscopy clinics. I remain deeply concerned about the impact on our collective mental health, and I know that the suicide rates have increased massively during this time.
We hear much about Welsh solutions, not wanting to follow England or indeed Scotland or Northern Ireland, but the fact of the matter is the Welsh approach has been broadly in line with other UK nations. We appear to be all in the same boat and none of us are going out of this anytime soon. I've seen many respected academics, scientists and physicians—sadly no-one advising the Government—say now that we need to learn to live with this virus like we live with colds, flu and cancer. It seems to me that much of the content in this document has been at your disposal and in your gift for a very long time. There was, in my view, no need to wait for it. Thank you.