Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for European Transition (in respect of his European Transition responsibilities) – in the Senedd at 2:49 pm on 7 October 2020.
Thank you for that answer, Minister, but there has been precious little evidence so far that you're taking the impact of the coronavirus on older people seriously. I was very surprised when I saw the coronavirus reconstruction challenges and priorities document published yesterday, with not a single reference to older people actually being in it. I understand that you've held a number of round-tables, including one that was entitled, and I quote, 'Planning for Economic and Social recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic: Annex 2: Vulnerable Groups'. Yet even that particular round-table did not involve anybody from the older people's commissioner's office. In fact, I understand that the older people's commissioner was not invited to meet you and, in fact, her office had to make a request to meet you and it wasn't until that time that you actually did meet with her to discuss her concerns around the impact on older people. So, can I ask you: why is it that you've got such a blind spot for older people as a Welsh Government when it comes to including them within your COVID reconstruction efforts?