In Wales, the situation is stark. In just six very short weeks, we have moved from having very low levels of coronavirus to high levels of infection spreading rapidly within our nation, and this is despite the knowledge and understanding that without localised health protection areas, the situation and virus prevalence would have been even worse, with more deaths, and not just of the very elderly.

As the Member of this Senedd representing the communities of Islwyn, I support fully the Welsh Government's time-limited firebreak. We know that this pandemic is entering another serious phase and, colleagues, it is above party politics, but that does not mean that, where the UK Government is failing, I will not call this out, because policies matter and can either save lives or end them. Just a look around the world shows rapid rises, as has been acknowledged, in cases, hospitalisations and deaths across this globe. Cases are soaring once again, and how Governments and public health agencies react determines death rates. Doing nothing is not an option. 

The Welsh Government's technical advisory group's published report explains in detail why the Welsh Government are following the science, the medical and science professionals, TAC, and SAGE—the UK Government's own technical advisory group. According to the latest figures, the growth rate of positive cases is around 4 per cent a day in Wales, and TAC's worst-case scenario projections predict 18,000 hospitalisations and 6,000 deaths due to COVID-19 over the winter period. So, the question really to be put is: do you want to wait for that scenario? And as Welsh doctor, Matt Morgan, stated publicly, I urge the people of Islwyn and Wales to,

'Follow the advice now so that when we meet again, no one will be missing.'

Those are very serious words. This firebreak will save significant numbers of lives—COVID and others. But moreover, experts state we must be prepared for the rate to rise after the firebreak, due to the nature of the incubation period, the length of stay in critical care beds, and the actual nature of this virus. But it will help to stop the NHS from being overwhelmed, and the firebreak will therefore ease capacity for cardiac, stroke and all other non-COVID care. It is important to state that this firebreak is not just about COVID; it is about an available NHS for the many, of all ages and conditions. I want to thank sincerely my constituents in Islwyn who have made such strong and determined continued sacrifices, and observed the recent localised rules in the Caerphilly county borough area. Thank you so much, everyone, because you are saving lives, and as the TAC report states,

'local restrictions currently in place across many local authorities in Wales has led to a significant slowdown in the current wave of the pandemic.'

We have collectively slowed that spread, but we need to slow that spread even faster, because this is not just health and medical specialists who say this, or those who have come through the disease. In fact, the First Minister spoke for us all, cross-party, I believe, when he said,

'We all want to see an end to this pandemic and our lives returned to us.'

However, until that day comes, I greatly welcome the Welsh Labour Government's creation today of a £300 million extra economic resilience fund, and it's further adding £150 million to its existing ERF. In Islwyn every business covered by the small business rate relief will now receive a £1,000 payment and any small retail, hospitality and leisure business will get a one-off payment of up to £5,000. But it is only the UK Government, as has been said, who have the financial firepower to guarantee the income support that workers need. Llywydd, this is, in one way, simple. It is about the United Kingdom working as it should, that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak act decisively, in co-ordination with the Welsh Government, to save Welsh workers and the Welsh economy, and ultimately do all they can to protect citizens—the primary and overriding first duty of any Government.