We have by now discussed and voted on a number of regulations, and this is one of the most significant. We are talking here about very far-reaching regulations—national restrictions that are severe and that have an impact on everyone. We will be voting in favour of these regulations today, which have now been in force for more than 11 days. I and Plaid Cymru argued that such restrictions were necessary and, if anything, they should have been introduced a little earlier. We have seen in England the implications of failing to take action as swiftly, as they start a longer lockdown on Thursday, but I do wish the Government in England well with their efforts now in trying to control the virus. So, we’re talking about very significant regulations here, with a broad range of restrictions. We do agree with them and we see that there is a suite of restrictions here, if you like, that were very timely indeed.

I do have to refer to Part 3, which refers to businesses and services, with many of them having to close. This was the section that led to a very lively national debate. Discussion, criticism and holding Government to account are very important indeed. I’ve questioned a number of aspects of the Welsh Government’s response to this pandemic, and I’ve tried to do that in a way that’s constructive. And, for me, it was very disappointing to see the Conservatives doing their best to create and encourage division over the issue of selling essential goods only. Unless you want to be linked to the kinds of conspiracy theorists that deny the dangers of the virus, then be very careful in playing such games. Unfortunately, that’s the tone that we have just heard from the Conservative health spokesperson, which very much contradicts the tone of the Conservative leader earlier today. I would just make that comment.

As it happens, I have stated clearly that I believe that the Government made a mistake on the issue of sale of some goods in supermarkets. I understand what they were trying to do, I think. Indeed, the Conservatives themselves had called for assurances that supermarkets couldn’t undermine small, local shops. But the way in which this was handled by the Government—the messaging and the practical impact as it was felt by people, people not understanding why the Government was doing this, and people feeling that it didn’t make sense—was all very unfortunate, I believe, and I did ask the Government to think again. There was some clearer messaging, but I do hope that lessons have been learned. I certainly agree with what we heard from Mick Antoniw, as Chair of the legislation committee, in that we need to look anew at the kind of guidance introduced around these regulations. If I’m not entirely content with the content of that section of the regulations, why are we supporting them today? Well, I don’t think that the problem is with the regulations; it’s the way that they were implemented that was the problem, and the lack of clarity in terms of the guidance. I also think it was very important that we did have this firebreak.

But I will conclude with this point, which I’ve made on a number of occasions, and which is that this firebreak does have to be a new beginning in terms of having a new strategy. We’ve heard about some of the new restrictions, such as the lower level that will be introduced on a national basis from next week onwards. I do believe that we should be cautious. The core principle for me is to have as few restrictions as possible but to implement them effectively. Of course, the smallest number of restrictions do have to be significant at times, but that's the principle that I've adhered to. But not only must we have the right restrictions in place, we must certainly strengthen the testing process, making it more robust and ensuring that people have confidence in that process. I'm very disappointed to hear that the testing centre in Llangefni will close on Sunday. Well, now's not the time to be closing testing centres; now is the time to ensure that there is resilience in place and that new techniques and new skills in testing provide us with a system that is more robust and brings results quicker. However, we support these regulations.