Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:03 pm on 11 November 2020.
Just a few comments from me on this. It's always good to see so much engagement with the Senedd, and I congratulate the petitioner in that sense. In terms of this petition, I think the fact that so many people did sign it shows that this is an issue that did generate genuine interest. It became a national debate. It's also evidence that Welsh Government failed to do what they needed to do to ensure that (1) their policy intentions were clear, and that communication around this was effective. I said that previously, at the start of the firebreak period—I could see what the Government was trying to do in terms of this policy on essential goods only, and I understood why the Conservatives pursued the issue of protecting smaller retailers, but I thought that something had gone seriously wrong in the way that this was done. The Government did respond then with some clarity. We see the problem in the wording of the petition:
'We do not agree for example that parents should be barred from buying clothes for their children during lockdown while out shopping.'
Ministers then said, 'Listen, if somebody really needs something, of course they can buy clothes for their children'. That kind of message was needed before this, and clarity as well on how that would happen, rather than putting the pressure on shop workers. So, there are lessons, I hope, that have been learned from that. But we have to say this as well: the attitude of the Conservatives was very insulting throughout all of this.