Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I'll certainly take note of what you've said. We are, of course, facing a real public health crisis of a depth that none of us have experienced before, but I think we also have a crisis in terms of how we deal with this public health emergency. We also have a crisis about how we debate and discuss and communicate with each other. Deputy Presiding Officer, we discuss many matters here in this Parliament, but we have significant responsibilities in these particular matters, and I have to say that rarely in the years that I've sat here have I felt the weight of this responsibility so heavily on our shoulders as it is today and in these times.

It is clear to me that the virus is spreading quickly and, therefore, the Welsh Government must take urgent action to protect public health, and the Welsh Government must have the freedom to take such action. I hear what Members say about us voting on these matters, and I've always been the first person to defend the rights of this Parliament, but the Government must also be able to act when necessary.

And I'll say this to the Conservatives: I listened to the Conservative spokesperson who disappointed me for the second time today, I'm afraid to say. I asked the Government for the advice upon which they're taking decisions on hospitality, I think it was last week. I intervened on the First Minister to say that we need to ensure that this advice is published alongside the decision. That advice has been published and, unlike the Conservatives, I've taken some time to read that advice and to read it in detail. And I have to say this: the advice from the scientific community, the advice from the medical community to the Government certainly does justify the decisions that the Government have taken. The advice also is very clear that the regional approach that was tested earlier this year did not have the same effect as national regulations. That was also in the advice. The advice was also very clear in what it said about hospitality. I've shared this advice with publicans in my own constituency. They've taken the time to read it and they understand it. It isn't too much to ask, Deputy Presiding Officer, that the main opposition party here does the same.

It is important that the Welsh Government continues to publish and to put into the public domain as much information as is possible, at the time when it takes decisions on regulations. The people of Blaenau Gwent are facing one of the most difficult situations our community has faced. We know and we understand the gravity of the situation facing us. Today's statistics tell us that 574 cases per 100,000 population reflects what we were told last week by the health board. The health board told us that our hospitals in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area are facing a real crisis. The people that we rely on and trust to staff those hospitals are under more pressure today than they've been at any time. There are more people today in hospital in Gwent as a consequence of the coronavirus than there has been at any time over the last nine months. These aren't matters that we can wish away, and they aren't matters that we can ignore because it is politically expedient to do so. The health board was clear, speaking to us as elected representatives, that they support what the Welsh Government is doing, and in fact want the Welsh Government to move further more quickly. It is time for us to listen to what the doctors and the medical staff and the scientific community tell us. Anybody who seeks elected office, and anybody who seeks to govern this country, has a particular responsibility to listen and to react and to follow that advice.

The people of Blaenau Gwent feel this very heavily. I speak and they understand what is happening here in Wales. They also understand the restrictions taking place elsewhere across the European Union and throughout the United Kingdom. They understand the tier 3 restrictions in England. They understand what level 3 and what level 4 in Scotland means. They know what we're facing. The Government must work with them to explain and to publish the information, and opposition parties must support what is right and not try to score points in a sterile political debate. It is time for us as a country to stand together, and it is time for us as a country not simply to clap for the national health service, but to protect it, and that means voting for the difficult decisions that we have all been elected to take.