Item 6 on the agenda is the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel and Restrictions) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2021, and I call on the Minister for Health and Social Services to move the motion—Vaughan Gething.

Motion NDM7546 Rebecca Evans

To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:

1. Approves The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel and Restrictions) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2021 laid in the Table Office on 8 January 2021.

Motion moved.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion before us today.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel and Restrictions) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2021 ensure travellers entering Wales from overseas countries and territories must isolate for 10 days, and provide passenger information. Amendments to those regulations are usually made under the negative procedure; because these regulations have amended both the international travel restrictions and the separate and more general Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020, they are, in this instance, subject to the affirmative procedure.

Members will be aware of a new variant of COVID-19 that was recently detected in South Africa. This is different to the UK variant, but may share similar properties in terms of higher transmissibility. Since 24 December, all travellers arriving into Wales from South Africa are therefore required to isolate, and will only be able to leave isolation in very limited circumstances, and there are no sectoral exemptions. Although most visitors from South Africa arrive via England, these further restrictions mean passenger planes and ships directly from South Africa, including accompanied freight, are no longer able to land or dock at Welsh ports. In line with the approach being taken by other Governments across the UK, including in England, these regulations also provide equivalent measures to other countries within Africa, including the Seychelles and Mauritius. All travellers arriving into Wales, who have been in these countries in the previous 10 days, will be required to isolate for 10 days, and will only be able to leave isolation, again, in very limited circumstances. These tighter restrictions also mean isolating requirements will apply to all members of their household. 

Further to these changes, over the weekend, we have suspended all travel corridors. This, again, is in line with similar action being taken in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Those wishing to travel to Wales will now need to provide a negative test before travelling, and quarantine for 10 days. The additional restrictions on travel from certain countries, such as those dealt with by the regulations being debated today, will continue to apply. I ask Members to support these regulations, which, I believe, are an essential part of helping to keep Wales safe. Thank you.

Thank you. Can I call on the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, Mick Antoniw?

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. We considered these regulations yesterday morning and our report's been laid in the Table Office in order to inform this afternoon's debate. Our report contains one technical reporting point, in addition to four merits reporting points.

In terms of the single technical point, we noted inconsistencies between the English and Welsh text in regulation 8(7), which deals with amendments to the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020. This inconsistency was important because the list of premises closed as a result of the regulations was different, depending upon which language version of the regulations you looked at. However, as noted at our meeting yesterday morning, and, as the Minister has said, the Welsh Government has addressed this issue in the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel and Restrictions) (Amendment) (No. 2) (Wales) Regulations 2021, which were made last Friday.

Some of the merits points in our report will be familiar to Members. Once again, we have noted the Welsh Government’s justification for potential interference with human rights. We have also noted there's been no formal consultation on these regulations and neither has a regulatory impact assessment been carried out.

Our fourth and final merits point highlights typographical errors in the footnotes to the regulations, which are being addressed. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.

Thank you, Minister, for moving the regulations this afternoon. We will be supporting these regulations. Obviously, we've had additional information as the week progressed last week about other new variant strains of the virus from Brazil and South America. Last week, I did ask you the specific question about whether you had any concerns about other countries and whether other conditions or restrictions would have to be imposed. At that point, on the Tuesday, you were unable to highlight any concerns, but, within 24 hours, we were alerted to the fact about the Brazilian strain and additional restrictions that might need to be put in. I appreciate these restrictions that we're voting on this afternoon do not refer to that, but I think it would be helpful if, in closing this part of the debate, you could highlight how Welsh Government is kept informed of the evolving situation around mutant strains of the virus, because, as night follows day, there certainly will be additional mutant strains across other continents happening, and I think it's important we try and understand how these decisions around travel restrictions are reached so that we can have assurances that the Welsh Government are playing a full part in reaching those decisions.

Thank you. I have no Members who've requested to make an intervention. Therefore, I call on the Minister for Health and Social Services to reply to the debate.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Again, I thank the legislation and justice committee for their scrutiny. It does help us to make sure that our regulations are consistent, and we pick up potential drafting errors that do get picked up by the committee, so, again, I'm grateful to them for the job they continue to do to make sure that legislation is fit for purpose.

On the comments from the opposition spokesperson, the Conservative health spokesperson, I would make it plain and clear we have a regular weekly meeting between the four Governments in the UK to review travel matters. Within those regular meetings, we consider changes to the environment, to case rates in other parts of the world. That's where we lead to case rates in general being updated, and, to be fair, most of the time those are no longer controversial choices, and, most of the time, the four Governments are moving at the same pace.

Brazil is a different case in point, though, because that came from the evidence of a new strain, a strain of concern, because, as you'll have heard from the deputy chief medical officer and others on a repeated number of occasions, every virus mutates and changes. It's part of the reason why we have to have a seasonal flu campaign, because there are different strains of the flu that circulate each year that can potentially cause different levels of harm. Most of the new variants that arise are not variants of concern. What does happen is when one, as the Kent variant does, has higher levels of transmission, that's a variant of concern, because it changes the behaviour in a way that gives it a competitive advantage and potentially means that it will cause more harm. We've seen that in the South African transmission. We are always concerned about other variations that take place.

We're informed in Wales by our links with other colleagues in Public Health England, as indeed are other parts of the UK, for their international surveillance work and the work that is generally done both in the UK and further afield on genomic sequencing and understanding of variants of concern. I hope that across this Chamber there'll be some real pride in Wales's role in understanding and contributing to genomic sequencing. We punch well above our weight, not just internationally, but within the UK as well, for the amount we're doing to understand those different strains of the virus. So, that's partly about the work that we do ourselves, partly about the work we do with other parts of the UK and internationally. And I hope that Members are reassured about the fact that that information is shared openly and transparently between all public health agencies within the UK, all of our chief medical officers and scientific advisers, and, indeed, Ministers, when it comes to decision making. That's why the choices that we're making today are ones that are consistently made in other parts of the UK as well, and it's why, when we do come to debate the new impositions that were put in at pace in terms of Brazil and similar countries, you'll find that other parts of the UK have moved at a similar pace and time frame. I hope that answers the Member's questions and provides people with the assurance that I know they'll look for. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. 

Thank you. The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? I don't see an objection, therefore the motion is agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.