UK Workers' Rights

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:08 pm on 26 January 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:08, 26 January 2021

Llywydd, the Member's attempt to defend the UK Government's record in this matter barely amounted to being feeble. No doubt she was briefed on the fact that in the House of Commons debate on this matter yesterday, Tory backbencher after backbencher queued up to praise the advantages of what they call flexibility and a bonfire of red tape, and we know what that means. We know that in the hands of the Conservative Party that means a bonfire of the rights of workers, hard-won rights, which, of course, her party has opposed at every possible opportunity.

As far as the self-isolation support scheme is concerned, about 20,000 applications have been received, just under 10,000 have been approved. Over 6,000 people have already received payments. That totals over £3 million. The NHS app is the responsibility of the English health department. It has to help to make sure that the app that it provides is suitable for use in Wales. In the meantime, we will find a workaround so that people who are notified through the app do not lose out on self-isolation support payments here in Wales, because we will take that responsibility, even while her party, which is actually in charge of the problem that she has identified, fails to do so.