Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:49 pm on 27 January 2021.
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and can I thank all Members for their contributions? No-one is suggesting this is easy, which is why congratulating the UK Government on securing supplies so quickly really shouldn't have been very difficult. But I'm afraid, Minister, that you and the First Minister have made this a far more fraught experience that it needed to be, because of the poor communication surrounding your plans, as pointed out by Laura Jones. I think the least you can do is get that right, because you need our constituents to trust you. Our poor old health boards are dealing with all this; they're having to divert precious time answering constituents' questions on all this because of your central messaging—for example, one constituent who writes, 'My father has had a letter from the NHS informing him that his surgery will notify him when he is due to have the vaccine. The surgery has a note on its website saying that they will be notified by the NHS when they are due to receive the vaccine.' The NHS advice on avoiding scams quotes:
'The COVID-19 vaccine is free of charge' we
'will never ask for…personal documents to prove your identity such as your passport, driving licence, bills or pay slips.'
But the letter inviting you to the mass-vaccination centre says, 'When you attend, please bring with you some ID, such as your passport, driving licence or utility bill in your name.'
Vaccinations for school staff administering intimate care to pupils who need it—do I really need to go through the three versions of that announcement? Or that question about students on health work placements being entitled to vaccinations—now, clearly, universities didn't know what was going on at the time, and they still don't. Just today, this from a letter from a Welsh university to a student: 'I'm aware that some of you have had COVID-19 vaccinations whilst on placement, but we currently have no data on vaccine uptake availability to students and would like more information on this'. On top of that, we've got the corkers that the vaccine is being eked out so that vaccinators aren't standing around doing nothing, and 42,000 over-80s waiting for their jabs because of snow. I don't think so—I think Angela Burns has got you there.
So, there's no getting away from the fact that Wales has been behind the other UK nations on this—boy, you really have been pushing out on catch-up these last couple of days, but you're still behind, as Mark Reckless pointed out. We do all say a massive 'thank you' to those who've been diverted to this work and who are volunteering in support roles, but you could have saved yourself and our constituents a lot of heartache by temporarily appointing a Minister with focused responsibility for the vaccination programme. You've heard today from Janet Finch-Saunders how inconsistent the roll-out has been. Despite your—[Inaudible.]—it's not seven days a week everywhere. But if, as Jenny Rathbone says, that's not how Government works, then she's making it clear that it's you, Minister, that has to carry the can for the failures here.