The next item is the business statement and announcement, and I call on the Trefnydd to make that statement. Rebecca Evans. 

Diolch, Llywydd. There is one change to this week's business. The debate on the general principles and financial resolution in respect of the Welsh Elections (Coronavirus) Bill has been added as the last item of business before voting today. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which is available to Members electronically. 

Andrew R.T. Davies. 

Thank you. 

I caught you there, didn't I?

You did, Presiding Officer. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Business manager, could I have a statement from the health Minister, please, in relation to the new variants that are currently being identified across the United Kingdom? I appreciate there's a vaccination statement later on this afternoon, but I don't think it is appropriate to mix the two up, to be honest with you, and a direct statement from the Minister would be beneficial for Members to understand what actions the Welsh Government is taking, along with other Governments across the UK, especially in relation to the new Kent variant, E484K, given the high incidence of the Kent variant in Wales, and, obviously, the travel restrictions that have been imposed in relation to the Brazilian variant.

Thank you to Andrew R.T. Davies for raising that particular issue, and I will speak to the health Minister to explore what is the best way to keep Members updated in terms of the emergence of new variants and, particularly, the variant of concern to which the Member refers. As we say, we do have a statement on vaccinations next today, but I will explore what further information might be provided usefully to Members.

May I ask for an oral statement from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs on the response to the recent flooding in communities across Wales? Of course, I welcome the commitment to provide financial support to the homes and businesses affected, and we need assurances that that will be paid immediately and not in two months' time, as happened in similar cases last year, of course. But, we also need to ensure that the Welsh Government does work closely with local authorities and NRW to ensure that any improvements necessary to the flood prevention infrastructure in those areas that experienced recent disasters and that the work needed there is done immediately. They might be temporary improvements in the short term, but we must avoid further cases of flooding in those areas that have already been hit.

Also, we need to ensure that those who were almost affected by flooding—and I know of many dozens of homes that came within inches of being flooded—are given the equipment and advice needed to protect their homes as a matter of urgency. I'm talking about things like floodgates here. The concern about flooding has a grave impact on people's mental health, never mind the fact that investing to avoid flooding in the first place would make much more sense than having to deal with the outcomes of flooding when it's already too late. 

May I also ask for a statement from the Minister for Housing and Local Government, given the totally inadequate response from the First Minister to my question a few moments ago on the population estimates used by the Welsh Government, and the grave inconsistency that's now been highlighted between the projections used as part of the local government funding formula for next year's budget, and the projections used for the LDPs? One in Wrexham says that the population will be static, and the other in Wrexham says that the population is going to increase substantially. I would assume that this is a cause for embarrassment for this Government and something that you and every other Minister would be eager to sort out once and for all.

Well, I think that the First Minister's response to the question raised during First Minister's questions today was quite clear. However, I will invite you to write to the Minister for Housing and Local Government, setting out your concerns, so that you can receive a written response in respect of that.

On the matter of flooding, I completely agree that it is important that individuals affected by flooding do get that financial assistance as quickly as possible, but then also the assistance in terms of information and advice as well. I do note that the order paper for tomorrow does have several questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs in relation to flooding, and particularly the recent impact of storm Christoph. So, that might be an early opportunity to hear from the Minister on these matters.   

I raised the issue of the differential economic impact of the coronavirus on deprived communities during First Minister's questions. I would like to ask for a Government debate on this matter. This is something that has been the subject of a number of different studies and reports and analyses over the last few months, and it will set the agenda for the Government's approach, I would hope, over the coming weeks and months to these matters. I think that it is important to have a debate in Government time on the differential economic impact of coronavirus on different communities.

The second issue that I would like to raise, Minister, is the reduction in time available on statements and debates, at present, to 30 minutes. This significantly reduces the opportunity for backbenchers to raise issues on behalf of their constituents. I recognise that we're all working under different constraints at the moment, but it is important that it remains a Parliament, and that means that all of us have an equal opportunity to raise matters that are important to our constituents and our constituencies. The reduction of time available for us to do that significantly impacts our ability to do so, and I would be grateful if that matter could be reviewed.   

So, on that second point, that matter is kept under review constantly within the Business Committee and, inevitably, we do have to make some difficult decisions in terms of both the business that we table and also the amount of time which we're able to give to it, given the constrained ways under which we are currently working. But as I said, we do keep this constantly under review because it's absolutely not the intention to curtail the opportunity for scrutiny. So, I do take that point very much on board.

And then the second point was regarding the differential impact of the coronavirus on communities across Wales and, absolutely, that will be important in terms of defining the way forward and the kind of recovery that we have, which has to be a green and fair recovery where nobody is left behind. And I know that colleagues will consider the best way to have that discussion.

I call for a Welsh Government statement on shopping arrangements for blind and partially sighted people. Welsh Government officials, I understand, are working with supermarkets to improve their coronavirus safety measures. Proposed measures include systems to manage the number of customers in store, more visible signage and hygiene stations, and increased social distancing markers. RNIB Cymru have been approached by a number of their members worried about what these new restrictions might mean for them. Social distancing is near impossible for blind and partially sighted people, and navigating queues and altered store layouts has been extremely challenging for them throughout the whole pandemic. RNIB Cymru are therefore calling for guidance to be issued through supermarkets and essential retailers to make staff aware of the types of assistance and adjustments they can offer to blind and partially sighted customers. Blind and partially sighted customers need to know both how the Welsh Government intends to address the issue of access to supermarkets for them, and what guidance it will be issuing to retailers to raise staff awareness and make sure vulnerable people are not disadvantaged even further. I call for a statement accordingly.

I'm grateful to Mark Isherwood for raising the important issue of the experience of blind and partially sighted people in supermarkets during the current restrictions. I know that it does make situations particularly difficult for them, especially when people don't always understand that blind and partially sighted people might find it more difficult to maintain that social distance, and so forth. I'm aware myself of the RNIB work, but I will ensure that the health Minister—although I'm sure he's already familiar with it—does review that, with a view to exploring what more we can say to ensure that people aren't disadvantaged and that awareness is heightened as much as possible.

Can we have a statement on the number of pupils who are without either a device or internet access in order to do their home schooling? Does the Government have an idea of the number of children without the means to participate in online school lessons? Because if the Government is serious about eliminating the link between school attainment and poverty, then this issue should be a top priority. And the fact that there are children without the means to do online schooling nearly a year since we first went into lockdown means that that link between education attainment and poverty will be amplified. I've had parents and teachers approach me to say that this is still an issue in the Rhondda. In England, children without internet access in their homes have been promised free and unlimited data until the end of the academic year, and this scheme came about as a result of the Department for Education in England teaming up with internet providers. I hope we can have a similar scheme adopted in Wales soon, and I would like an indication from the Government if and when you are able to provide one.  

I'll certainly ask the education Minister to provide an update on that specific issue, but I can say that Welsh Government has been very proactive in terms of providing devices for children and young people to use in order to access the online and blended learning. Just before Christmas, we announced a further £11 million to purchase a number of devices—I think, at the time, it was 35,000 devices—which would take the number of devices distributed to children and young people across Wales to 133,000 during the course of the pandemic. I think that's quite a significant achievement. And we also recognise that it's difficult for some children to get online, so we've also distributed more than 11,000 Mi-Fi devices, so that children and young people who don't have that reliable connection at home can do so. Clearly, if there's more to do, then we would want to do it, so I will ensure that the education Minister provides the update to that specific question.

May I ask for an oral statement or a debate in Government time on nitrate vulnerable zones? I note that the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths is answering questions tomorrow and put out a written statement, but the timing of that written statement was such that there is no opportunity for ordinary Members of the Senedd to ask questions at that session tomorrow. The Minister said, back on 8 April last year, that she would bring in regulations only when the crisis comes to an end. Then, on 16 September last year, she said,

'What I have committed to is not bringing them forward whilst we're in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic',  and then, on 14 October,

'I have committed not to do anything while we are at the height of the pandemic.' 

Is it thus the Welsh Government position that we are past the height of the pandemic and no longer in its middle, and that it will come to an end by 1 April? If so, why are we debating emergency legislation later to potentially delay the election from 6 May? I think the Minister needs to give us an explanation on the matter of what she said before, and also an explanation of why the whole of Wales has been a nitrate vulnerable zone under her regulations, at great cost to farmers, many of whom aren't responsible for these problems and don't farm in areas of Wales where they're widespread. Why can't we have a similar system to that which the UK Government has for England, where areas only become NVZs where the incidence is high or where there is a particular problem?

Well, the First Minister did answer some questions on this during First Minister's questions this afternoon, but it is the case that the Minister used the negative procedure to lay the regulations, because that is the system set out in law. However, the Business Committee has today agreed a debate on the annulment of the regulations, and that will be debated by the Senedd in due course.

I wonder if I could ask for a statement from the health Minister on the continuation of telemedical abortion services? These have been absolutely vital during the pandemic lockdown to enable women to access early medical abortions without having to leave their homes. I wrote to the Minister in November on behalf of the women's health cross-party group, pointing out the discussion that we'd had, with the involvement of all seven health boards, about the transformational use of telemedicine to enable women to get that early consultation without risk and the safety and efficacy of it. Actually, for women living in rural areas, where they're some distance away from clinics that provide these services, it's been transformational, and I just wondered if we could have a statement to find out whether or not this excellent way of delivering prudent healthcare can be continued on a more permanent basis.

Well, the arrangement was put in place during the pandemic to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, and it's currently time limited for two years or until the pandemic is over, whichever is earliest. But, on 1 December, the Welsh Government did publish a consultation, seeking views on whether to make permanent the current temporary arrangements, and this consultation will run until 23 February. It's available on the Welsh Government website. So, when we have those responses to the consultation, a decision will be made. But, of course, I encourage Jenny Rathbone to make her submission to that.

Trefnydd, can I call for a statement on vaccination and its potential to enabling earlier return to the classroom for students and pupils across Wales? I held a briefing last week, in conjunction with the Israeli embassay, from Dr Asher Salmon, who is the director of international relations at the Israeli ministry for health. The Israeli Government has a taken a conscious decision, because it wanted to get children and young people back into their education, to actually vaccinate teachers and other school staff in order to accelerate that opportunity to return them to the classroom. I think it would be useful to have a statement on whether this is something that the Welsh Government has considered, in order to help clarify the position of the Welsh Government in relation to this matter. Thank you.

We do have the statement on vaccination as the next item of business this afternoon, so this might be a further opportunity to hear from the Minister in this regard. But it's been very much the case that the Welsh Government has been following the advice of the JCVI in terms of schedule that it has set out, in order to maintain the approach that we've taken throughout the pandemic of following the science and listening to what the experts tell us in terms of how to minimise the number of deaths for people across Wales. But, as I say, there's a statement next, so it might be a chance to hear a little bit more from the health Minister.

And finally, Delyth Jewell.

Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to ask for a statement, please, explaining why some care homes have been deprioritised for vaccines. I've been contacted by a small care home in Caerphilly county borough who are really upset that their residents are no longer due to be vaccinated in the first two priority groups. They were originally told that all care home residents would be vaccinated in the first group, but adults in some residential care settings have now been moved to group six. They assume that this is because they're small. They care for residents with learning disabilities, but the residents of this care home are all over 65. People working there feel that they've been treated unfairly because they're expected to follow the same guidelines and the same rules as every other care home, and there's not been any justification given as yet why their residents have been deprioritised. I know the council have been very helpful, and the home would want me to say that the council has helped them to make sure that all staff have been vaccinated, but they can't do the same for residents because of this change in prioritisation.

Trefnydd, very shortly before Plenary today, Members were sent a vaccination update by the health Minister, which talks about older people care homes. I'd like to know if this qualification means that care homes who are defined as caring for residents with learning disabilities are being neglected here, even if the residents are over 65. Has this change in prioritisation been done so that the Welsh Government can claim it has vaccinated all care homes for older people? Because this would clearly not be true. Yesterday, the Welsh Government claimed that all care homes were either being or had been vaccinated, when, in fact, small care homes like this haven't been. So, I would like a justification for what is published, please, so that it can be shown to the care homes. Because if this has been a retrospective change, I really worry that this could be discriminatory, because many of the residents of this home, because of their age, would have qualified for vaccines already if they didn't have the disabilities. 

Thank you for raising this specific issue on behalf of that care home. The Minister will be making a statement on vaccinations and vaccines as the next item of business today, so there could be an opportunity to raise that then. But, if not, if you write to the health Minister or myself with the specific details of the care home to which you refer, we can look into this in further detail and provide that detailed answer that you're after.

Thank you, Trefnydd.