Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:21 pm on 23 February 2021.
First Minister, that's really good news on the learning disability issue. Are you able to offer equally good news for unpaid carers? Because my inbox, and I'm sure every other Senedd Member's inbox, is absolutely full of people who are unpaid carers, desperate to have a vaccine, because if they get sick, the people who need their help—the elderly relative or the disabled child, whoever it may be—don't have anyone else to look after them. I note with the JCVI that they do talk about the whole caring situation, and they do have an addendum, and it says:
'Other groups at higher risk, including those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill, should also be offered vaccination alongside these groups.'
There's a number of instances where either you or the health Minister has said, 'Yes, the decision's coming; it's going to happen', and then it's been put off while you're waiting to see what the JCVI say. They already say that, so are you able to offer the same kind of hope to those unpaid carers who are so desperate and so worried over this issue?