Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:44 pm on 23 February 2021.
First Minister, it is a matter of regret that certain cohorts of children will not be going back to school until after Easter, and that is the choice that you are taking, despite saying it is your No. 1 priority to get schoolchildren back to face-to face learning as quickly as possible. I was very specific in the way I asked the question about using the headroom that is available through the month of March to allow this to happen in a more timely manner. Regrettably, you chose not to engage with that, and it is a fact that the Government will be leaving a significant cohort of pupils out of school. That is a choice that the Government is taking.
If we look at choices and priorities, the Federation of Small Businesses have talked about radio silence coming from the Government today when it comes to interacting with business over the conditions that the Government would expect to see before opening up swathes of the economy. It is unfortunate that such a substantial business organisation has referred to radio silence coming from the Welsh Government and a lack of a road map being put in place so business can understand what would be expected of them from the Government before they reopen. Can you use this Plenary opportunity to put on the record what conditions you expect to be in place before parts of the economy are reopened and business can plan accordingly? Will you confirm whether you will be bringing forward a road map that has clear gateways and conditions to travel through so that businesses know when they will be able to reopen and begin trading? Because that would be the best recovery any business can expect to have—by trading under normal conditions.