Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:09 pm on 15 June 2021.
Today I have been contacted by the parents of a young couple due to marry on 22 June. The couple have already postponed their wedding twice after being led to believe, from statements made by the First Minister on 14 May, that the regulations would change from 7 June to allow 50 people to attend a wedding reception indoors, rather than the 30, as it is now. They now face the very difficult decision, with a week to go, of disappointing 10 family members, which we all know is difficult enough when you can have unlimited amounts. There are countless other couples in the same position, such as a couple due to marry in a fortnight in Ceredigion, where, unfortunately, the bride has recently received a terminal diagnosis and would love more than anything to marry indoors, surrounded by 70 family members and friends.
I'm also aware of another couple living in Church Village who are due to marry in August, who, only yesterday, wrote to the First Minister on behalf of a number of couples with a number of innovative ideas linked to making weddings indoors possible for more people. And they're also perplexed, given the positive progress made here in Wales on the vaccination programme, why this can't happen.
Is it an oversight on behalf of the Welsh Government that the numbers allowed indoors for a wedding reception haven't yet been revised, and are there any plans to urgently change this? I think it's especially perplexing for couples that the number for outdoor wedding receptions has been revised and that they can have up to 10,000 people seated attending, which would be a massive wedding. But, can you provide any good news for those couples today and all the businesses linked to the wedding industry?