Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:08 pm on 23 June 2021.
Thank you for raising this issue. We do have a civil contingencies unit within the Welsh Government, and work is under way to examine the preparations and planning of all parts of Welsh Government in terms of what we need to do alongside partners for future pandemics, learning from our experiences during this one. Of course, funding forms part of those considerations, but it is dependent on the upcoming comprehensive spending review in terms of providing that certainty through multi-year budgets. I do think, moving forward, we have really, really strong foundations on which to build. The work that we've done in partnership with local authorities and through our support in the local government COVID hardship fund has really been, I think, exemplary in many ways in terms of meeting local communities' needs. So, we'll need to find ways in which we can continue to build on what we have so that we are ready for anything that requires a civil contingencies response. Of course, we fervently hope that there is not another pandemic, but absolutely, we need to prepare for everything.