The next item is the business statement and announcement, and I call on the Trefnydd to make that statement—Lesley Griffiths.

Diolch, Llywydd. There are no changes to this week's business. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Business Minister, it's all very well the education Minister announcing a seismic change in education's handling of the biggest crisis that they've faced to the press first—announcing this massive shift in responsibility and any chance of blame for getting rid of the masks, bubbles and social distancing to individual schools. Could the Minister ask the Minister to please make an urgent statement on this floor of the Chamber, rather than to a press briefing, outlining how exactly he is going to ensure that there is now not going to be a postcode lottery in regard to the provision of education in Wales?

And on the back of that announcement also, Llywydd, may I ask the relevant Minister for urgent clarity on mask wearing, and with a particular emphasis on the stance on masks in classrooms, where the Government's own scientific advisers have said that they do more harm than good? How can this Government tell everyone you're being a 100 per cent led by science, and then shift accountability for decision making on something you claim to be so important, such as wearing a mask, to people not privy to the same scientific advice? This is not fair to the headteachers of our schools. And I would also warn that this sends a confusing message to the public of Wales, as to whether the scientific advice actually needs to be adhered to. Can I urge the Minister for some clarity from the Minister on this change on this floor in this Chamber? Thank you.

I think the press conferences—and you referred to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language's press conference yesterday—have been very good in getting information out to the public, the people who are most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the regulations that we've brought in place, and the Minister comes before this Chamber most weeks in relation to his portfolio.

In relation to masks in classrooms, again, as a Government, we haven't just given out the decisions that we've taken; we have made sure that people are aware why we've taken those decisions, and I'm sure the leader of the opposition will be aware. I know you've had meetings with our chief scientific adviser and our chief medical officer when we've made those decisions, and the science behind them. So, that evidence and that science is absolutely available.

I'd like to raise a matter that the Trefnydd will be familiar with in her ministerial role. Over the past few weeks and months, her counterparts in Scotland, Northern Ireland and England have worked with partners in the sector to create a catch-and-release programme for Atlantic bluefin tuna, which has become prominent in the seas around the Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion coasts, which is good news, of course. Similar programmes, which combine marine science and commercial fishery, have brought dual benefits in terms of gathering data on the one hand and an economic boost for coastal communities on the other. Similar programmes are already in place in countries such as Sweden, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. Unfortunately, in Wales, we are a little bit behind on this, and it appears that Welsh Government officials have not included in discussions important partners, such as the Welsh Federation of Sea Anglers, who could provide expertise and important information if they had an opportunity to contribute. So, even though I wrote this morning to the Minister outlining the case in greater detail, may I ask, as a matter of urgency, for a statement from the Government before the summer on their plans to introduce a similar catch-and-release tagging—CHART—programme in Wales? With the tuna season starting in August, we don't want this ship to sail across the UK with Wales left behind onshore, losing out on the benefits that could be significant for our coastal communities. Thank you.

Diolch. I haven't had sight of the letter that you wrote to me this morning, but I do know there is some advice sitting on my desk upstairs that I will certainly clear before the end of this week, and I will ensure that I write to the Member with a response to his letter, with my decision.

Can I ask for an urgent Government statement on cladding on buildings? In Swansea East and the SA1 area, there are several buildings with cladding and a large number of very concerned individuals, regarding the cost of removal and making it safe. I know this problem is replicated in other constituencies, including Swansea West and including Cardiff—I'm not going to make a list of them because I'll probably get some wrong. But people require help and an answer to dealing with this problem. People are having sleepless nights. We often talk about people's mental health being damaged. When you find you've got a £100,000 or £150,000-building and you find that it's now worth nothing and you're still paying for it, I can't think of anything worse to affect your mental health. So, I think it really is important that we get a statement of what the Welsh Government can do, what negotiations they're having with Westminster about it, because there are a lot of people who are very, very worried.

The Member raises a very important point, and, of course, this Government wants to ensure high-rise buildings are well equipped to protect life and limb if we have the unfortunate event of a fire. Of course, cladding is not the only concern for high-rise residential buildings. What we're doing as a Government is we're advocating a holistic approach to remediation of buildings, and that also includes fire alert, evacuation and suppression systems. I know my colleague the Minister for Climate Change and her officials are working to develop a funding programme that is designed to target the right support in a very complex issue, but a very important matter.

In relation to your question around the UK Government, I know, as a Government, we've already committed £32 million this financial year, but I know the Minister for Finance and Local Government is continuing to press the UK Government for any consequential funding following their recent announcement.

I'd just like to start by declaring my interest as a county councillor on Conwy County Borough Council. Minister, as you'll be aware, north Wales has an exceptional reputation for delivering world-class events and being a world-class destination. Over the past few years, Conwy County Borough Council has developed an innovative new culture strategy that places culture at the heart of all economic developments and regeneration, harnessing all that culture has to offer. I'm sure like you, I was delighted to see that Conwy County Borough Council are bidding to become the UK City of Culture in 2025, and this bid will make connections across Conwy and across north Wales, between rural and urban communities, between older and younger generations, and between both our mountains and the sea. With Conwy at the helm and working with partners across north Wales, achieving the UK City of Culture award would deliver long-lasting benefits for all of Wales and would, again, put our country on the international radar for all the right reasons. I would welcome a statement from the Government outlining their support for Conwy's bid to secure the UK City of Culture title and to hear how the Government would work with the local authority to ensure that we are successful in this bid. Diolch yn fawr iawn. 

Diolch. Well, knowing the history of the events that Conwy council have managed to produce over the past few years, they've certainly been exceptional, and I will certainly ask the Minister for Economy to bring forward a written statement. 

I have two requests to Government, related to the same issue. First of all, I would kindly ask the Trefnydd to ensure that the First Minister writes to the Football Association of Wales to congratulate the national squad on what they've achieved at the Euros. There's always some frustration, perhaps, that, on another day, we could have gone a little further in the competition, but when we see some of the major teams, as they're known, who have gone out in the same round as us, I think we're in good company, and that reminds us just how well the squad has done and just how proud we are of what they've achieved.

May I also ask Government to write to UEFA to to ask them not to adopt the same format for future competitions, because it has created some unfairness on this occasion—the fact that some nations have had to travel many thousands of miles to play their matches whilst other nations haven't travelled at all because they've played all their group games at home? That's given an unfair advantage to some nations and has put other nations at a disadvantage, and that is contrary to the spirit of the competition in my view. A letter from Government to UEFA expressing that point on behalf of this Senedd, and certainly on behalf of Welsh football supporters and the Welsh football squad, would be something we would appreciate. 

Yes, I absolutely agree with you around the achievements of the Welsh squad in getting to the final 16 for the second time—I've waited all my life for them to get to a major tournament for the first time, only for them to do it twice. And if somebody had told me a couple of weeks ago that we would go out the same time as France, I would have thought that we'd have at least got to the semi-final. So, I think, as you say, they did a great job. And it was very frustrating on Saturday, but we all enjoyed the journey to the last 16 that took us up to last Saturday. So, I will certainly ask the First Minister, if he hasn't already done so, to write to the FAW.

I think your second point around the unfairness—. Certainly, when you have a tournament that goes around 11 countries, I don't see why any country, personally, should play in their home country. And, as you said, it was very unfair that some countries—and ones playing tonight—went no miles, and our country went, I think, 5,500 miles. So, certainly, if UEFA are going to take it out of more than one country, I think there needs to be some equality that we certainly didn't see this time. 

Trefnydd, I very much welcome yesterday's announcement that, if you've been vaccinated in Wales, you can download a Welsh COVID pass online to demonstrate to whoever needs to know that you are protected by two jabs. And this seems to me a really good example of how we use artificial intelligence and online data to ensure that we're not tying up the resources of health professionals on something that can be done electronically. So, that's an excellent thing. I wondered if we could have a statement from the health Minister about the arrangements for vaccination certificates for those who've had one jab in Wales and another in England. There are many, many of my constituents who, for example, study in Cardiff but reside in England or elsewhere, and we need to ensure that they're not put off having the vaccination at the quickest possible time without having the complication of not being able to demonstrate they've had that. So, that would be great, if we could have that statement—a written statement would be fine. 

Secondly, the pandemic hasn't gone away, and there continue to be many restrictions on freedom of movement. I'm not talking about the Home Office aversion to asylum seekers, but about the public health emergency that requires us to control the freedom of movement from one country to another. But language schools in my constituency have been hugely impacted, obviously, by the inability of foreign students to come and study English here. They simply have no customers whatsoever, which they had before, so I wondered if we could ask the economy Minister to consider that, instead of handing out grants to an organisation that's simply unable to operate under the normal model of business, they could be commissioned to deliver services to people in this country who need English-for-speakers-of-other-languages classes—for example, people who have recently been given refugee status—so that they can become much more economically effective members of our community. Similarly, I think you could have the same analogy for, say, musicians, for whom it simply isn't viable financially to run concerts, because of the restrictions on numbers in any given place, but who obviously have wonderful skills that we could be commissioning them to deliver services in schools or in care homes or elsewhere.

Thank you, Jenny, for those two points. In relation to your first point around the ability to get the certification online, I think, as you say, it's very welcome. And as you know, the Minister for health does a weekly update in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, so I will certainly ask her to consider updating Members in her next weekly update.

In relation to your question around English as a second language and language schools, it's been an incredibly difficult and uncertain time, as you say, for businesses and obviously the English language teaching industry as a whole. We do support businesses who are—. Obviously, a business like that would be eligible to access business rate relief, for instance, and any associated grants to which you refer, and, of course, we've got the economic resilience fund, which is unique to Wales. Any businesses with a turnover of less than £85,000 who meet the eligibility for the latest round of ERF—and it's a good opportunity to say this today—it's the closing date for applications tomorrow, so it could be that they could be encouraged to apply by tomorrow and, alternatively, we do have funds from the Development Bank of Wales that they can access also. I should also point to the EU transition portal and the Business Wales portal for advice as well.

Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for Climate Change on measures to encourage people to switch to electric vehicles here in Wales? The UK Government's grant scheme for electric cars, vans and trucks has been updated to target less expensive models and reflect a greater range of affordable vehicles to people. This allows the scheme's funding to go further and help more people make the switch to an electric vehicle. From 18 March, the UK Government will provide grants of up to £2,500 for electric vehicles or cars priced under £35,000. The plug-in car grant was introduced 10 years ago to stimulate the early market for zero-emission vehicles. Could we therefore have a statement from the Minister on what plans the Welsh Government has to encourage people here in Wales to switch to electric vehicles? Thank you.

Thank you. I know the Minister for Climate Change—and certainly, in the last term of Government, the Minister for economy and transport—had some significant funding going forward to make sure the infrastructure is in place, because, of course, we don't need people to switch to electric cars without having that infrastructure in place, so that is where some significant Welsh Government funding has gone. I'm unaware if we are looking to replicate the scheme that you referred to by the UK Government, but I will certainly ask the Minister to update the Member if so.

Minister, Neath Port Talbot Council is looking to enlist £5 million from its reserves into the local area as we build out of the pandemic. We all know that councils across Wales have shown local leadership and innovation during the pandemic, and, as we now emerge from it, would the Minister arrange a statement for the Senedd to examine how the capacity of local government working more closely together could be further harnessed to drive our economic recovery? Thank you.

Thank you, and I absolutely agree with the Member that local authorities have worked incredibly hard and in partnership with Welsh Government, not just during the pandemic, but prior to the pandemic, but really stepped up to the plate to help us with our test, trace, protect and our deliveries of food parcels. The Minister for Finance and Local Government is in the Chamber and has heard your request and is happy to provide a further statement.

I thank the Trefnydd. That concludes that item, and we will now take a short break in order to allow for changeovers in the Chamber.

Plenary was suspended at 15:05.

The Senedd reconvened at 15:16, with the Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) in the Chair.