As you will be aware, Ice Arena Wales is the only ice arena in the UK that remains closed. The arena, which is only a stone’s throw from this Senedd, has been closed for 15 months. Now, the hope was that this would have changed on 21 June, but a further delay was decided upon.

Ice Arena Wales is the most modern ice arena in the United Kingdom. It has a building management system to control fresh air flow and heating to create whatever conditions are considered safe. Not many indoor venues have such systems. On top of this, the ice arena has a ceiling and air volume far higher than other indoor venues that have already reopened, such as cinemas, bowling alleys and so on.

May I ask that this issue be considered as a matter of urgency, as it is having a detrimental effect on everyone connected to the arena? It appears to be counterintuitive that skaters can travel to England to train in less modern facilities, yet they cannot use the facility that we have here in Wales. Thank you.