1. Will the Commission make a statement on efforts to protect the Senedd to ensure that Members and staff are safe? OQ56682

We have a range of security measures in place to protect Members and staff. We work closely with South Wales Police, who provide an armed presence, we have access to other security and intelligence services, and we do background checks on all pass holders. Security officials from all UK legislatures keep in regular contact to discuss arrangements and concerns. Our security officers provide regular security briefings, including one-to-one advice, and we advise and support Members and their constituency offices on security matters.

Thank you very much, Llywydd. It was good to see the public gallery open yesterday, and hopefully other areas of the Senedd will be able to reopen to the public soon. What steps has the Commission taken to ensure that the Senedd estate is safe, in relation to COVID, for all building users?

This is a public building. The Senedd belongs to the people of Wales, and the people of Wales must have access to their Senedd. We've ensured, over the past year, that our work as a Senedd is accessible in a safe way throughout the COVID pandemic by ensuring that that access is available online. But, of course, we want to reach a situation where people again are part of our estate here, not just us as Members and staff members. So, we will take the specific steps, when safe to do so, to ensure increasing use of the estate, but we have to do that within the current recommendations, social distancing in particular, to ensure the safety of our staff, our Members and any visitors to the estate.