The following amendment has been selected: amendment 1 in the name of Lesley Griffiths.

The next item, therefore, is the Welsh Conservatives debate, and this debate is on an independent public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales. I call on Russell George to move the motion.

Motion NDM7871 Darren Millar

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Supports the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru campaign for a Wales-specific public inquiry into the Welsh Government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Welcomes the calls of the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales for a Wales-specific COVID-19 inquiry.

3. Notes that a judge-led COVID-19 inquiry will be established by the end of the year in Scotland.

4. Calls upon the Welsh Government to commission an independent public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales.

Motion moved.

Diolch, Llywydd. I move the motion this afternoon in the name of my colleague Darren Millar. Today, I'm pleased to open this debate on the issue that the Welsh Conservatives have continually been raising over the past 18 months. We first called for an independent public inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, and we still feel that the people of Wales who have lost loved ones to this horrible disease deserve to know every detail of how the pandemic has been handled specifically in Wales. Indeed, good and bad practice and decisions should have a light shone on them.

Since our calls for an inquiry over 18 months ago, the calls have continually been denied by the Labour Government, despite the fact that we have had calls for a specific public inquiry echoed by other political parties—Plaid Cymru also calling for a public inquiry in Wales for over 18 months—and from other health professionals and bodies, of course, as well. But, importantly, it is the bereaved families. We have seen, sadly, 9,000 people who have died in Wales as a result of COVID-19, but it's the bereaved families who, above all, are calling for a Wales-specific public inquiry. The people who have lost loved ones due to COVID, I think, deserve answers, as do the people who have had delayed operations and people who have had delayed cancer diagnosis, of course, and that list could go on. During the first 18 months of the pandemic, there were over 50,000 cancelled operations and 1.3 million cancelled appointments in Welsh hospitals.

The figures emphasise, of course, the concerns that the costs of lockdowns extend beyond the economic, and they move into the realm of physical as well as mental health. This reinforces the message as well about why we need a Wales-specific public inquiry. But, it does bring home to us the difficulties that we have had in the Welsh NHS, of course, as well, with the longest treatment backlog in Wales's history, with one in five people sadly on a waiting list. As health is devolved, many decisions have been made here in Wales by the First Minister. The Welsh Government has taken different decisions and taken different judgements to Governments in other parts of the UK, and rightly so as well. But, on that question, I would say that the question here is: why? Why the reluctance from the Welsh Government for a Wales-specific public inquiry, as well as a UK public inquiry? Why is there a reluctance to support both public inquiries?

The Labour Government has delayed work in two significant areas—testing in care homes and the NHS track and trace app. After England had introduced mass testing in care homes during the first wave in 2020, the First Minister said that he could see no value in introducing tests across all Welsh care homes. Wales sought to develop its own tracing app in April of last year—that, of course, losing crucial time before finally deciding to be part of the UK app on 17 May. The Welsh Government also saw no value in introducing mandatory face masks over the summer of 2020, despite advice, potentially leading to a higher rate of infection in Wales. Indeed, not until September 2020 did the First Minister introduce mandatory face masks. So, it's no secret, of course, also, that hospital-acquired infections in Welsh hospitals have been extremely high. The Welsh Government, I think—the Labour Government here—must answer serious questions on hospital-acquired COVID-19 infections during the pandemic and show that lessons have indeed been learnt—I would like to say for future pandemics, but sadly for times like we're in now.

Twenty-seven per cent of people who sadly died of COVID-19 probably or definitely caught COVID-19 from hospital wards. In Hywel Dda, one freedom of information request found that one in three sadly died from COVID-19 after picking up infections in hospitals. And this is a significant reason why we need a Wales-specific inquiry. And, of course, behind every statistic and percentage, there are real people and people who have sadly died, and families who are sadly grieving.

And it isn't just the health sector where the Government has had control and a duty to protect. The delayed publication of the road map for businesses, despite calls from Welsh Conservatives, I believe has been another failing of this Government. And we saw a terrible roll-out in regard to the economic resilience phase 3 fund, which was suspended just 36 hours after opening due to the number of applications received. Hospitality, of course, has suffered greatly because of the pandemic and decisions made by the Government here in Wales. This is why, of course, we need a Wales-wide specific inquiry. 

While attention is focused on the new variant, it's also important that we do not forget the countless number of decisions that have been made over the last two years that have to be, and demand to be, examined. The First Minister has continually said, and still says, that he is making decisions in Wales, for Wales, and that's fine—rightly so. It is questionable why he does not want to be scrutinised on the decisions that are made here. The Labour Government should not be allowed to hide behind a UK-wide public inquiry. The people of Wales deserve better than petty politics, I'm afraid. The First Minister has one final chance to show the nation that he respects devolution and accepts accountability and whether he wants to deny answers to those affected, sadly, by this pandemic. I look forward to the contributions in this Welsh Conservative debate this afternoon.

I'm going to start with a confession. When I and my Plaid Cymru colleagues called for the public inquiry into the pandemic in Wales in the first few months of the pandemic, I had perhaps failed to make something clear enough: when Government signalled that it too was supportive of having an inquiry, I had wrongly assumed that they, as I was, were referring to a Wales-specific inquiry. And when Government made it clear that its support was actually for a UK-wide inquiry and for a consideration of what happened in Wales to be included only as part of that UK-wide inquiry, I initially thought that I had misheard, but I hadn't. It was later made clear that Welsh Government were referring to a Welsh chapter, or chapters, in a UK-wide piece of work. Why did I assume that? Because to my mind, it was so obvious that we have to have an inquiry that is wholly dedicated to considering what happened here.

Wales chose devolution so that we could begin to take more responsibility for our own future—to grow up as a nation. That slim initial support for the establishment of the Assembly grew into a thumping support for full law-making. We now have a Senedd—a Welsh Parliament, and a Government formed from within it has the honour of leading us through any difficult times we may encounter as a nation.

The COVID challenge, of course, has been by far the biggest challenge faced by any Welsh Government and we can certainly make some general comments about the actions of Welsh Government in facing up to that challenge. It has, without doubt, taken its duties seriously. It's done its best with integrity, I believe, to achieve what it sought as best outcomes for the people of Wales. We can then pick away at particular elements of its actions. It has done much well. It has made mistakes too. It has acted quickly at times. It has lagged behind at other times. It has, at times, taken advantage of our ability to be agile as a small nation. At other times, it’s failed to grasp some opportunities. There are things it’s done that we would want to repeat with even more vigour, if faced with such challenge again, and other things, no doubt, we’d want to avoid. Some decisions have saved lives, and others have caused unnecessary risk. Now, all of that is, in many ways, inevitable. It’s been 21 months or so of tough calls and relentless pressure on Government and on Ministers, but one thing that is beyond question is that we have to learn. We will face similar challenges again. Even tougher ones, perhaps. It may be in our lifetimes, it may not, but we are the ones, right now, who can make sure we’re leaving no stone unturned in our quest for answers.

When I and my colleagues in Plaid Cymru called for the early establishment of an inquiry, we were told that it would be a distraction. What is a distraction to the quest for the best possible learning is the passage of time. We argued that, at the very least, a chair could be put in place. Perhaps frameworks could be put in place. Evidence could begin to be gathered whilst memories were still fresh, in real time, in ways that didn’t interrupt the work of actually battling the pandemic. And here we are, facing a second pandemic Christmas and, by aligning ourselves with the UK inquiry, we still have no timescale. We don’t even have really fundamental makings of an actual inquiry. It remains a commitment in principle, whilst real and actual questions go unanswered around so many areas: testing, care homes, early intervention, PPE, vaccination, ventilation, school closures, major events, care home visits, shielding, mask wearing, mental health, economic support, and many more.

Colleagues across the Chamber, I’m sure, will focus on different elements. In all of these areas, our experiences: losing loved ones, suffering ill health, working in health and care and other key sectors, missing education, businesses under pressure—it all happened in the context of decisions taken in Wales, and perspective will be key if we’re to get honest answers. By definition, the UK inquiry will not look at things from a Welsh perspective. It may consider, from the outside, what happened in Wales, but it will not have a Welsh perspective. It may consider the interaction between decisions in different parts of the UK, but it will not look at those interactions from a Welsh perspective.

Llywydd, to conclude, we will support the Conservative motion today and, I have to say, at the same time, whilst deeply regretting the nature of actions of the UK Conservative Government in relation to the pandemic in so many ways. And we reject Welsh Government’s amendment. It doesn’t cut it to say that you have been given assurances from the UK Government, that you have been given the assurances you seek by the Prime Minister. Without doubt, the undermining of trust by the Prime Minister himself, through his actions time and time again, undermines further our trust that a UK inquiry would give Wales the answer it wants. We rightly now take decisions of our own in Wales through Welsh Government. We welcome that as a nation, and Welsh Government has to welcome the most in-depth scrutiny.

Before I called Rhun ap Iorwerth, I should have called on the Minister for health to formally move amendment 1, tabled in the name of Lesley Griffiths.

Amendment 1—Lesley Griffiths

Delete all and replace with:

To propose that the Senedd

1. Notes:

a) the First Minister’s meetings with members of the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru group.

b) the UK-wide inquiry into pandemic, which will look at decisions made and actions taken by and in all four nations.  

c) that a judge-led COVID-19 inquiry will be established by the end of the year in Scotland.

2. Welcomes assurances made by the Prime Minister that the UK inquiry will include a proper Welsh dimension.

Amendment 1 moved.

Formally.

Diolch. Laura Jones next to speak.

Diolch, Llywydd. Presiding Officer, this Welsh Government and Scotland wanted to flex their devo muscles and take decision making on this pandemic into their own hands, so the Welsh Government should therefore stand by their decisions and have the courage in their convictions to be open to and have no problem with being properly scrutinised on these decisions. Whether decisions they made were the right ones or the wrong ones, they were the decisions of this First Minister and this Welsh Government.

Every Member in this Chamber will have had countless e-mails of examples of how decisions made by this Welsh Government have impacted the lives of their constituents and their loved ones, but I'm not going to give those examples now, as we're not debating whether those decisions were right or wrong here today. We are quite simply pointing out to the Welsh Government that holding a Wales-only inquiry into the life-changing decisions that it took is not only necessary but it's the right thing to do. Not wanting to have a Wales-only inquiry smacks of something to hide and is, quite frankly, an insult to the Welsh families who are searching for answers. The First Minister and the Government refusing to give people those answers is an injustice. This Welsh Government wanted to be different; they had the chance to be different. This Government should therefore hold its own Welsh public inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are not calling for a Welsh inquiry for the sake of it; it is because it's the right thing to do. Questions need answering over outcomes that emerged from the Welsh Government's actions and to find out why Wales has the UK's highest COVID death rate. This comes down to how this Welsh Government truly views Welsh politics and this very Senedd. Do they respect the institution like they claim to do, or do they think this Senedd is so inconsequential that it does not need proper and thorough scrutiny? We can only learn from this pandemic if we scrutinise the decisions made by this Government. We learn nothing from those decisions being buried in a UK-wide inquiry.

This Welsh Government made some difficult decisions and no-one will argue with how hard some of those decisions must have been. But also, one could also argue that this Welsh Government made decisions just for the sake of being different from the UK Government, playing party politics with our lives. It is high time that this Welsh Government stopped playing party politics, Llywydd, with writing various letters to No.10, and got on with announcing what they should've done months ago—that they will in fact hold a Wales-only inquiry. Wales wants answers. Thank you.

At the outset, I would say that I don't doubt the commitment of Ministers and the First Minister, who faced atrocious circumstances last year. This shouldn't be about personal attacks. I'm going to concentrate on a specific issue that I think exemplifies the need for a Welsh-specific COVID inquiry.

On 27 April 2020, I was contacted by a care home manager who thought that COVID was brought into her care home by a resident who returned from hospital for a non-COVID related issue. She believed around 15 residents died as a result of COVID being brought in through this route. She said the patient had not been tested for COVID before their return because the Welsh Government's policy at the time was not to test asymptomatic people. I spoke to other care home managers who had similar stories. Some of them had asked for their residents to be tested before re-entering the home, but their requests had been rejected. They said the Welsh Government's policy up to 23 April was not only not to test asymptomatic people going from hospital to care homes, but to refuse to allow testing, even if a test had been requested.

On 29 April, I raised this in First Minister's questions, and I was told that the tests were not conducted because they offered nothing useful. This was despite there being scientific evidence available at the time, showing that asymptomatic carriers did test positive if they had the virus. Now, when that policy eventually changed, the reason given was not because the clinical evidence had changed but because the Government recognised the need to give confidence to people in the sector. The next day, the Government's stance about the usefulness of testing asymptomatic people was contradicted by the chief medical officer, who said he knew that they could test positive for COVID and suggested the real reason for not carrying out the tests was capacity. And, on 1 May, the First Minister said that testing asymptomatic people did indeed have a purpose.

On 21 June, Llywydd, WalesOnline revealed that 1,097 people were sent to care homes from hospital without a test while the policy was in force. Responding to the story, the First Minister gave a new reason as to why the policy was changed. He said, and I quote,

'When the advice changed, we changed the practice.'

This contradicted the earlier claim that the policy had not been changed because of a change in advice, but was changed only to give confidence to the sector. The following day, the health Minister said that not a single death had resulted from a failure to carry out these tests. So, we had the First Minister on record both saying that the policy had not been changed because of a change in advice, and that it had been changed because of a change in advice. Now, some kind of miscommunication or misalignment happened, we don't know what. I'm sure it would have been inadvertent. No-one would have chosen for that to happen, but it did.

I asked the Welsh Government to publish the advice they'd received, but they refused. I have no power of subpoena that would force its publication, but an official Welsh inquiry would. I have no confidence, Llywydd, that a UK-wide inquiry would give this issue the focus it deserves. And it deserves focus, because people died as a result of the policy—a policy that never made sense, for which a clear justification was never given, a policy where contradictory reasons were given for its changing, a policy that surely necessitates that lessons be learned. 

Now, I'd like to put on record again that the sacrifice and the incredibly hard work of Ministers, civil servants and the First Minister in particular are not in question here; the sacrifices he made were remarkable.

In closing, this debate need not be an ugly exercise in point scoring about what happened under horrendous circumstances, but there were processes that didn't make sense last year—failures that led to deaths; families, including mine, that lost loved ones living in care homes. It is not a comfortable thing to be raising, but not raising it and not seeking to do everything possible to learn from what happened would be a catastrophic mistake.

There is a little that I as a Member or individual can add to this debate, so if I may, Llywydd, I wish to take this opportunity to share the story of my constituent, Robert Leyland. Robert, known to his family and friends as Bob, was one of many who, sadly, died during the pandemic, not due to COVID, but due to a host of failures within the governance of our health service. Bob's wife of 23 years, Jacqueline, first wrote to me some weeks ago, describing the heartbreaking sequence of events that led to her husband's death. She gave me permission to share Bob's story with you today.

Bob was the bravest, strongest, most resilient person she had ever known. A community volunteer, Bob leaves behind not only Jacqueline, but his two daughters also. Like so many, however, he was let down by the very system that was meant to care for him. In the months that led up to his death, Bob experienced a whole host of respiratory problems. Yet he was only granted one—just one—telephone consultation with a respiratory consultant. A face-to-face appointment scheduled for April of this year was cancelled, with another telephone appointment arranged. Yet he never received that call, with no explanation why. As Bob's condition continued to rapidly deteriorate, it was his wife who fought for him to be admitted to hospital. Bob had lost four stone in weight, he was left unable to walk, and needed an oxygen supply in order to breathe. Six days later, he died. His primary cause of death was stated as pulmonary fibrosis. Yet, as his wife points out, he had not been examined by a respiratory consultant. Perhaps if Bob had been examined by a specialist, then he may have received an efficient and effective treatment plan, his wife would not be widowed and his children would still have a father.

Sadly, Bob's story is like so many others. The decisions that led to his death were not made by the dedicated staff who worked around the clock to care for him; they were decisions made by the Welsh Government and their officials, and there must be accountability for these decisions. That's why a dedicated Welsh public inquiry, where the Welsh Government can be held to account for their decisions, both good and bad, is so important. As with every Government throughout the pandemic, difficult decisions were made, some mistakenly, and consequently lives were lost. So, I really do plead, for Bob, for his widow Jacqueline and their family, and for the many families across Wales who lost loved ones, that they are given the opportunity that a Welsh COVID inquiry would afford them to share their testimony and to get the answers they deserve.

I will end by quoting Jacqueline directly from her letter:

'It is only right and fair that the plight of the people who sadly lost their lives during the pandemic, due to systemic failings, is highlighted and that justice is sought. I wish you well in your campaign for a much-needed public inquiry.'

I urge Members to support the motion.

According to Office for National Statistics figures published yesterday, two of the local authority areas in my region are first and second, respectively, in terms of the highest number of COVID deaths in Wales to date: 1,003 people from Rhondda Cynon Taf, 993 in Cardiff. With the additional 356 people from the Vale of Glamorgan, this is 2,352 people living in South Wales Central, 26 per cent of Wales's total deaths. And as Samuel Kurtz illustrated in his memories and reflections of Bob, behind each number and statistic is, of course, a person and their families and friends.

I wanted to speak today to represent the views of every bereaved person that has contacted me and shared with me their heartbreaking personal stories, and I'd like to thank them for their bravery in doing so. On 26 October, I was tagged in a tweet by a constituent. In the tweet were a series of photographs of her father and the following text: '55 years ago today, when my mum met my dad. Married for 54 of them, only to be without him three weeks and at the end. No contact or goodbye, no "I love you". This is why we need a Wales inquiry. Their story started and ended in Wales. For me, it's not about blame, it's about acknowledging him.'

I think that's the key thing here. It would be very easy to try and score political points, but the fact is that we are all trying to be united here, that it's not about blame. We acknowledge the sacrifices made by so many people, the difficult decisions taken by politicians in unprecedented times. We have seen an already overstretched NHS and care sector at breaking point, let alone seen unpaid carers and people caring for loved ones impacted even further. We have all met families, I'm sure, in our role as elected representatives, who have those heartbreaking stories, similar to Bob's story.

Catherine shared with me on Twitter today:

'My father died in a care home...saying goodbye to him thru a window with him stretching his arms to me to help him will haunt me forever'.

And these are things that will leave us all traumatised as a community, as a society, for many decades to come. They have been difficult times.

But, for me, I would like to focus on the campaign of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice who were at the Senedd on 3 November and shared with us their experiences and why they believe this public inquiry is so necessary. As has already been touched upon by other contributions, their three major areas of concern are hospital onset of COVID and also in care homes and the right to life and to a dignified death.

I think looking to Scotland and what they are doing shows clearly why we should be conducting a similar inquiry here in Wales, and the reasons are simple. We made decisions here in Wales that were specific to Wales, and, therefore, the scrutiny should be here. If we look to Scotland, the aim of the inquiry there is very simple: it will provide scrutiny of and learn lessons from the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland to ensure that Scotland is as prepared as possible for future pandemics. Because, as we all know, this pandemic is far from over and also further pandemics are predicted in the future. We also need to learn lessons in all sorts of ways, not just in terms of the health sector and care sector, but, similar to the scope in Scotland, look at all of the impact of COVID and actions taken in terms of education and so on. So, therefore, my plea is simple: we need to ensure that families who have suffered bereavement and continue to suffer bereavement get the answers they need and deserve, but also that we are better planned for future pandemics. 

As Rhun mentioned, the undermining of trust with the UK Government is something that many constituents who have lost loved ones have raised with me, following recent press coverage of alleged parties and so on whilst people were not seeing loved ones who were dying. We need to acknowledge the mistrust of bereaved families in Wales of the UK Government's competence in undertaking an inquiry, let alone looking at the actual situation here in Wales. So, I would urge all Members to think about those bereaved families when placing their votes today and why an inquiry will help us in Wales. It is not about apportioning blame; it is about justice and learning lessons for the future. 

As the older people's commissioner rightly states:

'Holding a Wales-specific Public Inquiry will ensure that the Chair and the panel running the Inquiry understand devolution and the cultural and political distinctiveness of Wales, as well as being representative of the diversity of our nation and accessible in a way that a UK-wide Inquiry may not be able to achieve.'

That is why we must reject the Welsh Government's amendment to this debate and reject their stance on this issue. This Welsh Government took decisions that led us down a different path to England and resulted in one of the highest COVID death rates in the world. We had a Government led by a First Minister who refused for months to accept the evidence on face masks, despite evidence showing their effectiveness in combating the spread of SARS and MERS. The First Minister refused to introduce their use in Wales, and, when questioned, the First Minister said, 'They aren't at the bottom of my list, they aren't even on my list.' How many lives were lost as a result of the First Minister's reluctance to heed the evidence? 

The SARS-CoV-2 virus was allowed to spread largely unchecked, leading to larger numbers of cases needing hospital treatment, which in turn put pressure on health chiefs to move patients out of the NHS and into care homes. This is when the Welsh Government's biggest and most serious error of judgment came into play, by failing to test and quarantine patients before moving them into care homes. The Welsh Government allowed COVID-19 to spread unchecked into the care sector. How many care home sector residents and staff died as a result of this Government's failings? Their failings put our most vulnerable citizens at risk and no doubt contributed to the deaths of so many. Field hospitals were set up across the country and, rather than being used to keep vulnerable patients safe from the virus, they went largely unused.

Patients with COVID were allowed to mix with vulnerable patients, allowing infections to spread relatively unchecked. One in four Welsh citizens who succumbed to the pandemic died of a COVID infection picked up in Welsh hospitals. The Welsh Government were responsible for decisions that led to this calamity, yet they are not prepared to accept the consequences of their decisions. Instead, they choose to hide behind a UK-wide inquiry, rather than facing an independent Wales-only inquiry—an inquiry that can only focus full-time upon the decisions taken by Welsh Ministers, upon actions that impacted Welsh citizens and upon learning Wales-focused lessons to ensure Wales is never again put at risk like it was during the early phases of this pandemic.

Welsh Ministers took decisions that directly impacted the lives of every citizen in Wales, decisions that we will be paying for for generations, yet they are not prepared to defend those decisions to the people of Wales. Yes, a UK-wide public inquiry will have a Welsh dimension, but it'll be little more than a footnote. The UK inquiry will be largely focused on the English NHS. And, after all, the population of England equates to three quarters of the UK population. The English NHS serves nearly 20 times more people than ours. The only way the people of Wales will get the answers they need and deserve is by holding an independent public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, and I urge Members to listen to their consciences tonight and I plead for you to reject the Welsh Government's attempts to avoid scrutiny and I beg you to listen to the bereaved families across Wales. Vote for our motion today and let's hold a Welsh public inquiry.

I have to say that this is probably one of the hardest debates that any of us can contribute to, and, just before I make my contribution, I would just make a plea to the First Minister and his Cabinet: half of the Members of the Senedd by all accounts will be calling for this, but so many people are calling for this inquiry, so have the courage of your convictions, and please, let's have an inquiry.

I genuinely thought, right from the start of the pandemic, that an inquiry would automatically happen. I didn't think that I would be sat here tonight almost begging the First Minister to do this. But it was even more sad when I met with the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru in the Senedd last month, and their desperate pleas for answers were once again highlighted and underlined by so many heartbreaking stories of personal loss, grief and hardship.

So, let me be clear: through its unwavering support of a four-nation inquiry by the UK Government, the Welsh Government is actually denying the Welsh public answers on decisions that it took, and it took alone. Some have made suggestions that those decisions were the First Minister and the Welsh Government flexing their muscles. All I know is this, that there were times that we seemed to go off on a tangent here. There was an incoherent approach to lifting lockdown measures, ranging from the incredulous five-mile rule, which failed to recognise the realities of rural Wales, to the sudden complete releasing of Wales after the firebreak lockdown. Denying this inquiry means that we are unable to evaluate the impact of certain restriction methods, and it's ironic that we're asking now for this inquiry at the start of another unknown that we don't know in the pandemic.

As the number of people entering hospitals in Wales for cancer treatment dropped by over 40,000, and with the Welsh Government's refusal to be part of the UK Government's testing portal, saying that you would be developing your own, only to scrap the idea less than a month later, by denying this inquiry, Wales is now unable to press forward with any new pandemic preparedness. Given that the Welsh Government posted more than 13,000 shielding letters to the wrong addresses in April and May 2020, compounded even further when the details of more than 18,000 individuals were accidentally posted on Public Health Wales's website, denying this inquiry means that we are unable to fully understand the reasoning behind choices taken at that time. We know that the holding of a Wales-specific public inquiry would actually be in the Welsh Government's interest. Far from being a footnote in the larger UK inquiry document, as the Older People's Commissioner for Wales has made clear, holding a Wales-specific public inquiry will ensure that the panel understand exactly what went wrong, when it went wrong, and how they can actually make a difference.

To this day, I have hospitality businesses who are concerned that you will once again take the decision to ban the sale of alcohol in pubs, a restriction that was not proportionate and crippled the industry, especially in December, where businesses can now make up to 25 per cent of annual turnover. I have constituents who remain confused over the delay to testing and hospital discharge into care homes as well as the wait to join the NHS track and trace app. Wales now has the highest death toll out of the whole of UK, with a rate of 282 deaths per 100,000. By hiding behind investigations into the UK Government decisions on COVID-19, this Welsh Government is undermining our ability to reflect, remember and prepare for what is next. Accountability, Llywydd, is a cornerstone of any democracy. I join with colleagues in this Siambr and residents from across Wales who have lost families to urge this Welsh Government to commission an independent public inquiry into the COVID pandemic in Wales. Thank you, diolch.

I now call on the Minister for Health and Social Services to contribute, Eluned Morgan.

Llywydd, this pandemic has been very long and difficult, and it's impacted on all aspects of our daily lives. In an ideal world, we would be looking forward to Christmas and new year at this point, but once again, we are facing a new variant that is moving very quickly, and tens of thousands of people across the nation could be infected by this variant before Christmas.

This is a very concerning time and uncertain time for all of us. But if it's a difficult and painful time, it will certainly now be a time that is even harder for anyone who has lost a loved one during this pandemic. Unfortunately, a number of families have lost a loved one, far too many families. This virus is cruel, and it has killed. In several instances, the families who've been left behind have questions, and it's only right that those families can expect an answer to those questions.

Considering the wide-ranging impact that the pandemic has had, it's entirely appropriate that a public inquiry is held. This inquiry should consider not just how we as a Government have responded to this pandemic, but how other public bodies have responded as well.

The pandemic has impacted every part of the United Kingdom. There is a very close relationship between many of the decisions made and the steps that were taken here in Wales and those taken across all of the nations of the United Kingdom. In terms of scrutiny of the decisions that were made by the Welsh Government and other institutions in the public sector in Wales during the pandemic, we believe that an inquiry for the whole of the United Kingdom is the best option for doing that in an appropriate and open way. The United Kingdom Prime Minister has announced that an independent inquiry will be established that will consider the pandemic from the point of view of the UK as a whole. 

We in the Welsh Government believe that it is important that the decisions that were made here in Wales and in other devolved nations are considered within the wider context of the decisions that have been taken in Westminster. A great deal of the response to the pandemic was managed at a UK level. Many people worked side by side with the Government to advise and give guidance. We believe that, in holding the inquiry, it is important to adopt a method that looks at all aspects together. We must look into the way that the United Kingdom Government, as well as the devolved Governments, responded to the pandemic.

Llywydd, the broad context for our decision making has been inextricably linked to the consideration of the wider UK science and policy landscape. For example, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies advice, the UK Chief Medical Officer's network, Treasury, and UK Government support measures—they all set the parameters within which decisions made in Wales by the Welsh Government have been reached. There have also been decisions taken that affect us here in Wales over which we had little or no control. Just take the delta variant—the UK Government had an opportunity to restrict travel from the moment they heard about the variant in India, but they kept their borders open for weeks, and this remains the dominant variant here in Wales for the time being. But we also warned the UK Government not to move from PCR tests to lateral flow tests for international travel, and had we not moved, we may have picked up the omicron variant sooner. This is soon going to be the dominant variant in Wales, and this proves how interconnected we are with the rest of the UK, and how it would be difficult to totally divorce our experience from that of our neighbours in England, and why, therefore, it makes sense to have a UK inquiry, but with a Welsh focus. 

Now, I'm proud of the way the Welsh Government has responded to COVID, and I'm grateful to people in Wales for their co-operation with the COVID response. Of course there are lessons to be learnt, and of course there'll be areas where we must improve, but there are also areas where our response to the pandemic has shown us new and improved ways of working. We're taking steps within the Welsh Government and the NHS to learn those lessons on a day to day and a week by week basis, as we continue to respond to the ongoing crisis. And it's important that these lessons are learnt now, and we don't wait for the outcome of the inquiry before we look to make improvements. 

There's been a focus this afternoon on hospital-acquired COVID infections in Wales. Now, one of the reasons why we know so much about it is because the NHS in Wales has recorded every incident of infection, but people need to be aware that we're the only part of the UK to have a nationwide IT system capable of capturing and recording such data. Now, this information will help all those families who rightly want and need answers. The NHS has already started investigating every case through the 'Putting Things Right' process, and we're sharing the outcome of that investigation with families.

And of course we recognise the valid concerns about the ability of a UK-wide inquiry to focus equally on all four nations as part of its remit. The First Minister has discussed this with the Prime Minister and Michael Gove. The First Minister set out his expectations about the way people's experience will be considered, and this includes the wider inquiry team having someone with connections to Wales and recent and relevant experience and understanding of its governance. And also an expectation that the inquiry team comes to Wales to take evidence directly from people in Wales. The First Minister has emphasised the importance of producing Welsh chapters as a part of that report, so that people can reflect transparently on what happened in Wales and draw conclusions.

We expect that people will have the opportunity to comment on the terms of reference for the inquiry in the new year, before they're finalised. The First Minister has twice met with Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru to hear directly from them, and a further meeting is going to be held in the new year. He's keen that the group shares their ideas about the best way to ensure that people's experiences of the pandemic are captured as a part of the inquiry. The UK inquiry will start in the spring, at a time when the pandemic is still ongoing, but I'm pleased that the UK Government did consult with the First Minister before today announcing the appointment of Baroness Heather Hallett as chair of the UK's inquiry into COVID. And we know that she's got a track record in terms of being sensitive to devolved Governments in the United Kingdom through her involvement in Northern Ireland.

The emergence of the omicron variant, combined with persistently high case rates, means our focus remains on responding to the current crisis and to keeping Wales safe. I invite Members to support our amendments to the motion. Diolch, Llywydd. 

I now call on Andrew R.T. Davies to reply to the debate. Andrew R.T. Davies.  

Thank you, Presiding Officer, and could I thank everyone who's contributed in the debate this afternoon? We make no apologies for bringing this debate again before the Senedd, as Russell George in his opening remarks made it quite clear that the Welsh Conservatives have been championing this cause for the last 18 months or so. It is vital that Wales has its own independent inquiry, and if I could use the words of the Minister herself from yesterday's contributions in the health statement that she put forward on testing and booster vaccine roll-out here in Wales, she actually said,

'I don't know where people are getting that idea that we are doing this in the same way as in England. We're not.'

And that is the key thing here. Wales has taken a separate road on many issues, as has been highlighted in many contributions this afternoon: Laura Anne Jones talking about the life-changing decisions that various Ministers have taken; Rhun ap Iorwerth saying that it shouldn't be a chapter in a UK inquiry; Delyth Jewell and Heledd Fychan highlighting, in Heledd's case, the number of deaths in the South Wales Central area, but, in Delyth's case, the particular issue over care homes and discharges into care homes. These are issues that cannot be just dealt with in a wider UK inquiry. They need to be looked at specifically in a Welsh context, because the decisions were taken by Welsh Ministers. 

And I think what's really telling today as well—and I think it's a bit disappointing to say the least, if not upsetting—is that not one single Labour Member contributed to this debate. I can think of no other event at all that has happened in my lifetime that has had such an impact on life in Wales, in the UK, and across the globe. Thankfully, I'm not old enough to have been around when the world wars were on, or any major impacts like that, but this pandemic has touched every corner of the globe, every corner of the United Kingdom, and every part of Wales. And for the 9,000 people who have tragically lost their lives, the families that are left behind do deserve answers. They deserve answers to serious questions they want to put over the way that the issues were dealt with at care homes, in hospitals, or just in the wider community.

I thought the point that Gareth made in particular around the First Minister's actions when it came to face coverings, when it was said by the First Minister himself that they weren't even on the bottom of his list—they weren't even on his list at that time, back last summer. These things are easily forgotten, but actions were slow to come forward that we take for granted now, and Gareth highlighted that in his contribution. Janet, in particular, highlighted the five-mile rule and the impact on rural communities, and then she went on to address the issues around the missing letters that went astray for people who were shielding at the very outset of the pandemic. These are all areas that an inquiry, held under the Inquiries Act 2005, could deal with, because let's not forget, this would be politicians agreeing to set it up, but once it was set up, it would be governed by the Inquiries Act, which is very, very specific in the way the terms of references would be drawn up and the way the chairman would act.

I do welcome that Boris Johnson has announced today the appointment of the UK chair. That is a vital part of the deal—the deal that the UK Prime Minister made when he said he would set up such an inquiry, and he is sticking to that deal. But I cannot, for the life of me, understand why the First Minister, and the Labour Government, and indeed the Labour Party, I assume—with the noble exception of Chris Evans, the Member of Parliament for Islwyn, who believes that we should have a public inquiry—ultimately are standing out from allowing this public inquiry to happen. It is vital that the 9,000 people who have sadly died in this pandemic's families get the answers they require. It was made perfectly clear at the time that there would be an inquiry at the outset, and many of us, as was highlighted by the contributions that have been made this afternoon, genuinely believed that that was going to be a Wales-wide public inquiry, rather than a UK-wide one on its own.

Scotland have proven that it can be done in the context of a Scottish/UK relationship. As a proud unionist, I want to see that UK-wide inquiry, but as a devolutionist as well, I fully understand that decisions have been taken here in Wales that are specific to Wales. The broad consortium that has come together to call for this inquiry—from the older person's commissioner to Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru, to the Institute of Welsh Affairs, a broad consensus of Welsh society—has highlighted the importance that what has been the most traumatic period in most people's lives is genuinely tested under the microscope of an independent inquiry. I do hope that Members of all political persuasions tonight will endorse the Conservative motion that's before them. I referenced Chris Evans, the Labour Islwyn Member of Parliament. I couldn't put this better myself. He said: 

'I don’t think this is a political issue, it's a moral issue.'

We have a moral responsibility to make sure that a public inquiry does come forward. I hope the more free-thinking Labour backbenchers join in Chris Evans's thinking and look to their moral fortitude and vote with the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats tonight, to bring forward that independent inquiry. As I said before, the health Minister summed it up perfectly yesterday in her remarks when she said, 'We aren't England. We're not doing it the way England are doing it.' So, let's test what the Welsh Government did. Let's test those impacts. Let's build the safety measures in place for future pandemics, and make sure we build a better Wales, so that we can stand up to the rigours and the challenges that we might face in the future. Let's vote for this motion tonight. I urge all Members to allow that public inquiry to happen, so that we can do justice for the bereaved here in Wales.

The proposal is to agree the motion without amendment. Does any Member object? You can indicate by—. [Objection.] I see that there is an objection. So, we will defer voting on this item until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.

We do now reach voting time, so we will take a short break to prepare for the vote. So, a short break.

Plenary was suspended at 17:19.

The Senedd reconvened at 17:23, with the Llywydd in the Chair.