Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 11 January 2022.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:48, 11 January 2022

Well, I reciprocate the good wishes from the leader of the opposition, of course, as we go into the new year, but I don't agree with quite a lot of what he just said. All the actions that the Welsh Government takes are those recommended to us and endorsed by our clinical and scientific advisers. This is a Government that follows the science, does not spend its time trying to pressurise scientists into giving us advice that will be politically convenient for us. Nor do I agree with him that it is practically impossible to do some of the things he said; I see many, many people running in the park in organised groups within the current level of protections. Fifty people can get together with 50 other people helping to organise themselves into such activity, and many, many people are taking advantage of that. We will keep the protections under review. As soon as we get advice that it is safe to do so, then of course we will want to begin to reverse the journey we've had to be on while Wales is in the teeth of the omicron storm. And let me be clear, Llywydd: that is where we are. We are still facing the enormous pressures and impacts of coronavirus in the way that the past two questions have so amply demonstrated.