Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 19 January 2022.
Minister, as we look forward, it is important that the Welsh Government spells out exactly how it's going to support the sustainability of the sector for the future in the form of a specific strategy. As part of that strategy, the Welsh Government should look at some of the underlying challenges facing the sector prior to the pandemic and consider what lessons it can learn from the COVID pandemic, to ensure that the sector's sustainability is not threatened in the future. Of course, as we move out of the pandemic, the Welsh Government must reconsider the need for COVID passes, and, at the very least, confirm what criteria will need to be met before they are scrapped. Minister, given that COVID passes have been proven ineffective in keeping nightclubs and similar settings open, which was the whole basis, incidentally, of the Government introducing these passes in the first place, what steps now are you taking to roll back COVID passes, and instead work up industry-backed solutions to support the hospitality and night-time sectors in the short and medium term?