The next item is the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2022. I call on the Minister for health to move the motion, Eluned Morgan.

Motion NDM7928 Lesley Griffiths

To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:

1. Approves The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No.5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No.5) Regulations 2022 laid in the Table Office on 17 February 2022.

Motion moved.

Thank you very much, Llywydd, and greetings from St David's on Saint David's Day. In terms of the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) Regulations 2020, we must review the regulations every three weeks. The last three-weekly review was concluded on 10 February. With more and more people having been vaccinated, including being boosted, and thanks to the hard work of everyone across Wales, we are confident that coronavirus rates are declining. We can therefore look forward to better days ahead of us. In a phased way, we can start to remove some of the protections that are still in place at alert level 0. But we're not going to remove all restrictions at the same time. We must bear in mind that the pandemic is not yet over. In Wales, we will continue to make decisions on safeguarding public health based on scientific evidence available to us.

These regulations amend the main regulations and they came into force on 18 February 2022. These included scrapping the legal requirement to show a COVID pass in order to access open-air events and locations such as cinemas, theatres, nightclubs and concert halls. But, of course, events and settings can continue to use the pass if they choose to do so.

The regulations are also being amended to extend the exemptions for individuals who have been fully vaccinated who are reported as close contacts of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. So, from now on, those who have received vaccines that have been approved abroad will no longer have to self-isolate if they're identified as a close contact.

The regulations also extend the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020 and the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Functions of Local Authorities etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2020 until 28 March 2022. Despite the amendments being made by these regulations, Wales continues to be at alert level 0 and it continues to be a requirement for Welsh Ministers to review the need for restrictions and the requirements of the main regulations and to consider how proportionate they are every 21 days. On Friday, when we will share the outcome of our next 21-day review of the regulations, we will also be announcing our plans for the longer term.

I encourage Members to support the motion. Thank you, Llywydd.

Minister, can I associate myself with the comments you made on the successful roll-out of vaccinations, and all those who have worked so hard in delivering those vaccinations to allow us to get to the stage that we've got to now in relaxing restrictions on our everyday lives? This is after, of course, two years of a very difficult time for communities and people across Wales. So, I do welcome a large part of the regulations today.

You'll know, of course, Minister, of my and the Welsh Conservatives' opposition to COVID passes; they were the wrong decision and we haven't seen the evidence that they've been effective. It is, however, the right decision that the Welsh Government is now scrapping COVID passes, so that, of course, I welcome. You mentioned in your remarks, Minister, that there'll still be a voluntary element to COVID passes, so I would be interested in what level of resource is required from the Welsh Government to service that on a voluntary basis for those who are taking that option up.

Minister, you often mention that England is an outlier. Well, of course, Wales is an outlier now with regard to the ending of COVID restrictions. We've had a date from the Scottish Government; we know the date has passed for England after the UK Government announced the ending of COVID laws for that part of the UK. So, Wales is now an outlier. Can I ask, in the next set of regulations, can we now expect you to provide us with that date when all remaining COVID laws will come to an end?

Earlier this afternoon, Minister, I and other Members of this Chamber met with groups from the COVID bereavement families group. It's always very emotional for those people who are relaying their stories of family members who've sadly passed away, but what they do expect is a Wales-specific inquiry. So, can I ask again, Minister, for you to address this very point? They want an inquiry and we know that many health bodies across Wales want a Wales-wide inquiry. You have said and the First Minister has repeatedly said that Wales does things differently. We are doing things differently, so I would question why you'd want to hide from that scrutiny that a Wales-wide specific inquiry would bring. So, at this late stage now, Minister, I hope that you can bring some positive confirmation to those families today who are again asking for that Wales-wide specific inquiry.

Just a few comments from me. The changes are few, if truth be told, but every one is significant as we move forward to a more endemic phase. But, as a first comment, it does make sense to extend the main regulations until the end of March. We still haven't put the pandemic behind us, but on a practical level, the statutory defences still in place are very few and far between. I would make the comment once again that we in this place are talking about changes that have already been introduced, and since things are moving quite gradually now, I do think that we could be dealing with issues in a more timely manner. And, of course, we want to be able to look to the future and to those final stages of lifting restrictions or removing protections.

Just a few comments from me—two concerns. Can I ask the Minister what the stance now is on continued testing in Wales, and what are the arguments that the Minister is putting forward to the UK Government on this? It was raised by members of the public, constituents of mine: if lateral flow tests have to be paid for, for example, in England, well, what will the implications of that be for Wales, where, of course, prescriptions are available free of charge? And we will need to think carefully about what will need to be done in terms of providing tests for vulnerable people or carers, for example.

And another issue: if isolation rules come to an end as part of the next phase, then how can we ensure support for the most vulnerable people? Because, as with so many elements of the pandemic, the vulnerable and vulnerable sections of society have suffered disproportionately, and the last thing we want to do is to see a continuation of that inequality as we move beyond the pandemic. So, I would welcome comments on that.

And finally from me, it was a privilege to sponsor an event here in the Senedd today, where Members from all parties had an opportunity to meet some of the families who'd lost loved ones over the past two years—campaigners who have been demanding an independent Wales-only public inquiry. I, like many others, did try to put the case as fervently and as determinedly as we could in terms of having a Wales-only inquiry. We failed in that regard, and I very much regret that; the families also regret that. But now, what we need to ensure is that the UK-wide inquiry does look at things from a Welsh perspective. So, I've today written to the public inquiry team, asking for assurances that those Welsh campaigners and their legal teams will have an opportunity to be key witnesses to that inquiry, and they won't be some bolt-on to the campaigning group in England or across the UK. So, will the Minister join with my demand to ensure that they are treated as a separate group, to ensure that the Welsh voice is heard within that inquiry?

The Minister for health to respond to these contributions. Eluned Morgan.

Diolch yn fawr. I'm very grateful to the Members for their contributions. Of course—[Inaudible.]

Okay. We seem to have lost you.

We seem to have a technical problem with the Minister's response.

Can you hear me?

Yes. Try again. If you could begin from the beginning, Minister. I think you're back with us. You're a long way away in St David's, clearly, but try again.

Okay, thanks. Just to say that we're all very content that the vaccines and the vaccination plan have been very successful here in Wales. Of course, we're in a situation now where we are not going to continue with the passes, but, of course, people have an opportunity, if they want to, to use them. And, of course, if it is something that they decide to do, they will have to make that decision and, obviously, there will be no resources from the Welsh Government for that as a result of that.

Unlike in England, Russell, we like to follow the science rather than the politics here in Wales when it comes to dealing with COVID, and I'm very pleased to say that the Welsh public seems to have responded positively to that, with around 70 per cent of the public in Wales supporting the approach that the Welsh Government has taken in Wales, compared to about 40 per cent supporting the Conservative approach in England. God knows how they got to 40 per cent, but there we go.

I think it's really important also for people to note that there will, of course, be the 21-day review when you will hear in terms of our long-term plans on this coming Friday, from the First Minister.

I'm glad to hear that you met with the bereaved families group. These are always really difficult meetings. These people have lost loved ones and I think it is really important that we are extremely sensitive and understanding. Lots of us have lost loved ones to COVID and, of course, when it comes to a specific Wales inquiry, we've made our position quite clear on that on several occasions in the Chamber.

Rhun, in terms of the continuation of testing, a lot more detail in terms of our plans for testing in the future will be provided on Friday. Of course, we're very aware of how important it is to protect people who are vulnerable, and I do think it's important that you too have met with people who have lost loved ones and I'm sure that you heard what the First Minister said this afternoon about their opportunity to meet people in terms of what's happening in England with the inquiry there. Thank you.

The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] There is an objection, and I will defer voting until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.