3. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 10 May 2022.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 2:54, 10 May 2022

—I wrote to the First Minister on 27 April, asking him to correct the Record, the Senedd Record, after he said that responsibility for the COVID public inquiry

'has moved into the hands of the independent judge who has been appointed to lead it.'

He was answering a question asked by Heledd Fychan. Now, as somebody who has called consistently for a Wales-only inquiry to ensure that issues are looked at properly from a Welsh perspective—and these are vitally important issues, of course, surrounding the circumstances of thousands of deaths here in Wales—I'm not happy that we're just a part of a UK inquiry that I don't believe can look forensically enough at the situation here in Wales, and, as I've said repeatedly, I'm frustrated that the Labour Welsh Government has been happy to trust Boris Johnson on this, on both the timing of an inquiry and the remit. Now, the reason I called for the Record to be set straight was that full responsibility had not been handed to the independent chair and that the UK Prime Minister still had the responsibility of signing off the terms of reference—the all-important terms of reference of the inquiry. So, as the First Minister has written to me today to say that he is not going to take this opportunity to correct the Record, will the health Minister at least confirm that which is factually correct: that the First Minister was wrong to say that Boris Johnson had no further role or influence on the setting-up of the inquiry, because he had? We need a Welsh inquiry. The Welsh Government won't give us that, but at least be honest with us.