Senedd as it happened: 2 December 2020

1. MSs react to the news that the UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
3. Questions to the Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language
4. Standards of Conduct Committee debate – Report 02-20
5. Debate on the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Report: The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on journalism and local media
6. Debate on the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee Report: The decarbonisation of transport
7. Plaid Cymru debate – The food sector
8. Short Debate - Iconic Welsh wildlife: the plight of Wales’s red squirrels.

Hwyl fawr

That's it for today.

Senedd Live returns on Tuesday. Take care.

'Iconic Welsh wildlife'

The topic chosen for the Short Debate by Darren Millar (Clwyd West) is "Iconic Welsh wildlife".

He highlights the plight of Wales’s red squirrels.

There are about 140,000 red squirrels in the UK compared to 2.5 million grey squirrels, which were introduced from North America in the 1800s and have replaced reds across almost all of England and Wales.

BBC

'Support community food growing and food re-use projects'

The Plaid Cymru motion on the food sector is amended in its entirety by the Welsh Government, and then passed by MSs.

There were 39 for, no abstentions and 11 against.

So MSs call on the Welsh Government:

a) to bring together farmers, food businesses, public bodies and civil society to work towards a shared vision for a food system fit for future generations;

b) to replace the system of basic payment farm subsidy based on land-area farmed to a system where all public money supports the delivery of environmental outcomes alongside high quality food;

c) to promote fair work and innovation in the food sector in Wales to help create more well-paid jobs in the foundational economy;

d) to support community food growing and food re-use projects in every community in Wales.

Recommendation of the Standards of Conduct Committee report endorsed

MSs endorse the recommendation of the Standards of Conduct Committee report "that a breach has been found but that no further action should be taken".

There were 40 for, nine abstentions and one against.

'Work towards a shared vision for a food system fit for future generations'

The Welsh Government has tabled an amendment seeking to delete the Plaid Cymru motion in its entirety and replace with a proposal that the Senedd:

1. Notes that access to food and protection of the environment is achieved by raising skills, raising incomes and enabling collaborative action on the ground between communities, businesses and public bodies.

2. Welcomes the report by the Sustainable Places Research Institute at Cardiff University and agrees that new food infrastructure and delivery mechanisms should be guided by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the five ways of working.

3. Calls on Welsh Government:

a) to bring together farmers, food businesses, public bodies and civil society to work towards a shared vision for a food system fit for future generations;

b) to replace the system of basic payment farm subsidy based on land-area farmed to a system where all public money supports the delivery of environmental outcomes alongside high quality food;

c) to promote fair work and innovation in the food sector in Wales to help create more well-paid jobs in the foundational economy;

d) to support community food growing and food re-use projects in every community in Wales.

BBC

Lesley Griffiths MS, Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs

'Introduce a local food and drink charter'

Welsh Conservatives

If, as expected, the Welsh Government's amendment is agreed, the Conservatives' amendment will be de-selected.

Conservative Janet Finch-Saunders calls on the Welsh Government to

• "introduce a local food and drink charter to encourage shops, cafés, and restaurants to sell locally sourced Welsh food and drink and help promote the scheme to consumers;
• "develop a tourism strategy to promote food and drink trails and experiences across Wales;
• "work with the Her Majesty’s Government to promote Welsh food and drink overseas."

BBC

Janet Finch-Saunders

'Lack of alignment to provide a coherent national food policy within Welsh Government food strategies and action plans over the past decade'

Plaid Cymru

The topic chosen by Plaid Cymru for their debate is the food sector.

Llyr Gruffydd moves the motion, proposing that the Senedd:

1. Notes the importance of the food sector to a broad range of policy agendas in Wales, including the environment, health, economy and poverty.

2. Regrets the lack of alignment to provide a coherent national food policy within Welsh Government food strategies and action plans over the past decade.

3. Recognises that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of our current food system.

4. Praises the role that Welsh farmers and producers play in keeping our shelves stocked.

5. Understands that the climate, nature and biodiversity crises increases the likelihood of extreme weather events which will heavily impact the global food system.

6. Notes that 14per cent of UK families with children have experienced food insecurity between Marchand August 2020, and that the Trussell Trust gave out 70,393 emergency food parcels in Wales between April and September 2020.

7. Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) move towards a more coherent approach to food policy in Wales by bringing together a cross-sector food system commission to be tasked with developing a roadmap to deliver a food system fit for future generations;

b) ensure food systems are more resilient to external factors in the long-term, such as the climate crisis;

c) develop local processing capacity across Wales;

d) increase procurement of Welsh food and drink amongst public services.

Target of all taxis and private hire vehicles being zero emission by 2028

The Welsh Government accepts all the recommendations in the report by the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee.

Lee Waters, Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport, points out that there are a number of projects in progress to incentivise the switch to zero emission taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs), "in order to meet our target of all taxis and PHVs being zero emission by 2028."

The response from the Welsh Government to the report can be seen in full here.

'Create a low carbon transport network for the post-corona era'

The next item is a debate on the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee Report: "The decarbonisation of transport".

Committee chair Russell George (Montgomeryshire) presents the report. He says he hopes "that this report will help contribute to plans underway to create a low carbon transport network for the post-corona era".

There are 15 recommendations. Recommendation 1 is that "the Welsh Government should outline for the Committee what consideration it is giving to energy and grid capacity issues for running fully electric vehicle fleets in Wales and how is it building that into the Welsh planning system, and to provide assurances about its sustainability plans for managing the procurement and circular recycling of electric batteries".

BBC

One recommendation rejected, on BBC Cymru Wales’ funding

The Welsh Government accepts all but one recommendation.

They reject the recommendation that they should "urge the UK government to fill the gap of up to £8.5 million in BBC Cymru Wales’ funding".

Lord Elis-Thomas, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, responds that "we will continue to press for sufficient funding for BBC Cymru Wales from the BBC centrally, in line with its independence of government, funded through the TV licence fee."

The response from the Welsh Government to the report can be seen in full here.

BBC

Lord Elis-Thomas

Mark Drakeford 'become something of a cult figure'

Mark Drakeford has "become something of a cult figure throughout the United Kingdom" says Conservative David Melding, citing that as an example of "an improvement in the coverage of devolved matters".

BBC

David Melding

'News journalism in Wales being tested to breaking point'

We move on to a Debate on the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Report: The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on journalism and local media.

Committee chair Helen Mary Jones (Mid and West Wales) presents the report.

The committee's view is that "the crisis has provided a further stress on an increasingly fragile business model. The structural weaknesses in news journalism in Wales that we observed in our 2018 report into News Journalism in Wales are being tested to breaking point."

There are nine recommendations, the first of which is that "the Welsh Government should urge Ofcom to ensure that broadcasters maintain accuracy and impartiality by reporting on all four UK nations equally, as a matter of course, but especially when it comes to their approach to public health."

BBC

Helen Mary Jones

Jonathan Swan's conduct 'reprehensible'

The complaint was made by Jonathan Swan, who resigned in December last year as chair of Plaid Cymru Cardiff West.

Mr Swan had sought anonymity.

The Commissioner states in his report that: “Whilst Dr Lloyd’s contravention of the provisions cannot be excused the conduct of the instigator of the complaint is, in my opinion, very much more reprehensible.”

The Commissioner also highlights this complaint as a: “…very clear example of abuse of the complaints process in an attempt to score political points.”

The Committee says it "concluded that the Committee should not allow itself to be used as a conduit for the release of information about a private meeting for purpose of political 'point scoring'. The abuse of the system in this way is unacceptable, and undermines a process which should build confidence in elected representatives."

The vote on the recommendation in the report will be held later today.

'Meeting was overtly political and used to improve Plaid Cymru's electoral fortunes'

The next item is a debate on the Standards of Conduct Committee report – Report 02-20.

The complaint relates to a meeting of the Plaid Cymru group in June 2017, and the use of Senedd resources (namely a room in Ty Hywel) for party political purposes. It was made against Dai Lloyd MS, in his capacity as the chair of the Plaid Cymru Group.

The complaint against the member concerned, Dai Lloyd, states “‘that Plaid Cymru organised a party political strategy meeting on the Assembly Estate” and that “‘The nature of the meeting was overtly political and used to improve Plaid Cymru's electoral fortunes”.

The committee notes that Dai Lloyd "fully acknowledged that his actions constituted a breach of the Code of Conduct".

The Committee recommends to the Senedd, in accordance with 7.12(iii) of the Procedure for Dealing with Complaints against Members of the Senedd, that a breach has been found but that no further action should be taken.

BBC

Dai Lloyd "fully acknowledged that his actions constituted a breach of the Code of Conduct"

'Betrayal of the rural community'

One Topical Question has been selected.

Plaid Cymru's Llyr Gruffydd seeks a statement "on the implications of the cuts to Welsh agricultural funding announced in the UK government’s spending review on 25 November 2020".

Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs accuses the UK government of a "betrayal of the rural community", leaving them "£137 million short".

Welsh agriculture will get £242m next year from UK ministers.

But UK government ministers have said said farmers will get the same cash in 2021 as 2019.

Getty Images

The UK government has rejected claims it had "betrayed" farmers

Total Covid-19 deaths in Wales at 2,614

BBC

220 cases per 100,000 people of 'great concern'

Vaughan Gething says today's figures of 220 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people are of "great concern to me".

20,000 people to be protected under first batch of Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine

Health minister Vaughan Gething tells Conservative Andrew RT Davies that the first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine are already on their way to the UK, with 800,000 due in the coming days, and that Wales' share will be "a little under 40,000 doses, so a little under 20,000 people can be protected - because they need two shots".

Every part the country will get some coverage, Mr Gething tells the Senedd, and more vaccines are expected to be delivered in December.

The health minister could not give exact figures, but indicates the UK would receive “several million”.

“Even if we do get say 2 million, it won't provide, sort of, effective population coverage,” he adds.

That’s why more vaccines are needed to come into the UK, he says.

PA Media

When will all care home residents in Wales be able to receive a Covid-19 vaccine?

Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth expresses concern about when all care home residents in Wales will be able to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.

Vaughan Gething sets out the practical difficulty involving the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine that it has to be stored at -75 C and also transported at that sub-zero temperature to the central locations where it will be used.

He says the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine would be much easier to distribute.

According to he health minister: “Because of the particular characteristics of the Pfizer vaccine, we don't think we're going to be able to safely take it to care homes.

“That means we're going to have a smaller number of vaccination centres we need to bring people to.”

Mr Gething adds the vaccine will help with care home residents “who are mobile”.

But he says the Welsh NHS will not be able to deliver the vaccine to “care home residents who are right at the top of the vulnerability list”.

“They'll get some protection though, from us and our ability to prioritise staff who work in those environments, as well as our frontline healthcare staff.”

BBC

Rhun ap Iorwerth

Priority to receive the Covid-19 vaccine

Vaughan Gething tells MSs that the Welsh Government will split the population into age groups to determine priority to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, based on advice form the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The order of priority is set to be:

• Older residents in care homes and care home workers
• All those 80 years and over and health and social care workers
• All those 75 years and over
• Those 70 and over, and clinically extremely vulnerable people- including those with cancer and kidney disease
• All aged 65 and over
• All individuals aged 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality
• All those 60 years and over
• All those 55 years and over
• All those 50 years and over
• The 40% remainder of the population, with order of priority to be determined.

BBC

Vaughan Gething