00:00 So Minister, do you still believe that a full Wales inquiry into the pandemic is unnecessary?
00:07 And if so, why?
00:08 Well, I do think it's unnecessary for the reasons that have been said over and over
00:14 again in this chamber.
00:17 What we have seen in the inquiry is plenty of evidence to suggest that actually the link
00:22 between the decision making in London and the decision making here, that we were restricted
00:29 by certain issues in relation to our ability to put in, for example, some supportive funding
00:39 if we wanted to lock down for longer.
00:42 So there were some areas where it's almost impossible for us to take different actions.
00:51 Another example, of course, is our ability to close the borders.
00:55 Pandemic accidentally became one of the best things for the exposure of devolution in Wales.
01:00 Prior to COVID, many people wouldn't have been able to name the Welsh Health Minister
01:03 or possibly even the First Minister for that point.
01:05 But now they're household names.
01:07 The fact that Wales had its own lockdown and pandemic related protocols skyrocketed people's
01:12 awareness of devolution and showed Wales had powers from within Wales.
01:17 These powers, though, according to some people, have not been scrutinised in the same way
01:20 the UK government has been through the COVID inquiry in London.
01:24 There have been elements that look into Welsh element of lockdowns and COVID rules, but
01:28 politicians in the Senate want to see a Wales specific COVID inquiry that takes a deeper
01:32 look into Welsh government decisions during the pandemic.
01:35 Clearly, we haven't really started on the interrogation of module 2B yet.
01:43 And I think there will be an opportunity after that for the committee to undertake more scrutiny
01:50 because then the gaps will become a bit more obvious.
01:53 Mabonogh Gwyndyfyr wants to make sure that the Welsh government are properly held to
01:57 account for decisions made during the pandemic and thinks the Welsh specific inquiry is the
02:01 only way forward.
02:03 Boris Johnson and London were certainly to blame for a number of things.
02:06 Here in Wales, the government decided to introduce mask wearing at a later date than in England,
02:12 for instance, and it was the Welsh government that decided to release or allow elderly people
02:17 to go back to care homes.
02:18 So, those are entirely Welsh government decisions.
02:21 We also have best practice in Wales.
02:22 Look at the test and trace in Ceredigion, which then rolled out to other parts of the
02:27 UK.
02:28 So, we've got things that we need to learn and lessons to learn here in Wales.
02:32 A creation of a Welsh specific inquiry will not only give the thousands of bereaved individuals
02:38 across Wales the answers and the closure they richly deserve, it will also ensure that the
02:43 experiences of the pandemic can effectively inform future preparedness and resilience
02:48 measures.
02:49 The pandemic was a frightening, confusing and strange time for the people across the
02:53 country and hearing about errors during the last section of the Covid inquiry only gave
02:57 us more questions than answers.
02:59 But who's to say what will come out in any future inquiries?
03:01 Jamie Peach, Watkins, reporting from Wales.
03:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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