6. Submissions by Ms Henke

Ms Henke: Bore da.

Baroness Hallett: Bore da.

Ms Henke: Boneddiges, my Lady, these are the oral submissions on behalf of the Welsh Government.

The pandemic, as you know, touched the lives of everyone in Wales, our families, our colleagues and our friends, our communities and the many families who lost loved ones. On behalf of the Welsh Government, we would like to take this opportunity to express again our sympathy to those affected and to all who sadly lost loved ones.

During the pandemic, the Welsh Government took difficult decisions which undoubtedly disrupted and changed people’s lives and livelihoods. Our communities and local services suffered and we are still learning of the impacts not only on the health of the people of Wales but also upon our young people, our communities and our businesses.

The decisions were made by the Welsh Government to protect Welsh citizens. At the time, the Welsh Government was dealing with a virus about which we knew very little but where we needed to act quickly. Three years on, we have greater knowledge and experience. We accept there is a real need to learn from the past, to ensure a better future for the society we serve. The Welsh Government is fully committed to this Inquiry.

To date the Welsh Government has filed with the Inquiry ten draft Rule 9 statements. Having read the written submissions filed by the other Core Participants, we thought it might be helpful if we set out briefly that the drafts filed to date include a draft of a statement volunteered by the First Minister, as well as draft statements from the Director of Legal Services, a draft statement from the Permanent Secretary, from the Chief Medical Officer, a combined draft statement from TAG and TAC, a draft statement in relation to HSSG, a draft statement on behalf of the Welsh Treasury, a draft statement from the Director of Property and Ethics, a draft statement in relation to the NHSW request and a draft statement from Dr Gill Richardson, who was, during the period under scrutiny by this Inquiry, seconded to the Welsh Government.

The Welsh Government is currently working on a further 20 Rule 9 requests and a further tranche of Rule 9 draft statements will be served in accordance with the pipeline which we have been able to agree with the Inquiry and for which we are thankful.

Responding to counsel to the Inquiry’s opening submissions on the impact on others, the Welsh Government would invite the Inquiry to consider seeking further Rule 9 statements from Wales-based organisations. We have listened carefully to the submissions on this topic already made by the other Core Participants. We support those suggestions and would add to those that they have suggested faith groups in Wales and those in Wales who advocate for those at risk from violence and domestic abuse.

Further, the Welsh Government wish to highlight to the Inquiry the statutory role in Wales of the National Adviser for Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence for Wales. The Welsh Government supports the Welsh TUC submission in relation to the Health and Safety Executive and consider that a Rule 9 request directed to them would assist the Inquiry’s process.

The Welsh Government accepts that initially problems with technology hindered the process by which ministerial advices were disclosed to the Inquiry. Those problems, as well as initial operational difficulties, have been overcome. The Welsh Government apologises to the Inquiry for the delay that was caused and, through me, wishes to ensure the Inquiry that it is doing all it can to make up for lost time.

As at today’s date, 514 ministerial advices have been disclosed to the Inquiry. In addition, over 4,000 documents are with the Inquiry. A pipeline of disclosure into the Inquiry has been established and I can tell the Inquiry on behalf of the Welsh Government that approximately 800 other ministerial advice documents will be disclosed by the end of the week and a further 400 before the end of term.

In Wales, the relationship between the state and the citizen is one of co-production. It is accepted that a high trust and effective public service works best when the person using a service is seen as an asset, not as a problem to be solved.

The Welsh Government acknowledges and embraces a reciprocal relationship between the contributions of the public service and the service users. We accept expertise never lies solely on the side of the provider. The Welsh Government, in its decision making, draws upon the expertise of lived experience and did so in its decision making, which this Inquiry will scrutinise.

The Welsh Government has considered the written submissions of the other Core Participants who emphasised the need for the Inquiry to have evidence from service users with lived experience as well as service providers.

The Welsh Government sees the importance and value of that evidence. We invite the Inquiry to further particularise how the voice of service users will be captured by explicitly stating which are to be system-based models and which impact modules and how the interface between the two will be achieved.

My Lady, in the early history of the pandemic, it became clear that the majority of measures affecting people in Wales would be made through the exercise of public health powers and the responsibility for making decisions fell squarely and directly on the Welsh Government. Understanding the Welsh devolution settlement, how it operates in practice and its impact on the citizens in Wales is thus an integral part of understanding and scrutinising the decisions made in Wales in response to the pandemic.

The Welsh Government looks forward to reading the report of Professor Henderson and welcomes at this stage confirmation that the report is intended to fully and properly reflect the Welsh devolution settlement and how it impacted on the citizens of Wales.

In its written submissions, the Welsh Government has quoted from the note of the counsel to the Inquiry that Module 2B has a significant amount of ground to cover during its public hearing and a relatively limited amount of time within which to do so. The Welsh Government emphasises that sufficient time must be allowed to enable the Inquiry to do justice to its important work and asks the Inquiry to ensure that if extra days are needed they are made available.

The Welsh Government has considered the written submissions on behalf of the Welsh TUC and the Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru which advocate for a further hearing at the conclusions of Module 2, 2A, 2B and 2C and we consider it is well made. The Welsh Government therefore supports that submission. It is important that every opportunity is taken to learn lessons.

Turning to the listening exercise, Every Story Matters, and commemoration. The Welsh Government accepts that both are very important. It is important that everyone has the time and space to reflect and remember. The listening exercise and commemorative content, be it online, at the hearings themselves and in a physical form, must be accessible to all. It must be in a form accessible to those that need an easy reading version, those with visual hearing impairments and those who communicate in their own way and those who communicate in their own language.

My Lady, finally, diolch am wrando heddiw. Thank you for listening to me today.

Unless you have any questions for me, my Lady, those conclude the submissions.

Baroness Hallett: Thank you very much indeed, Ms Henke and, as I said earlier to everyone else, I will bear those submissions very much in mind when I make any decisions about the future progress of the Inquiry.

Mr Poole do you have any further submissions in response?