Plaid promises short, sharp 'review' into Covid instead of public inquiry
GettyPlaid Cymru's health spokesman says his party would hold a "short, sharp and focused" review of Wales' Covid response if the party wins May's Senedd election.
Mabon ap Gwynfor sought to clarify his party's position on holding a Wales-specific inquiry into the pandemic after it appeared to backtrack on a previous pledge to do so.
Plaid's finance spokeswoman Heledd Fychan told BBC Wales on Thursday that Plaid would hold "an investigation" into what happened during Covid, "but not a full inquiry".
Public inquiries are taxpayer-funded investigations, setup by ministers and carried out independently to examine a matter of public concern around a particular event.
The UK Covid inquiry - set up by the then prime minister Boris Johnson in 2022 - has cost more than £200m and held its final hearing earlier this month.
Plaid had repeatedly called for a Wales-specific inquiry to scrutinise all the decisions taken by the Welsh Labour government after Covid struck.
In Plaid's 2024 general election manifesto it said that the situation in Wales during the pandemic could not be considered "in the necessary detail" by the UK inquiry alone.
Asked to clarify his party's position on Friday, ap Gwynfor said Plaid was committed to holding "a short and precise inquiry" in areas not "adequately" covered by the UK-wide inquiry.
But he said it would have a "clear remit and timescale" and not be a full public inquiry like the one for the UK.
"The expectation with a public inquiry is that it is an open-ended process with unlimited resources and time," he said.
"That is not what we are proposing. Our review will be short, sharp and focused, and our aim and its purpose is clear - to learn the lessons from the pandemic we need to learn here in Wales."
He also confirmed that witnesses would be compelled to give evidence under oath.
PA MediaThe Covid Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru, which represents some of those who lost loved ones during the pandemic and has long called for a Welsh inquiry, said it saw "no reason" to think Plaid would "backtrack" on its commitment to hold one.
"We've been talking to Mabon for months about what a Wales Covid inquiry should look like - short, sharp, and focused on action-based recommendations.
"It needs to stick to devolved responsibilities and carry the full powers of a public statutory inquiry.
"Call it a review, a reset, or whatever label works best - the key is that it delivers real accountability."
The Welsh Conservatives and Welsh Liberal Democrats remain committed to a Wales-specific Covid inquiry.
The Welsh Labour government has refused to hold such inquiry, on the basis that the pandemic needs to be investigated in a wider, UK context.
In a compromise with the Conservatives, ministers agreed to form a Senedd committee to examine gaps in the UK inquiry's approach to Wales.
But the plan fell apart last year after the Conservatives objected to a government refusal for ministers and officials to give evidence under oath.
The Wales Green Party said a Welsh inquiry should have already been conducted, however the focus should be on "implementing the recommendations of the UK inquiry".
BBC Wales has been told that Reform believes more Wales-specific work is needed to learn the lessons from the handling of the pandemic.
