Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the effect of the different approaches of the UK and Welsh Governments to tackling covid-19 on the health of people in (a) Shrewsbury and (b) other border communities; and if he will work with his Welsh counterpart to improve co-ordination on covid-19 between the two Administrations.

The UK Government is doing whatever it takes to ensure the UK defeats Coronavirus and I have regular discussions with the First Minister and his Ministerial team on the UK-wide response, including the impact of Covid-19 on border communities. I consider it crucial that any differences in the response between Wales and England is supported by robust evidence.

Since the start of the outbreak, including through the COBR Ministerial Committee and the Ministerial Implementation Groups, there have been 116 engagements in total between the UK and Welsh Government. I am, of course, always looking for opportunities for closer working between the two governments and have asked the First Minister to consider inviting the Parliamentary Under-Secretary or me to attend meetings of the Welsh Government’s Covid-19 Core Ministerial Group.