Councils in Wales could get local lockdown powers, Drakeford says

Mark Drakeford said it "might make better sense" for local authorities to be given more "flexibility, autonomy and responsibility" to deal with local outbreaks of coronavirus.

Before the 'firebreak' period, local lockdown decisions lay with Welsh ministers, who acted following talks with local partners.

Mr Drakeford's comments came as the Welsh Government set out a new raft of national rules to tackle coronavirus, opting for a Wales-wide approach over the tapestry of local restrictions announced earlier in the autumn.

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But the first minister said Wales was "bound to face local flare-ups, and we will need to take local action" after the 'fire break' ends on November 9.

A decision on "local outbreak management" will be made later this week, he told reporters at Monday's Welsh Government press conference on the Covid-19 public health crisis.

He said: "At the moment the decisions lie with Welsh ministers on the advice of local IMTs (incident management teams) and want to see whether it might make better sense for there to be a greater level of local flexibility, autonomy and responsibility; so that those closest to those local outbreaks can institute for themselves more local measures."