Welsh Covid response could be investigated
Wales' response to the pandemic could be investigated by a new Senedd committee under a deal between Welsh Labour and the Welsh Conservatives.
A special committee will see if there are any gaps in what the UK Covid-19 inquiry says about Wales.
It follows a long-running row over whether Wales needs its own probe into the pandemic.
The Welsh Conservatives welcomed the "halfway house" compromise.
Labour ministers said it was right that decisions they took were openly and properly scrutinised.
The Welsh government has continued to resist calls for a Wales-specific public inquiry into Covid, supporting instead the UK-wide effort chaired by Baroness Hallett.
The inquiry has a sub-module specific to Wales and will hold public hearings in the country this autumn.
Campaigners fear the UK inquiry will not be comprehensive enough.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said last year he would support the establishment of a new committee should "aspects of the Covid experience" in Wales "not receive sufficient attention by the Hallett inquiry".
A joint motion will be voted on next week, in an unusual deal between the two parties.
The motion establishes a special purpose committee, which will identify any gaps in UK inquiry reports "in the preparedness and response of the Welsh government and other Welsh public bodies".
Should it find any, it will then review those areas, subject to the approval of the Senedd.
Any reviews would not be the full public inquiry that campaigners have hoped for.
Conservative leader in the Senedd Andrew RT Davies said: "The Welsh Conservatives have been pushing for an independent Welsh Covid inquiry, to cover all bases and ensure that bereaved families get the answers they deserve. We will not give up on our calls to ensure this takes place.
"I'm hopeful that securing this committee will go some way in achieving this."
A Welsh government spokesperson said: "The pandemic touched the lives of everyone in Wales, especially those many families who lost a loved one.
"It is right that the decisions taken by the Welsh government and Welsh public bodies are openly and properly scrutinised. We continue to believe the best way to do that is through the UK Covid-19 inquiry.
"However, as the UK Covid-19 inquiry moves through each of its modules, this special purpose committee will allow the Senedd to determine whether there are any gaps in relation to Wales' preparedness and response and whether further and specific scrutiny needs to be undertaken."
