Jane Hutt: The Wales Audit Office report and the 2019 White Ribbon campaign have highlighted the need to implement the Violence Against Women Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 rigorously across the public sector in Wales, in partnership with specialist services.
Jane Hutt: And I thank David Melding for raising this question today. You will be aware of my written statement on 25 November, where the report did show that—. The Wales Audit Office published its report and it did show that the Act is improving services across Wales, but clearly there is more to do. I think it's important that the WAO report says that the Act is helping to drive the transformation...
Jane Hutt: Well, again, I thank Leanne Wood for bringing this to our attention in this Chamber today. Clearly, we have responsibilities in terms of safeguarding our children from child sexual abuse and exploitation, and, indeed, we are developing and consulting on the statutory guidance. But it is also a responsibility of the justice system, and I will also make sure that this case is raised at the...
Jane Hutt: The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 makes clear that local authorities need to provide adequate authorised Gypsy and Traveller residential and transit sites. In 2013, we published guidance on managing unauthorised camping on roles, responsibilities and rights, to ensure a fair and consistent approach to dealing with unauthorised encampments.
Jane Hutt: As I said, we have published, of course, the managing unauthorised camping guidance, in 2013, and it does set out our clear expectations of how public authorities will resolve such encampments. Also, it is important that we consider the proportionality of any actions in resolving encampments, weighing the rights and obligations of all involved. I have to say that the Welsh Government supports...
Jane Hutt: Our Safer Communities programme is taking forward recommendations arising from the 'Community safety in Wales' report produced by the Wales Audit Office. It does so via a multi-agency approach with key partners.
Jane Hutt: Well, the Welsh Government is committed to making our communities safer, and it has to be joint action that is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour and crime—not directly devolved matters, but we have responsibilities to make sure that we can do everything in our power to make the people of Wales safer and feel safer. We are, of course, embedding a public health approach at the heart of...
Jane Hutt: Well, I'm also very grateful, Suzy Davies, that you've raised that issue about vulnerabilities as well, particularly of women in this situation, and clearly there is a balance to be struck here about addressing issues, such as substance misuse and the impact of that, that I've outlined in Operation Sceptre. But it is clearly the responsibility not just of the local authority and health board,...
Jane Hutt: The Welsh Government has a long-standing commitment to supporting the provision of advice services. Our grant funding ensures that some of the most vulnerable people in Cardiff, and throughout Wales, access the advice and support they need to resolve problems with their housing, debts or welfare benefits.
Jane Hutt: I thank Jenny Rathbone for that important question. It's an issue that I've been raising locally in Cardiff and Vale in terms of the role of the credit unions as well as advice services in providing affordable loans leading up to Christmas, and that can indeed avert and prevent the rise of debt at this particular time of year. But I think advice services are crucial in terms of delivering not...
Jane Hutt: I thank David Melding for that question. What's important in terms of the single advice fund arrangements, the single advice grant funding that I've awarded to providers, is that although there are lead providers—like, in this circumstance, Cardiff and Vale Citizens Advice, in answer to this question—they also have advice partners and access partners, as well as other partners in the...
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I do welcome this debate and I support the motion. Leanne Wood, you gave such a powerful opening speech—you laid out not only the statistics, the figures, but also highlighted high-profile cases. Let's just look at those statistics again. Since 2016, there's been a 43 per cent rise in the number of rape allegations to the police, but the number of cases prosecuted...
Jane Hutt: Llywydd, as long as rape and sexual violence remain taboo subjects it's much harder, as has been said today, for victims to report. And, when they do, they must be confident that they will be believed, that action will be taken, that their attackers will be held to account. And that's why this debate is so important. Those that commit these crimes must know that they won't get away with it,...
Jane Hutt: We've significantly increased our investment in tackling hate crime in recent months to address the rise in hateful narratives. And I'll lead a debate in March providing an update on action to tackle hate crime with our partners in Wales.
Jane Hutt: I thank you very much for that question, Oscar, because it is true that the rise in disability hate crime was a shocking statistic last year. We have put more funding into our national hate crime report and support centre over the next two years, and that's also on top of annual funding that we give. And we're also developing an anti-hate crime campaign in terms of communications, and we're...
Jane Hutt: Again, I thank John Griffiths for that important question and, indeed, we must treat hate crime against Gypsy/Traveller/Roma communities with equal vigour, as we are against disability hate crime, race hate crime, LGBT hate crime, all the hate crimes that unfortunately are in our midst. And, of course, I'm pleased that we are investing not only in our Travelling Ahead fund in terms of...
Jane Hutt: Public services boards have a collective purpose and obligation to improve well-being in their areas through their local well-being plans. The Welsh Government provides a range of support to enable them to make their work as effective as possible.
Jane Hutt: Well, I thank you, Jenny Rathbone, for that question, and it's very good to hear that the climate change committee is undertaking this inquiry into tackling fuel poverty. What is crucial is that public services boards must be held to account for the work that they're doing and, in fact, they have that scrutiny through a local authority scrutiny committee, which reviews both the governance of...
Jane Hutt: Well, it is important that we assess the impact of public services boards—crucial, as part of the tools of the well-being of future generations legislation, and obviously of great interest to the commissioner. Of course, we are seeking to support PSBs, to make them have a greater impact in terms of delivery. That includes engagement partners, and not just community, which is crucial, but...
Jane Hutt: The Welsh Government has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism in full and without qualification. We are determined to root out intolerance in our communities, and I will provide a full statement this afternoon on work that we are doing to combat antisemitism and to commemorate the Holocaust.
