Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:01 pm on 29 June 2016.
Let me associate myself very strongly with the last thing that the Member said. I think she is right—something happened during the course of the referendum campaign that has somehow legitimised, in the minds of some people, views that are abhorrent to, I’m sure, Members in this Chamber and have no part whatsoever to play in our community life. Even prior to that, there had been a 65 per cent increase in reports to the National Hate Crime Report and Support Centre Wales here in Wales. I hope that part of that rise is because of a greater willingness of people to report such incidents to the police. I think it’s very important that we encourage anybody who has been on the receiving end of such appalling behaviour in the last few days to make sure that they always make those incidents known to the authorities. My message is the same as Joyce Watson’s, to all those people from around the world and from around Europe who make such a contribution to the richness of life here in Wales: that they are welcome, that they are most welcome, and that this National Assembly supports a thriving, multicultural society here in Wales. [Assembly Members: ‘Hear, hear.’]