Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. I am grateful for the opportunity afforded to committee chairs to make statements to the Chamber. It is a welcome opportunity, Dirprwy Lywydd, to raise the profile of issues important to the Welsh public.

I and members of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee have given careful thought to the priorities we wish to pursue through the fifth term of this Assembly and Members were unified in their belief that the committee’s work must be: outward facing, by providing genuine engagement with communities in every part of Wales, and in new and innovative ways; committed to being solution focused by bringing together expert knowledge and experience to provide solutions for public authorities to tackle some of Wales’s deepest inequalities; and dedicated to the effective scrutiny of the Welsh Government, with a view to improving public policy and legislation in Wales.

The committee is currently carrying out post-legislative scrutiny of the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015. I am pleased with the progress of this work and hope it contributes to making the implementation of the Act a success. Our ability to revisit key legislation and policy decisions by Welsh Government, and critically analyse their progress, will be an essential role of our committee. In the new year, the committee intends to focus heavily on tackling poverty and reviewing progress to date of interventions, such as Communities First. I hope to bring further updates to this Chamber early in 2017.

The committee’s next inquiry will focus on one of the world’s most pressing issues. Last year, one in every 113 humans was either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. In all, there are more forcibly displaced people today than the populations of the United Kingdom, France or Italy. In 2016, with an intensifying conflict in Syria and huge uncertainty across countries in the region, there are now more displaced people in the world than at any other time in our history. There are millions dead, families torn apart by conflict and children left without parents. The constant news cycle of images and stories of people escaping war and persecution in Syria, Iraq and other countries are extremely distressing. It is a situation that has made me and many others in this Chamber, I know, despair.

Dirprwy Lywydd, I want this Assembly to make a small but significant contribution to this global issue. Earlier this month, the French Government took the decision to close the Calais Jungle camp, where around 7,000 people are currently living. This has rightly been welcomed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as more suitable accommodation and support is expected to be delivered. But the reality is that 700 unaccompanied children living in the Jungle, and countless other people, could be left vulnerable to trafficking and abuse.

Refugees, asylum seekers and unaccompanied children coming to the United Kingdom will have specific needs for settling into their new lives and becoming a full part of our communities. I am mindful that while a substantial amount of responsibility for resettling these people is with the UK Government, there are still key interventions and support that can be provided by Welsh Government.

In Wales, there are currently 112 people here under the UK Government’s Syrian vulnerable persons relocation scheme. In Scotland, there are 862, and in Northern Ireland 155 have been resettled. To make sure displaced people are effectively supported in Wales, the committee’s inquiry will look at the areas where we can do things differently and better.

The committee will have a particular interest in the pace and effectiveness of the Welsh Government’s approach to resettling refugees through the UK Government’s Syrian vulnerable persons relocation scheme; the effectiveness of the Welsh Government’s refugee and asylum seeker delivery plan, particularly around funding, accountability, mental health support, advocacy, housing provision, access to rights, protection for children, and destitution; and how unaccompanied children are supported, particularly because the Welsh Refugee Council said that the refugee and asylum seeker delivery plan

‘overlooks the need for independent advocacy for children and young people beyond duties owed by the Social Services and Well-being Act 2014.’

The committee will also look at how well the Welsh Government’s community cohesion strategy is helping refugees and asylum seekers integrate into Welsh communities. The committee will be talking to recently resettled families in Wales and exploring good practice in the UK and internationally.

Dirprwy Lywydd, I am heartened by the First Minister’s call with the third sector for urgent action by the UK Government to help child refugees. This is particularly important with the imminent closure of the Jungle camp in Calais by the French Government.

In conclusion, I hope this inquiry will lead to improved experiences for refugees, asylum seekers and unaccompanied children in Wales.I want the generations of displaced people to be proud to call Wales home.