1. Will the First Minister make a statement on tackling scams in Wales? OAQ(5)0443(FM)

Scams can have a terrible effect on victims, and we are committed to making our communities safer through our funding of community support officers and through working with the police and crime commissioners.

Can I thank the First Minister for that response? I do not believe you can overestimate the problem with scams, both by phone and written. The effect on people being scammed is horrendous and can have a serious effect on their life, and actually, in some cases, it can lead to a shortening of their life. I appreciate the work done by trading standards and third sector organisations and others. There are devices to monitor and block phone calls, and there is a firm in Swansea in my constituency that actually makes them. Will the Welsh Government convene a conference of all interested parties to discuss what further can be done to reduce this problem? I don’t believe it can be solved, but at least can we try and reduce it?

The Member is quite right to point out that scams are increasingly more sophisticated, particularly those online, and we are working closely with trading standards on a variety of scams, dealing with a variety of scams, relating to counterfeit goods, and illicit and illegal tobacco. And, of course, there’s a growing focus on cyber crime, and we are committed to working with the police and police and crime commissioners on this issue. Should a conference be a productive use of that time, then we will look to do so despite our limited competence in the area.

One of the other things, First Minister, that can be done in order to combat scams is the establishment of no-cold-calling zones. This has been something that has been extremely successful in my own constituency, where Conwy County Borough Council have imposed a town-wide one in Abergele. What work do you think that we can do here in the National Assembly, and the Welsh Government can do, to make Wales the first no-cold-calling nation in Britain?

An interesting idea. We have, of course, provided funding to increase the number of no-cold-calling zones in Wales, which help to protect vulnerable people from scams, and I know, as the Member has pointed out, that most of the local authorities now in Wales do have no-cold-calling zones that look to reduce the number of cold callers. Of course, if we get to a point where all local authorities have no-cold-calling zones, then we can begin to consider the issue of whether we can declare ourselves a no-cold-calling nation.