I would like to place on record my appreciation to the Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, John Griffiths, for his adept chairing of our committee. It has been interesting in my short time there. Our short inquiry in the autumn last year was an important piece of work to review the progress of the groundbreaking, landmark Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015. I also wish to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his role in driving this and his determination to make it succeed.

As our committee’s report states, this Act is internationally recognised as a groundbreaking piece of legislation. The value that the National Assembly for Wales’s scrutiny committees play can be seen by our short but important inquiry. To aid better implementation and to help the Welsh Government improve its approach to the national and local strategies, delivery plans and educational provision, we can act as a critical friend who can offer advice and recommendations. It is testimony to this work that none of the 15 recommendations were rejected. Twelve of the recommendations were accepted in full; three of the recommendations in part. As somebody who has served in local government for over a decade, I particularly welcome recommendation 1 being accepted.

We heard evidence from, amongst others, Flintshire County Council and Wrexham borough Council, who expressed their wish for further meaningful communication and clear direction from Welsh Government. I’m heartened to see the Welsh Government state that guidance will be published in relation to local strategies in July 2017. This will ensure that section 6 of the Act is fulfilled as required.

When we pass laws in this place, we pass them to make a beneficial difference to the lives of Welsh people. To ensure this, it is imperative that local government and relevant agencies are in synergy with Welsh Government, with nothing lost in translation. Cabinet Secretary, how do you think we can aid the partnership of local authorities and Welsh Government to ensure better outcomes?

Recommendation 10 of our committee sought that the Welsh Government should ensure that all schools, as has been mentioned by others today, should use the good practice guide developed by Welsh Women’s Aid and put in place monitoring arrangements on the effectiveness of this guide. As members of the committee, we received extensive and largely consensual evidence around the importance, again, of teaching children and young people, as Jenny Rathbone and Joyce Watson have said, about healthy relationships. It was our belief that compulsory education is key to preventing violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence in the first place. The Welsh Government has accepted this and states it will be addressed going forward by Estyn’s thematic review of existing healthy relationship provision that is taking place during the 2016-17 academic year, and this will cover a selection of schools.

I was grateful to the individuals and organisations who came to the Senedd, as others have stated, to give evidence on this vital matter. We must continue to work together to ensure our good intentions, cross-party, are carried into the realities of Welsh life. Gwent Police, the police force in my constituency, submitted written evidence that stated that very limited numbers of staff have had any training through the National Training Framework’, and although I’m assured that this will be addressed in a timely manner, it sends a note of real caution to us all that passing laws is not a job done. We must ensure that the transformative impact of legislation is felt in our Welsh communities and across our Welsh schools, further education institutions and higher education institutions. The statute book is not the end of the journey of creating effective law. Diolch.