Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I am very pleased today to have the time during refugee week to debate our committee’s report on refugees and asylum seekers in Wales. The context for the inquiry is the tragedy of war, instability, and displacement. The latest UN study, published on Monday, found that 65.6 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2016. On average, 20 people were driven from their homes every minute last year, or one every three seconds. And the total number of people seeking safety across international borders as refugees topped 22.5 million, the highest number since the second world war.

The images and stories of people escaping war and persecution in Syria, Iraq, and other countries is tragically familiar. The perilous journey many of them take in crossing the Mediterranean in small, overcrowded boats has resulted in countless people, many of them children, dying before they make it to shore. As the committee heard, those who survive to reach the UK, including unaccompanied children, are likely to have experienced hugely traumatic events, which leave lasting psychological scars, and, at this extremely vulnerable time in their lives, they face a fresh set of major challenges. We were told that a phrase often used by refugees and asylum seekers is ‘I used to be someone’. We made this powerful and telling statement the title of our report.

We were mindful, when we decided on how to approach our inquiry, that asylum policy is the responsibility of the UK Government. However, the experience of refugees and asylum seekers in Wales depends largely on the accessibility and quality of devolved services, and so is within the remit of Welsh Government. During our inquiry, we looked at the Welsh Government’s refugee and asylum seeker delivery plan and community cohesion delivery plan. We also took evidence on the resettlement in Wales of Syrian refugees, as well as support for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who face particular challenges. As well as taking written and oral evidence, we visited Cardiff and Swansea and Glasgow and Edinburgh. We also corresponded with the Home Office and the provider of asylum accommodation in Wales.

We found evidence of good practice across Wales. It is clear that in many places, and in many ways, both public services and the third sector are working effectively to help refugees and asylum seekers to adjust to life in our communities and to get the support they need. However, we also heard evidence that, in a number of areas, the Welsh Government needs to do more to help delivery partners. It needs to make representations to the UK Government, refresh its strategic direction, and get directly involved in delivery.

It is gratifying that the committee’s work made a significant impact during the inquiry even before we had drawn our conclusions. We were pleased of two key developments before we published our report: first, the expansion of the role of the Welsh Government’s operations board to cover all refugees and asylum seekers, not just the Syrian resettlement programme. Second, stakeholders reported to us that, as a result of the representations made to, and by, the committee, there is meaningful engagement between the private and third sectors on asylum accommodation. So, our work is already having a real impact on people’s lives.

These are important and welcome steps, but we face wide-ranging and complex challenges. That’s why we made 19 recommendations to Welsh Government, 18 of which have been accepted in full or accepted in principle.

Dirprwy Lywydd, it is important for me to put on record at this point that, while we strive for consensus in our committee work, on this occasion, one Member was not able to agree the report. Nevertheless, the agreement of the other seven Members represents a powerful majority for the changes that we want to see.

We have called for an updated and improved strategic approach. This has three main elements, each of which was the subject of a committee recommendation that the Cabinet Secretary accepted. First, reviewing the refugee and asylum seeker delivery plan—I would be grateful if the Cabinet Secretary would confirm that the plan will contain measurable actions, timescales and resources as well as best practice from Scotland, including service standards. Second, ensuring that the operations board meets regularly and openly—I hope that the Cabinet Secretary will share the board’s forward work programme with the committee. Third, preparing for the implementation of the UK immigration Act—it would be helpful to know what stage the Cabinet Secretary has reached in his discussions with stakeholders and the UK Government on this important matter.

We also ask the Welsh Government to do more to facilitate integration. The Cabinet Secretary has agreed to update the community cohesion plan and I would welcome confirmation that this will include a Wales-wide publicity campaign, similar to the one in Scotland, which impressed the committee.

Alongside our recommendation on the cohesion plan, we called for action on the specific areas of concern raised by stakeholders. The Welsh Government has accepted that the role of community cohesion co-ordinators should be expanded beyond only supporting Syrian refugees. The Cabinet Secretary’s response suggested that the role of the co-ordinators in supporting refugees and asylum seekers is not permanent and I would welcome clarification on this.

We agreed with stakeholders that another key barrier to integration is transport. We recommended that the Welsh Government consider extending concessionary transport schemes to refugees and asylum seekers. The Cabinet Secretary has rejected this recommendation. It would be helpful if we could hear more detail this afternoon about the reasons for that and if the Cabinet Secretary may be able to address this issue in other ways.

An area of particular focus for the committee, following the evidence we received, was the provision of teaching of English for speakers of other languages. We wanted to see improvements for the academic year starting in September. I appreciate that the tight timescales for doing so have led the Cabinet Secretary to accept this recommendation in principle, for implementation over a slightly longer period. I would welcome confirmation of the timescales and reassurance that the detailed points made by the committee will be addressed.

Asylum accommodation was another key area of interest for the committee. We called for better monitoring and resolution of complaints about asylum accommodation. We recommended revising the asylum accommodation contract before its next renewal. The Cabinet Secretary has accepted these recommendations in principle and I look forward to hearing what this means in practical terms. We also wanted asylum seekers’ landlords to be registered and inspected. I am pleased that the Welsh Government has fully accepted this recommendation and I would welcome some detail on how it is to be implemented.

The committee also called for improvements to advice and support during the asylum process. This was accepted in principle. Effective support after the asylum process is essential, both for refugees and those whose asylum applications are not successful. So, also accepted in principle were our recommendations on this, calling for more help for refugees to find accommodation, better access to education and employment and action to prevent destitution.