I want to actually disassociate myself, as I’m sure everybody else here of a reasonable mind would do, from the comments of the previous speaker. But, however, as is set out in the report’s introduction, this was the committee’s first major inquiry, and it was undertaken at a time when we’re experiencing the worst global refugee crisis since the second world war. And politically, it was launched in the months after the Brexit vote, and the refugee crisis, without a doubt, shaped some of those Brexit arguments around the EU’s stability and sustainability. But more widely, it appeared at that time that nationalist movements were sweeping the continent, though following recent defeats for Eurosceptic populists at elections in France, Austria and Netherlands, and reverses in Finland, Italy and Germany, maybe the tide has turned.

Nevertheless, at the time, there were people who argued that the committee should not prioritise the plight of refugees and asylum seekers in Wales. My UKIP committee colleague refused to endorse the report, despite having not raised any objections whatsoever during the actual inquiry. But I’ll move on from that. I, for one, am proud of this report, and I think it reflects well on this Assembly and on Wales that we undertook this work. In the same vein, I think that Gareth Bennett’s alternative paper, titled ‘Wales’ Refugee Problem’, reflects poorly on his party—light on evidence, but heavy on prejudice.

But for the most part, there was lots of support for the inquiry. Groups like the Hay, Brecon and Talgarth refugee support group provided real insight into what is happening on the ground, and one of the issues that they did identify was a perceived disconnect between those voluntary groups and the professional-led services. I think the Powys group represents the best of our nation’s generosity and goodwill, and while we, of course, need professional co-ordination, it would be wrong to squash grass-roots enthusiasm with bureaucratic heavy-handedness. And I’d like to put on record my thanks to every volunteer, whoever they are, who give help and support to the most vulnerable people in society and a warm, Welsh welcome.

I’ll return to the report and I shall pick up on a couple of the recommendations. As chair of the Assembly cross-party group concerned with human trafficking, I’m particularly concerned about the plight of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. So, I’m encouraged that the Government has accepted in principle the recommendation for a child guardianship service for Wales. The Minister will know that is something that the cross-party group that I chair has campaigned for for a very long time. I want to really focus on this, because I know that children, under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, will have access to advocacy, but I really want to separate out the difference between advocacy and guardianship. Guardianship does mean that somebody, whosoever they are, has the legal recognition to speak on behalf of the child, whosoever they are, so that they don’t have to repeat their harrowing stories time and time again when they are trying to access the services that they so desperately need. And I think we need to think about that in terms of their welfare, their well-being and their mental health capacity to do that. I want to give an example: when I had the privilege of meeting a young person who’d come to the UK as an unaccompanied minor, they told me that they intend to train to become a doctor. That young individual demonstrated humility and compassion, despite the treatment that they had endured on their journey here. I have no doubt whatsoever that those qualities will be used—when they do qualify—by that individual to whoever may need them. It may well be the case that they use those qualities when they become a GP or a doctor later in life and that they actually show a little bit of humility and compassion to some of those who speak against them.