Thanks for that statement and you indicate or refer to the auditor general's critical report, 'Community safety in Wales', published last October. When the communities and children Secretary, Carl Sargeant, announced his review of community safety, actually on 7 February, he said he was establishing an oversight group to review the current arrangements, and said it would help to develop a shared vision for safer communities in Wales and also take account of the auditor general's recommendations, and he wanted the review to develop a clear vision for community safety that is for the long term. You do use the words 'long term' in your statement. But how do you respond to the auditor general's recommendation that we needed to improve strategic planning by replacing the existing planning framework with a national strategy supported by regional and local plans; his statement said that we needed to formally create effective community safety boards to replace existing community safety structures; and his statement that we needed to ensure the effective management of the performance of community safety by setting appropriate measures at each level, ensuring performance information covers the work of all relevant agencies and establishing measures to judge inputs, outputs and impact to be able to understand the effects of investment decisions and support oversight and scrutiny?

Previously, I've repeatedly raised concerns—not with you directly, but with other members of the Welsh Government—expressed by the four chief constables and police and crime commissioners in Wales over their inability to access the £2 million they've paid for the apprenticeship levy and their statement that it will result in fewer police officers and in recruits choosing to sign up across the border in English forces instead. When I raised this with the First Minister, he said,

'We have received a share of that and we will use that money to pay for apprenticeships, but we cannot...pay towards...schemes that sit in non-devolved areas.' 

Yet, the Welsh Government received £128 million, which was actually a £8 million extra sum above the reductions in other areas. The office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales told me two weeks ago the situation had been delayed as it was Carl Sargeant who was going to bring together the Westminster and Cardiff Governments' stakeholders. He said that due to the very sad and sensitive events in recent weeks this had not been taken forward and he said it's now for the new Cabinet Secretary to decide whether to continue with the commitment of the previous Cabinet Secretary on this issue. Can you indicate, alongside the welcome work with PCSOs, that the Welsh Government, that you will take up, or are taking up, the work that Carl was taking forward on this area? Whatever the reasons, whatever the whys and wherefores, this must be resolved if we're not going to have a negative impact. 

You refer many times to partnership in different contexts and you refer to the third sector being one of those that has worked in the review group. But how or will you recognise the key role that third sector partners will play in the delivery of community safety as we go forward? A key, direct front-line role is played by drug and alcohol charities in Wales: organisations like the British Red Cross welfare service—I went out with them in Wrexham a few weeks ago; street pastors; organisations like the Wallich dealing with homelessness issues, and so on, without whom the statutory bodies could not deliver alone. 

Finally, in the north Wales context, you'll be aware of many references to the situation in Wrexham town centre, largely driven by synthetic drugs like black mamba and spice. A year ago, here in a debate on substance misuse, I quoted the chair of the north Wales safer communities board who said that too much is being spent on firefighting and not enough on intervention and prevention. He is now the deputy leader and lead member for people, communities, partnership, public protection and community safety in Wrexham, and he says that having learned from their experiences, that council is bringing together a body of professionals working in a way that is now seen as an exemplar. So, what engagement will you have or are you, perhaps, already having with that exemplar to see how you can learn together about ways that might benefit all in the future?