The next item on our agenda is the statement by the leader of the house on International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, and I call on the leader of the house to make the statement. Julie James.

Diolch, Llywydd. The seventeenth of May will mark International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, or IDAHOT. This day offers an important opportunity to draw attention to the violence and discrimination faced by LGBT+ people internationally.

The day was created in 2004 to mark the anniversary of the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. It’s fair to say that LGBT people in Britain will have seen a great number of legal changes in that time that have brought us closer to equality for these communities, but I am in no means complacent—nor should we be—and we would not suggest that LGBTQ+ people no longer face discrimination.

Stonewall research shows us that more than half of LGBT young people in Wales and 73 per cent of trans young people still face bullying at school for being what they are—nearly half of those never tell anyone about it. We also know that one in five LGBT people in Britain have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their sexual orientation and/or their gender identity in the last 12 months. We are also very aware of the increase in damaging online hate directed towards trans communities at the moment.

And what about the situation for LGBT communities outside the UK? Whilst marriage is currently available for same-sex couples in 22 countries, same-sex relationships are still illegal in 72 countries, with eight states around the world activating the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual activity between adults in private. This is why days like IDAHOT are so important in giving us the opportunity to stand in solidarity with LGBT communities around the world, and to highlight where we need to do more at home.

We must do all we can to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools and prevent the potentially long-term educational and emotional damage it can cause. Tackling all forms of bullying within education remains a key priority for the Welsh Government. Our vision is to tackle bullying holistically, addressing the root causes of unacceptable behaviour and creating an inclusive and engaging environment where learners feel safe and are ready to learn.

We are updating our anti-bullying guidance, 'Respecting Others', which was published in 2011. The revised guidance will be published for consultation later this year and will include guidance on bullying incidents related to LGBT issues. We are working closely with education practitioners, other partners and children and young people to ensure the revised guidance has the maximum impact possible. 

LGBT people can also face hate crime that can take the form of verbal threats, assault, offensive graffiti, damage to property, cyber bullying or abusive texts, e-mails and phone calls. LGBT hate crimes can have a devastating and long-lasting effect on people and communities, but we know that around four in five LGBT hate crimes still go unreported.

In marking IDAHOT in Wales, I want to encourage the reporting of LGBT hate crimes. I urge anyone affected to report and seek support by contacting the local police on 101, or 999 in an emergency, or Victim Support’s national hate crime report and support centre, which is funded by the Welsh Government to provide emotional, practical and advocacy support.

We continue to work through our hate crime criminal justice board Cymru to make sure that as well as encouraging people to report hate crimes, we also strive to improve the quality of service and care that victims receive. This year, the hate crime criminal justice board is looking closely at case load attrition rates—that is, the drop-off in the number of cases between the first report, through investigation, community disposal, or charging and prosecution. We want to continue to examine each step and improve where necessary to ensure that victims are satisfied with the way in which their cases are handled, and that wherever possible justice is served.

We provide funding to Stonewall Cymru to engage with LGBT communities around Wales, empower LGBT people and their allies, amplify LGBT voices, strengthen advice, information and advocacy services, and transform learning environments. We are fortunate to have Stonewall Cymru provide their advice and expertise across the Welsh Government to help enable our policies to be inclusive. 

The global theme for IDAHOT this year is 'Alliances for Solidarity'. Now, more than ever, this theme is a rallying call to us all. We all need allies, especially when we are working to fight prejudice, reduce violence and campaign for cultural change. The 2018 theme encourages LGBT organisations to reinforce their bond with current partners, and to reach out to new partners working in the equality and inclusion sphere to raise awareness of our commonalities, and engage in collective action to tackle discrimination.

In Wales, we are working to strengthen such alliances and ally networks. They are important because we cannot secure the rights of any group facing discrimination while the rights of other groups are left undefended. For example, under our equality and inclusion programme, organisations working across the protected characteristics are discovering common causes and finding new ways of working together, so that collectively they can have greater positive impact. This also allows us the opportunity to recognise and consider the effects and consequences of multiple or intersectional discrimination, when sexual orientation or gender identity are accompanied by other grounds, such as gender, race, disability, migrant and asylum seeker status, or age, et cetera. 

I am very proud to be an LGBT ally and show my support and solidarity to our LGBT communities. At the beginning of this month, I attended Spring Pride in Swansea. I have to say at this point, Presiding Officer, it's not part of my statement, but I had not realised quite how unfabulous I was until I walked among that group of people. [Laughter.] There was a great turnout, and it was a fantastic way for groups to join together to celebrate diversity in the city. It leads me to think about what more we can do as allies. We can listen to LGBT people who have had real lived experience, and do our best to further our understanding of the issues they may face. We can stand up against discrimination when we see it. We can make sure we raise the voices of those people who are seldom heard, for example, BME LGBT people or disabled LGBT people.

In a world today where voices of intolerance and prejudice have been growing louder, it is very much time for us in Wales to ask ourselves: how tolerant are we? How much have we learned, and how committed are we? Our answer is resoundingly that we care more than ever, and that we must join our voices together with our allies and through all our networks to continue to strive for a more tolerant, more open and more welcoming society. Diolch. 

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Ann Jones) took the Chair.

Stonewall's—. Well, let me start by saying we can all be fabulous, and that you're as fabulous as you feel inside, so be fabulous. [Laughter.] Stonewall's 'LGBT in Britain—Trans Report' in January 2018 found that two in five trans people and three in 10 non-binary people had experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in the last 12 months, that one in eight trans employees had been physically attacked by colleagues or customers, and that more than a third of trans university students in higher education had experienced negative comments or behaviour from staff in the previous year.   

When I was speaking here in February 2017 on LGBT History Month, I noted that Stonewall Cymru had stated that 55 per cent of LGB pupils had experienced bullying on the basis of sexual orientation, 83 per cent of trans young people had experienced verbal abuse and 35 per cent had experienced physical assault.  In your statement, you state that tackling all forms of bullying within education remains a key priority for the Welsh Government, that you're updating anti-bullying guidance, 'Respecting others', which will be published for consultation later this year, and you're working closely with education practitioners, other partners, children and young people.

As I recall, we were having the same debates 15 years ago, with the same shared goals across this Chamber, the same awareness because we were all receiving the same messages, because Stonewall Cymru was holding events, including theatrical productions involving people playing pupils in school to highlight the bullying issues, and yet we are where we are. How do you propose to do things differently so that this doesn't fall into the normal consultation trap and actually is co-produced with the community, so that this is designed and delivered and monitored together, so that it's a continuous process? 

You state, quite rightly, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia theme, Alliances for Solidarity, and talk about the way protected characteristics are discovering common causes and finding new ways of working together, so that collectively they can have greater positive impact. You're absolutely right. I'm very conscious—in fact some of the cross-party groups I chair involve groups of people and organisations representing groups of people, often with protected characteristics, working together. Clearly, the direction of Welsh Government policies—the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015—has acknowledged, if not in the Act itself—although it did in the well-being of future generations Act—then in the guidance and regulations of the social services and well-being Act, the importance, again, of co-producing solutions and designing and delivering services together. What assurance can you provide that the problems that I know some of those groups are still encountering, because of poor understanding or awareness, or simply protecting people's own turf at senior level in public sector organisations, can be challenged, so that the message gets through that getting this right not only improves lives, but saves money too, which is often the argument given for not doing it in certain places?

Again, I referred to LGBT History Month, last year's speech and debate in the Chamber. At that stage, I said,

'LGBT people in Wales continue to face significant health inequalities, with only one in 20 health and social care professionals having received training on LGBT people’s health needs, according to Stonewall.'

Again, that was 15 or 16 months ago now. Are you able to comment or assure us that the Welsh Government will update us on the progress that might have been achieved, given the concerns raised by Stonewall at that time?

The Terrence Higgins Trust report, 'Uncharted Territory', has shone a light on the needs and experiences of older people living with HIV, including the needs of gay and bisexual men living with HIV. Fifty-eight per cent of people living with the condition over 50 were defined as living on or below the poverty line—double the level of the general population. Eighty-four per cent over 50 were concerned about how they will manage multiple health conditions in the future. A third were socially isolated and 82 per cent experienced moderate to high levels of loneliness. What consideration has the Welsh Government therefore given to the needs of older people falling within these demographics? I recall, again nearly 15 years ago, a report then being produced on the needs of older people living in the LGBT community. So, again, we seem to be, to an extent, risking going round the circle once again.

I will finish by referring to the 'LGBT in Britain—Trans Report', which you may be aware of, which was published in January. It refers to the 2017 UK Government announcement that it would consult on reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, and it went on to the consultation that was to follow from that. What representation, if any, has the Welsh Government made to that? I understand in Scotland there'll be separate legislation, but I believe it will be the UK Government legislating for England and Wales. The same report said that:

'Two in five trans people...said that healthcare staff lacked understanding of specific trans health needs when accessing general healthcare services in the last year.'

And worryingly added that:

'This number increases to half of trans people...living in Wales.'

What consideration is the Welsh Government giving to that? Similarly—

Can you wind up, please? You're in danger of going longer than the Minister took to put the statement out. 

Well, I will conclude similarly and in the same context, with the section in the same report that says, 

'In Wales, access to treatment is particularly poor. There is currently no gender identity service in Wales and patients have to travel to London for care. They face long journeys, extended waiting times and difficulties in bringing supportive family or friends to accompany them. The Welsh Government has announced the creation of a Welsh Gender Team to treat patients from March 2018.'

Can you update us on where we've got to? 

Thank you for that series of comments and questions. In terms of why we are having this discussion again, I actually think it's really important for us to have the discussion very frequently. I make no apology at all for revisiting it. I actually think that we should probably revisit it more frequently than every 15 years, because things move. Things move on, people bring different agendas to the table, the community itself raises different issues and Government policy needs to adapt and change. So, for example, looking at the bullying in schools, which you raised, we have a large number of plans to be able to conquer some of the issues that we face. So, for example, we publish lesson plans for schools on gender- and transgender-based bullying, which are aimed at key stages 3 and 4, which are all on Hwb. We are, as I said, updating the guidance. It's published for consultation later this year, and it does include guidance on bullying incidents related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. That guidance is being produced very closely with education practitioners, other partners and children and young people to ensure that the revised guidance has the maximum impact possible.

I think that Mark Isherwood makes a very good point: co-production is something we're very wedded to, and the guidance needs to ensure that it has the endorsement of all of the people for whom it is intended to have the maximum impact, and that is the purpose of the new consultation, because methodologies change, delivery of systems change, and we need to adapt accordingly.

He also mentioned a number of other issues. I'm not sure I've got time to cover them all, but in particular he mentioned health. I'm particularly pleased to say that the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services published a written statement last year, which confirmed a new adult gender identity service is to be established in Wales to enable transgender people to access the care they need closer to their homes. The Cabinet Secretary wrote again in February this year to reassure the transgender community and other stakeholders that the Welsh Government remains committed to the improvements announced last August. Five hundred thousand pounds has been committed for those improvements, and the business case for the new Welsh gender team in Cardiff is now agreed. The funding has also been agreed for a GP to cover the immediate prescribing needs ahead of the establishment of the GP network that was announced during that thing, so things are moving on.

There are a number of other issues that Mark Isherwood raised, which I'm sure will come up, Deputy Presiding Officer, in the comments of other people. If not, I will try and cover them off later on.

Thank you for the statement and for marking this important day. Having this statement is a means of raising awareness of the terrible discrimination that still happens and the terrible violence facing people from the LGBT community across the world, but also here in Wales, unfortunately. There is a great deal of room for improvement, as the statistics in your statement note.

I would like to focus on three specific areas—and we've touched on one of them—sexual identity services, mental health services for these communities, and how schools deal with LGBT issues.

First of all, on the gender identity services, the continued delay before introducing these does cause great concern. It is an unacceptable delay, particularly given the fuss made by the Government when this service was announced last year. Two in five transgender people, 41 per cent, say that the majority of healthcare staff don't have a full understanding of the health needs of the trans community, and this figure increases to 51 per cent of trans people in Wales, and 7 per cent of the trans community say that they have been excluded from general healthcare services during the past 12 months. Such a situation simply isn't acceptable, and it's about time that we saw progress with the establishment of this service. Can you explain in greater detail than you've done thus far what exactly is the reason for this delay? What is the timetable? And how much of a priority is this in reality for you? I think the trans community particularly deserves some answers on this.

Turning to mental health services, once again, the statistics are frightening. Two in five trans people have attempted suicide at some point. That's two in five. Seventy-seven per cent of trans young people have self-harmed at some point in their lives. Clearly, purpose-built mental health services and appropriate mental health services are required for young people, and particularly for trans young people, perhaps, so I would like more information about your plans in this area.

Clearly, the way in which schools deal with bullying among the LGBT community deserves to be addressed, and also the role of the education system in dealing with prejudice. For example, only 6 per cent of LGBT pupils in Wales know where to go for help and advice on being transsexual. So, when are we going to see that change?

So, whilst thanking you for your statement and for raising awareness of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, I don't see much substance in the words of the statement, or any idea of how this Government will enhance how it actually moves towards doing away with violence against this particular community.

Siân Gwenllian makes a number of very valid points, as always. There is always more that we can do, and the statistics show very clearly, as she says, that more needs to be done. We certainly accept that there's a holistic set of circumstances that need to be done: we wish to address that all the way through. So, as Mark Isherwood pointed out, we have a number of groups of people that we need to address the needs of—older people in the community who lived through the decriminalisation process and who often have mental health and other associated traumas associated with all of that process, which many of us remember only too vividly. But we also have, at the other end of the spectrum, youngsters coming forward who we want to have the very best possible outcome all the way through our processes in our schools. And we are addressing those issues all the way through. So, as I said—I won't repeat myself—we're currently looking at the bullying policies in schools, specifically with a view to addressing potential incidents. The Cabinet Secretary for Education is going to be making an announcement next week about the sex and relationships education agenda, so I won't stray into her announcement, but, of course, that impacts on this agenda in a very major way, and that is very much about establishing our education system to be the best that it can be in that regard and to follow on from the Diamond review's four purposes, which are very much at the centre of part of this agenda as well.

In terms of some of the very specific things you mentioned, I just said what we were doing on some of the trans healthcare issues, but there are some ongoing frustrations, I suppose. In July 2017, the UK Government announced proposals to streamline and de-medicalise the process for changing gender as part of the broad consultation on the legal system that underpins the Gender Recognition Act 2004. We expected that consultation last autumn. The latest communication between our officials and the Government Equalities Office suggests that they now hope that it will be before the summer recess this year. I'm sure Siân Gwenllian is aware that, currently, individuals need a diagnosis of gender dysphoria and have to provide evidence of transition for two years. We very much want to come away from that, but we're caught up in the consultation exercise. We want to remove the need for medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria before being able to apply for gender recognition and we want to streamline the entire process and propose a number of options for reducing the length and intrusiveness of the gender recognition system so that people can self-identify. Proposals for or a system of self-identification to change gender exist in quite a lot of other European countries: Portugal, Ireland, Malta, Belgium, Norway, Denmark to quote a few of them, and have been welcomed by trans communities, but it's led to a backlash in some cases, particularly, for example, in Ireland. The Irish Government is due to put a review of its complete system out, which we are hoping will be with us towards the end of the summer, the beginning of the autumn. So, we wish very much to learn from those experiences whilst developing our own system as well.

So, there are a number of things we are doing. There are things we could do to accelerate that. We are having a cross-Government conversation about this, and I myself will be reporting back to the Senedd towards the end of the summer term on an equalities platform generally, which will set out some of the detail of moving that agenda forward in some of the specific areas that you mentioned.

Thank you for your statement, leader of the house. Just over a week ago, I was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with members of the LGBT community at Swansea Spring Pride. The group accompanying me had a wonderful day also. I'm proud to support people being who they want to be without fear of reprisals. Thursday is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, and will be marked and celebrated in 120 countries across the globe—a tremendous achievement and a sign of how far we have come. Only a few short decades ago, being gay was a crime in this country and, today, same-sex marriage is possible in most of the UK. So, we have made some progress but we have a lot more work to do.

When I got married six years ago, many of my friends were present from the LGBT community, and what a wonderful day we had with, indeed, Chris Needs and his husband, Gabe, giving me away; it absolutely made my day. Giving me away willingly, they tell me.

Same-sex relationships are still illegal in 72 countries and carry the death penalty in Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Thousands of people have been killed because of their gender diversity. But we are not living in these dark ages, people shouldn’t be persecuted for whom they choose to fall in love with, or because they were born into the wrong gender. So, it is up to each and every one of us to tackle unsavoury behaviour towards anyone, towards others when we witness it, and also to give confidence to those who experience bullying, whether it be direct or indirect in nature.

Leader of the house, what discussions have you had with other Members of your Government to improve knowledge of same-sex relationships to the wider community? What bullying and behavioural policies in schools and colleges—are they robust in covering this issue? 

The National Assembly has been recognised by Stonewall as the leading employer in the UK for LGBT staff. So, leader of the house, will you commit to emulating this within Welsh Government and ensuring that all Welsh Government contractors and sub-contractors ensure every LGBT employee is accepted without exception?

I would like to thank you for all you are doing to tackle homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, and please be assured that you have support from across this Chamber. As Assembly Members, we all have a duty to support and be allies of our LGBT colleagues and constituents. Working together, we can make Wales the most LGBT friendly nation. Thank you.

Yes, I very much want to congratulate the Assembly Commission on its award as the Stonewall Employer of the Year, I think the exact title was, and very well deserved it was. What that award really shows is what a determined group of employees can actually do when they want to advance an agenda and make sure that everybody around them—all their colleagues and everybody else—are fully aware of all of the issues that present themselves. I think that that's actually a really excellent role model for how you can roll it out. And we are doing very similar things; we work very closely with the police and crime commissioners, and with all other agencies, for example, to make sure that we have a holistic approach to capturing hate crime. It's very much part of our community cohesion work as well. 

I'll just reiterate, Deputy Presiding Officer, that anyone affected by hate crime should come forward, report and seek support by contacting the local police on 101, or 999 if it's an emergency. And I repeat that for this reason, because, even when it doesn't lead to an arrest or a prosecution, the information is always useful to the multi-agency teams that work in this area. It's only by raising the profile of these terrible hate crimes that we raise the profile of the issue generally in wider society. So, as I said, we have a multipronged approach. We have a very comprehensive approach in our education system. We have a very good multi-agency approach to the darker end of it, if you like. We have a curriculum response that I won't pre-announce on behalf of my colleague who's going to have a statement on it next week, tempting though it is to do that. We are addressing a number of housing issues, and we've got some issue there with some of the funding that we give to Shelter Cymru to ensure their national advice and support workers are suitably trained in how to support and mediate with those impacted by homelessness from the LGBTQ+ communities, because they often have specific requirements that need to be covered off. And I've answered a number of questions on health already, Deputy Presiding Officer.

But, really, what this statement is about is to celebrate our communities here in Wales, to celebrate the contribution that all of our communities make here in Wales, and to signal our intention to the world that we are not happy that those communities are treated differentially elsewhere.

We've come a very long way in my lifetime. My uncle was blackmailed for his activities and my aunt was forced to emigrate because of the stultifying opprobrium that only the genteel middle classes know how well to do. But most families will have similar experiences in their family histories if they care to look for them. So, we absolutely need to celebrate that, in this country at least, homosexual activity is a legal activity and we should celebrate people's sexuality however they feel to express it. We want to promote respectful, loving relationships, whomever somebody wishes to have as their partner.

We have to remind ourselves that Jeremy Thorpe's political career was ruined by the fact that he tried to suppress his homosexual relationships—a gifted politician was crucified for failing to have the guts to recognise what he was. And it was only in 1982 that homosexuality was legalised in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so it may feel like a very long time ago for somebody like Hannah, but it isn't that long ago. So, we really do have a lot to celebrate.

I was very pleased to see in the leader of the house's statement that we're going to be doing a lot more work with schools, because we have to remind ourselves—. There isn't a great deal we can do about countries where people can get a death sentence for homosexual activity, but some of the diaspora is living in my constituency. And in all the schools where we have a multiracial, multi-ethnic community, we need to ensure that everybody is understanding of what living in Britain should mean in terms of our tolerance. So, I want to just highlight to you, Cabinet Secretary, that St Teilo's, where I'm a governor, has done some brilliant work. St Teilo's was a winner of the Not in My School award this year because of the work they have done tackling all hate crime, and I think all these things need to be tackled together. So, we consistently have zero tolerance towards remarks that previously would've been ignored by the staff or other pupils. It has to be clear to all pupils that this sort of behaviour is not appropriate and cannot be tolerated. So, I think that the work they're doing to ensure that, if you like, the most beefy individuals are also the allies for solidarity is a very effective way of ensuring that everybody can recognise, celebrate and respect difference.

I'm very proud to be hosting Just a Ball Game? on Thursday, which everybody is invited to. I appreciate those of you who have to travel back to your constituencies some distance are unlikely to be able to attend, but it's a fantastic opportunity to celebrate how far we've got and also to ensure that we are combating homophobia and transphobia in the sports industry, because that hasn't always been the case. So, we've got Neville Southall, a famous footballer and Welsh goalkeeper, amongst other professional sportsmen and women, coming to help us at what, I'm sure, will be a great celebration. I'm really pleased that the Presiding Officer has agreed to fly the rainbow flag on Thursday, because we all need to be proud of the fact that the National Assembly for Wales is the Stonewall best employer of the year, and I hope the Welsh Government will aspire to win it next year.

Indeed. I completely concur with many of the remarks you made. St Teilo's is a really good example. It's really excellent to see what can be done in schools. The Member makes a very good point about the diaspora, as well, and the work that we have to do, which is why I was emphasising the community cohesion parts of these outreach workers. I just want to highlight as well, Deputy Presiding Officer, the existence of Meic, which is the helpline service for children and young people in Wales up to the age of 25, which is a confidential, anonymous and free service available in Welsh or English from 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, which is contactable by phone, SMS text and instant messaging. It is a helpline for people who feel they are being bullied in any way at all in school, and has been particularly used by members of the diaspora community, who sometimes have cultural difficulties to cope with at home.

I mentioned briefly in response to a number of other Assembly Members, and Siân Gwenllian in particular, the issue around LGBT housing and homelessness issues. I would just like to highlight as well that, although we've got data difficulties, because homelessness is not captured as part of the wider statutory statistical return in terms of LGBT-specific data, Llamau have confirmed the anecdotal information we've gathered from both Shelter Cymru and local authority homelessness teams that there is a growing trend of homelessness caused by family conflict that is caused by a young person identifying as LGBT. As we discussed earlier in our proceedings today, Deputy Presiding Officer, incidence of mental health issues amongst homeless young people is higher within the LGBT population than the general population.

Just to highlight the points I made then, again, this is around the whole issue of being yourself, the ability to say, 'This is me. I am what I am. I'm proud of it and I don't want to be anything else.'We need to be able to assist young people to come forward and to be protected and safe from harm as they go through that process, and so the Government runs a number of campaigns, which we are accelerating—the This Is Me campaign, the Don't Be a Bystander campaign, the youth homelessness campaign—which all converge on this agenda. And we just want to be sure that people with LGBTQ+ protected characteristics are front and centre of those campaigns, as we take them forward.

But Jenny Rathbone is right; we have a large number of things to celebrate here in Wales. So, today is about the celebration, as well as about the need to send that message out into our communities and our world. I too am delighted that we'll be be flying the rainbow flag on Thursday.

It’s a pleasure for me to respond to this statement about the international day that’s happening on Thursday. A week Thursday, next week, it’s 30 years since the passing of section 28 in the Local Government Act 1988 at the time. A protest against section 28 was the first gay march ever in Cardiff, if not in Wales, and I was on that march and it was a part of my extended process, the first step of coming out. Now, 30 years on, I’m here, responding as a proud, open, gay man to the Government of my country, celebrating the gay community. So, to me, that period of time does represent the progress that has been made and I’m very grateful to the leader of the house for that.

But, despite the progress, as the leader of the house did recognise, there is work still to be done. I was looking at the figures on LGBT pupils in Welsh schools, and slightly less than 60 per cent of them don’t have any education about issues to do with their sexuality. So, there is work to be done there.

Could I ask three questions specifically, in terms of what the Welsh Government can do to help? In terms of procurement, with the procurement rules and also the economic agreement in terms of grants that are given to companies, are we—?

If I can ask on procurement, then, on the economic contract, will we make LGBT-inclusive employment policy one of the criteria in terms of our procurement policy in Wales and in terms of the economic contract?

Secondly, we mentioned the problems in terms of housing that particularly affect the LGBT community, and the landlord training that has been set up as part of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. I'm told by somebody that's recently undertaken the online training that it doesn't deal currently with discrimination against LGBT people. Could the leader of the house investigate and come and report back on that? Because it is quite important it's covered.

And finally, it is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia and, of course, regrettably, there are many countries in the world where it is still illegal to be gay, and, indeed, the sanctions in some cases are very extreme. Can I raise the question of Qatar? The Welsh Government has, I believe, a memorandum of understanding or a co-operation agreement with the Government of Qatar. It's one thing selling to businesses in Qatar and opening markets, but the Government of my country signing an agreement with the Government of a country that has a very poor record on human rights in general, and has a particularly poor record, I can tell you, on LGBT rights, doesn't sit comfortably with me. I understand there was a party at the national museum of Wales celebrating the Qatar Airways link et cetera. Again, for many people in the LGBT community, that leaves a slightly bitter taste, and people have raised this recently with the Football Association in England, which has also signed an agreement with Qatar. Can I ask her—? It has been floated the possibility that the Government of Qatar, through its sovereign wealth fund, could take a share in the national airport of Wales. Could I ask her to rule that out? That would seem entirely against the spirit of what she has said today in terms of homophobia and transphobia.

The clause 28 thing was a defining moment for quite a few of us in what was then a pretty low point in many of our political careers, so I don't think that—. There are lots of bad things you can say about the Thatcher years, but that's certainly right up there as one of the things that was just intolerable. I, too, almost cannot believe that, 30 years on, I have a son who's going to marry his partner, and I'm going to go, and we're going to be very pleased. He grew up in an era when people tried to stop that being taught as an ordinary family relationship—if you remember the words. I've never been so incensed by anything, I think, on a personal level, as I was by that. The Thatcher years brought quite a lot of destruction to our communities, but that was so personal a thing, and I think it spurred a lot of us on to thinking, 'This is enough; this is not okay.' And that's been a driving force in my political career. I'm straight, but what difference does that make to any of this? That's not the point. People should be allowed to live their lives the way they choose, as long as they don't do any harm to anyone else, and I don't understand why anyone has any problem with that at all. So, I am absolutely dedicated to sorting that out.

In terms of the three very specific things you asked, I'm going to answer the one I know most about first, which is the economic contract. We are working on a definition of fair work. We will put a commission in place. It will definitely be looking at inclusive employment policies, and that's very much part of what we're doing. I was having a hurried conversation with my colleague the Cabinet Secretary. I'm afraid I can't quite remember the exact wording of the ethical procurement supply chain stuff. If it doesn't include it, then I'll go away and make sure that the next revision does include it. I want to say to you that it does, but I'm not 100 per cent certain, so I'll go away and check. If not, then we can certainly revise it to that effect.

The landlord training, I didn't know about. I will certainly take that up with the Minister. There's no reason why it shouldn't include it. It ought to be including anti-discrimination issues anyway, so thank you for bringing that to my attention; I'll certainly take that up.

In terms of Qatar, I don't know the details of the particular thing about the sovereign wealth fund that you mentioned, but I think the whole issue with other countries is such a difficult one. We have a big programme, Wales for Africa, and Uganda is clearly a big problem—. This is a very personal comment; this is not the Welsh Government responding here. This is my personal comment. I think it's really difficult to know quite what level of contact brings people forward into the age and place that we want them to be, and what level of opprobrium and sanction also works. I think that's quite a difficult thing. I will discuss the issue with the Cabinet Secretary responsible. I don't know the detail of it. But isolating countries doesn't work; we know that. The conditions inside countries that are isolated get worse for the people there. On the other hand, I quite agree that the hand of friendship shouldn't be extended fully to people who are not in a place that we'd like them to be. The travel between those two things is, for me, very personally, a difficult line to draw, but it's something I will take up with the Cabinet Secretary, because I think it's well worth exploring further.

And just to say, Deputy Presiding Officer, that this is the very reason we wanted this statement to be brought forward today, to have these very important discussions about where we are in the world, and what we can do with our partners in terms of an influence that can be brought to bear on them. 

Thank you, leader of the house.