Part of 2. Questions to the Leader of the House and Chief Whip – in the Senedd at 2:34 pm on 20 June 2018.
We've got a number of things happening on that front. We fund Stonewall Cymru—. I just want to start off by saying that, obviously, that kind of discrimination is appalling, and I too was appalled by some of the reports that the BBC was carrying this morning about some of the discrimination. I'm very proud, Llywydd, that the Commission has been recognised for its work in this area, and, clearly, we want to be an exemplar, and make sure that, as part of our economic action plan, we push those kinds of values out.
But there are very specific things that need to be done, so we fund Stonewall Cymru, and that does include funding for a new transgender engagement officer post, specifically to lead on transgender equality issues. And then, in terms of the health department, we absolutely feel that transgender people should have their healthcare needs met as close to home as possible, and we are absolutely committed to doing that. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services has outlined the improvement agenda for identity services in Wales. They are being implemented in a step manner, and supported by an additional £0.5 million. Following detailed discussions, and exploring a number of options, all parties agree that the favoured approach is to develop a service that encompasses both a specialist provision and a bespoke primary care network of prescribing general practitioners. So, in terms of progress, the business case for the Wales gender team was agreed in April, and the senior clinician lead took up post on 1 June. He's taking a lead role in the implementation of the service, and our expectation is for health boards to commission an integrated gender identity service in Wales from April of next year.