I want to thank the Wales committee and the staff of the EHRC, including those who are here today in the public gallery, not just for the report but for the hard work they do to promote equality and human rights in Wales. I recognise that this includes the commission's responsibility to 'shine a light on uncomfortable truths', to quote the commissioner in Wales, Dr June Milligan.

During the past year, since the last debate on the EHRC annual review, the Welsh Government has been driving forward our goal of making Wales a more equal nation. The leader of the house has met several times with June Milligan and Ruth Coombs, head of the EHRC in Wales, to discuss how we can work jointly to address and eradicate the inequalities we still see in Wales.

This year, it's important that, alongside the annual review, we should also take careful notice of the EHRC's 'Is Wales Fairer? (2018)' report, which provides substantial fresh evidence to drive and underpin the work of all policymakers and delivery agencies who are seeking to build a more equal Wales. That report is a valuable tool to help us to ensure our decision making is robust and that our policies and services take account of people's needs and are accessible to all. We will also be considering all of the commission's recommendations in 'Is Wales Fairer?' carefully to decide what new or different actions are needed in response. Taken together, the annual report and 'Is Wales Fairer?' demonstrate how productive the EHRC has been this year. This is, of course, in the context of what remains an exceptionally challenging time for human rights, both in the UK and abroad.

I will not try to highlight all the other work the commission has undertaken this year; you can see for yourselves in the review. I will, however, address some of the crucial aspects of their role.