Social Cohesion

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:31 pm on 12 March 2019.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:31, 12 March 2019

Well, Llywydd, I thank Mick Antoniw for that supplementary question. I do agree with him that there are real pressures in our society towards incivility and to regarding somebody with whom you have a difference of view as not somebody just with whom you can have a proper debate, but somehow that this is to be personalised and to be carried out in terms on which I don't think anybody in this Chamber would wish to see public debate conducted. That's bad enough amongst people who, in some ways, like those of us in this Chamber, put ourselves in a position of public debate, but it is even more so with people who find themselves scapegoated, singled out, made the butt of comments by others and, as the Member has said, there are events that mean that that risk is increased.

The Welsh Government has done a series of things to try and create the sort of all-Wales response that Mick Antoniw referred to. We're expanding our regional community cohesion programme and we're providing another £1.52 million from the EU transition fund in order to do that. We intend to do more to support those citizens directly affected by leaving the European Union, and there are some encouraging signs, Llywydd, as well.

Members here may have seen the recent report of the inspectors of constabulary, which highlighted work that is going on here in Wales. The report said that, in Wales, the national hate crime criminal justice board brings a consistency and co-ordinated approach to police action in relation to hate crime in Wales. It singled out Gwent Police, where our former colleague Jeff Cuthbert is the police and crime commissioner. It said that the Gwent Police force had a comprehensive and sophisticated approach to responding to victims of hate crime, which was not

'currently available in any of the other forces that we have visited.' 

So, I think that demonstrates, Llywydd, that where we do take concerted action, we are able make inroads even into the difficult circumstances that the Member outlined, and, as a Welsh Government, we are determined to go on doing more to achieve just that.