5. Will the Deputy Minister provide an update on community safety initiatives in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OAQ53684

We work closely with chief constables in Wales and our police and crime commissioners on making communities safer. In particular, we're working alongside partner organisations to take forward the commitments of the working together for safer communities review.

Thank you for that answer, Deputy Minister. In asking about community safety, and as it’s the first opportunity I’ve had here, can I firstly offer my thoughts to the people of Christchurch and New Zealand on the horrors that they’ve recently faced due to the terrorist attacks by extremists? It’s another horrific event that, of course, we condemn, but it does reinforce to us the importance of maintaining community safety and prevention work in our communities. Indeed, when major crimes also occur in our own local communities, it’s important that we see high-visibility community safety measures. So, I for one welcome the ongoing initiatives in the upper Rhymney valley by the police and crime commissioner Jeff Cuthbert, Gwent Police, Caerphilly County Borough Council, and other local partners.

We also need to celebrate local successes to remind us that not everything is always so gloomy. And so, today I’d ask you, Deputy Minister, if you would join me in congratulating the award-winning Heddlu Bach, the Mini Police scheme in schools like Fochriw and Phillipstown in the upper Rhymney valley, which has seen a significant number of young people actively engaged with the police in community safety and awareness events. And would you agree that this is a good example of both community pride and early prevention work that we should encourage going forward?

I thank Dawn Bowden not only for her question, but also for that excellent example, and would also like to celebrate that local success. Wales is a warm and welcoming country, and that’s exemplified by the Heddlu Bach initiative in Fochriw and the involvement of those schools. It’s a Mini Police scheme, and it’s something that we need to share across Wales, but it’s the young people themselves who have benefited from that scheme.

I think it’s very important just to—. You will have seen my written statement last week in terms of the response to Christchurch, that horrific event, and to the engagements that we’ve had. The first Minister and I, and other Assembly Members—Julie Morgan, Jenny Rathbone—attended a vigil at the Temple of Peace. In fact, tonight, there’s an inter-faith event—I’m sure there’s representation from across this Chamber—as well as working with police forces and regional community cohesion co-ordinators to ensure that we can monitor community tensions here in Wales. But, of course, for us, this is about Wales being an outward facing nation, celebrating diversity, multicultural history, shared commitment to peace and understanding within and between communities, and I’m sure that’s reflected in the Fochriw project.

Thank you, Deputy Minister.

Before we move to our next item, I call Helen Mary Jones.

Thank you, Llywydd. I'm grateful to you for allowing me to apologise to this Chamber and to any others who may have been distressed or offended by a term that I inadvertently used in a debate last week. In responding to a debate, I made a reference—a commonly used phrase for if a person is already in trouble, perhaps they should desist. But the term that I used was entirely inappropriate and made reference to suicide. I understand that that may have been very distressing to individuals. I am incredibly sorry. I pride myself on being careful in the language that I use. That's certainly not a phrase, for example, that I would have used in a scripted speech or question; it should not have come into my head. I apologise profoundly to all those who were upset or distressed by it, and I also apologise to this Chamber for language that, while it may be common parlance, was inappropriate to use here.

Okay, thank you.