Item 5 on the agenda is a statement by the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip—an upadte on advancing equality and human rights in Wales. I call on the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip, Jane Hutt.

I welcome today’s opportunity to update Members on the work that the Welsh Government is undertaking to advance and strengthen equality and human rights in Wales. In the First Minister’s office I have the responsibility and scope to make a step change in our goals to create a fairer, more equal Wales. 

We continue to live in difficult and uncertain times, where austerity is falling disproportionately on those least able to bear it. This is having a direct impact on their human rights. Too often it is those whose needs are greatest whose rights are denied first: the poor, women, racial and ethnic minorities, children, single parents and disabled people. We also continue to live under the uncertainty of Brexit. We must prepare carefully to ensure that the rights and benefits the people of Wales have received through membership of the EU are not lost.

In this very challenging context, we are seeking to introduce a new, distinctly Welsh approach to promoting and safeguarding equality, social justice and human rights in Wales. The Welsh Government has a clear commitment to promoting and protecting human rights. This is embedded in our founding legislation. The actions of the Welsh Government must be compatible with international obligations, as set out in section 82 of the Government of Wales Act 2006. These obligations include the seven UN conventions signed and ratified by the UK state party. Section 81 of Government of Wales Act also requires the Welsh Government to act compatibly with the European convention on human rights, as reflected in our domestic law by the Human Rights Act 1998. We're fully engaged in the UN reporting process. We welcome and value scrutiny, feedback and guidance from the UN committees.  

To demonstrate and reaffirm our commitment to these principles, we're taking forward work to explore options to safeguard equality and human rights in Wales. This will begin with commencing the socioeconomic duty in Wales, as well as working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to review and strengthen the Welsh regulations for the public sector equality duty.

We're also commissioning research to explore wider options, including how we might incorporate UN conventions, including the convention on the rights of disabled people, into Welsh law. We will take an inclusive approach with regard to different aspects of equality and human rights, drawing on all available evidence, including the data from the annual population survey on ethnicity, disability status, marital status and religion that's been released this morning on the StatsWales website. And I expect this work to be complete by the end of 2020.

Commencing the socioeconomic duty—Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010—will be at the heart of the new work we're doing in this area. We know only too well that shocking levels of poverty exist across Wales and the rest of the UK, due to UK Government austerity and welfare reform measures, as the UN rapporteur Professor Philip Alston has laid out so clearly. The commencement of the socioeconomic duty, together with fair and living wages and improvements in procurement, were seen as the first phase of work on strengthening and advancing equality and human rights, being levers to tackle poverty. Also needed swiftly is practical support for people to apply current legislation and guidance, to enable them to hold agencies to account and seek redress if rights have been breached. The First Minister has also made clear his commitment to introduce legislation to embed a model of social partnership in Wales, and consolidate our social partnership work and functions within a new statutory framework.

I'm expecting rapid progress over the next few months with a view to the socioeconomic duty being commenced later this year. We will require Welsh public bodies to make decisions in a way that tackles unequal outcomes caused by socioeconomic disadvantage. This will provide a lodestar around which other options for strengthening equality and human rights in Wales can be considered. Stakeholders have already told us that it's important that we make best possible use of existing legislation and regulations. The public sector equality duty is a vital tool, and we're considering how the 2011 Welsh regulations could be strengthened. We've recently written to Welsh public bodies asking them to partner with us in this project. Initial responses were due back on 31 May, to be followed by data from their annual reports for 2017-18, which we've asked for by the end of June.

We're working closely with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to review the public sector equality duty regulations themselves. This will include looking at gender, disability and race pay gaps, as well as other aspects of the regulations. We're co-hosting a symposium on 11 July where this will be looked at in detail. I see this as an important strand of our overall approach to strengthening equality and human rights.

The commission has just published a series of briefings arising from the work they commissioned last year to monitor compliance with PSED in Wales. They're contacting all public bodies to meet and discuss how the commission can advise and support the sector to ensure obligations are met and inequality is tackled effectively. And I strongly recommend the take-up of this offer.

Our new framework, titled 'Action on disability: the right to independent living', was published for consultation last October and closed with 67 responses. The framework has been developed since 2017 through engagement with disabled people, under the guidance of the independent living steering group, made up of disability stakeholders and chaired by the chief executive of Disability Wales.

The new framework is rooted in the social model of disability, recognising there are organisational, attitudinal and environmental barriers to equality and inclusion, which must be removed to create a level playing field. There has been a series of stakeholder events held throughout Wales, looking at the social model of disability, which will help to inform the development of new policies and programmes.

Our approach remains cross-cutting with regard to all protected characteristics and UN conventions. In particular, we have committed to embed older people's rights across public service delivery in Wales. To achieve this, we must identify how to use rights as a practical tool to combat ageism and inequalities, and to improve the daily lives of all older people. As part of our human rights agenda, I will also be reporting on progress with Travelling Ahead, our action plan for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in Wales.

In Wales, the ongoing gender equality review has a major focus on pay gap, but we are already working to remove some of the barriers. Actions include providing childcare support, creating training opportunities, tackling discrimination and supporting women into non-traditional careers. The review recognises that intersectional factors, including disability, race and poverty, have a great impact on life outcomes. Conversely, a strong focus on gender equality has the potential to drive forward equality and fairness for everyone in Wales, including the most disadvantaged groups in our society.

I will also be reporting shortly on progress made as a result of the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015. I welcome the outcome of the Sally Challen case, in recognition of the devastating impact of coercive control. Earlier this year, Welsh Government launched a powerful campaign on the subject, called 'This is Not Love. This is Control'.

The Welsh Government is taking specific and targeted action to increase the diversity of public appointments in Wales. A diversity strategy is being developed in partnership with under-represented groups. On the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, I announced £40,000 of new Welsh Government funding so that BAME community groups can mark Windrush Day, celebrating the contributions of the Windrush generation and all migrants to Welsh society, economy and history.

On 19 June 2019, Welsh Government, in partnership with Cymru'n Cofio and Race Council Cymru, will also be holding a commemorative event to mark the centenary of the 1919 race riots. Next week, I will also be reporting on progress on our 'Nation of Sanctuary—Refugee and Asylum Seeker Plan' for refugees and asylum seekers during Refugee Week. I also regard our recently published blueprints on female offending and youth justice as part of my mission to advance and safeguard equality and human rights in Wales.

I have made clear my intention to place a very high priority on advancing and safeguarding equality and human rights in Wales. As you can see, this is driving a wide range of work in relation to many aspects of equality. Dirprwy Lywydd, the action we are taking, and will take in future, sends out a strong message about the importance to Wales of equality and human rights. But, outcomes matter more than symbols. It's vital that rights are implemented in a way that gives them practical effect, so that they have a real, positive impact on the lives of the people of Wales.

Thank you, Deputy Minister. As I mentioned when you briefed me earlier, I've been out this afternoon to NWAMI's second international panel meeting, held at Cardiff University student union building. NWAMI being originally the North Wales Association for Multicultural Integration, now the Network for World Awareness of Multicultural Integration. Statements from both yourself and the First Minister were read out there by a senior official, whose name I will not embarrass him by mentioning, unless you wish to, but he read it out very well. 

In my speech, I referred to the launch last year by the UK Government of an initiative to build a more integrated and cohesive society, the 'Integrated Communities Strategy', described by Professor Cantle, who had previously worked with the last UK Labour Government, as

'a very real shift in approach in which the Government will support practical action to promote cohesion and integration.'

The 'Integrated Communities Action Plan' of 2019 takes the UK Government's 2018 strategy forward by providing practical details of the schemes it is developing and supporting. What engagement has the Welsh Government had with that, either by invitation or a proactive intervention, if any?

The Equality and Human Rights Commission's 'Is Wales Fairer?' report for 2018 made a series of recommendations, including the strengthening of human rights infrastructure in Wales, calling on the Welsh Government to incorporate UN treaties into Welsh law and to ensure that equality and human rights protections are safeguarded and enhanced during the Brexit process and beyond. And of course, in your statement, you made reference to the Brexit process. 

The withdrawal agreement between the UK and Northern Ireland and the European Union, which hasn't gone through Westminster, stated that the UK 

'shall ensure that no diminution of rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity as set out in that part of the 1998 Agreement entitled Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity results from its withdrawal from the Union'.

So, again, as we go forward—and I appreciate we're in a situation of uncertainty and I don't want to party-politicise this—but as we go forward, how will you be further engaging with the UK Government in that context?

You referred to the need to and how Welsh Government might incorporate UN conventions, including the convention on the rights of disabled people, into Welsh law. When we debated this here last September, I said that there is no merit in incorporating the convention into Welsh law in order to strengthen and promote the rights—. Sorry, there is merit. Sorry. 

'There is merit in incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into Welsh law in order to strengthen and promote the rights of disabled people, as the Welsh Government did with children's rights by incorporating the convention on the rights of the child into Welsh law in 2011.'

So what consideration might you give to adopting a similar model, when you say you're commissioning research to explore wider options, or do you now have a better way, you think, possibly, of looking at this?

You referred, rightly, to the socioeconomic duty. We know, again, this was debated here not so long ago. The Equality and Human Rights Commission states that the Wales Act 2017 has given the Welsh Government the opportunity to enact a socioeconomic duty, enabling public bodies to work together to tackle the biggest driver of inequality in Wales: poverty. In last July's response, the First Minister stated he would work with the UK Government and EHRC on these issues, so what work has followed with the UK Government and the EHRC in the intervening 11 months?

You referred to the UN rapporteur, Professor Philip Alston. As you know, he said that Wales faced the highest relative poverty rate in the UK and that the Welsh Government's new 'Prosperity for All' strategy

'has no strategic focus or ministerial responsibility for poverty reduction, and lacks clear performance targets and progress indicators.'

How is the Welsh Government going to respond to the section in that report that was specifically targeted at the Welsh Government and asking the Welsh Government to take specific actions?

You rightly referred to the public sector equality duty, to the action on disability right to independent living framework and social model of disability. I've previously described this in the context of co-production, about seeing everyone as equal partners in local services, breaking down the barriers between people who provide services and those who use them, going beyond models of service-user consultation to the better delivery of health and social services and other services to an ageing population, people facing illness and disability, the economically inactive and those living in social isolation. But I have yet to encounter a senior officer in any local authority or health board that admits the existence of these matters or the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 or the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 until I mention it to them and remind them of their duties and responsibilities. So, in addition to looking further at this, how will the Welsh Government monitor implementation and intervene? Not necessarily to criticise with a big stick, but to ensure better understanding on implementation, so it's understood on the top floors of these public organisations that this isn't a threat, this is an opportunity for them to do things better, to improve lives, and if they get it right, to help them manage their budgets better, too. 

Are you winding up, please?

Okay. I'll conclude with a question from Welsh Women's Aid. They've asked: could the Deputy Minister provide an update on the cost of the nationally funded review into domestic and sexual violence provision and when the nationally funded review will engage with providers in Wales, and comment on whether the funds allocated to such reviews could be better spent on securing and expanding local services to meet the increasing demand for support in Wales?

Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood, and you did tell me this morning that you were attending an event at Cardiff University, and I'm sure that, indeed, the statement made by the First Minister and me would have been welcome because, of course, we also welcome the fact that the North Wales Association for Multicultural Integration network is an important partner in terms of taking forward this important agenda to strengthen equality and human rights.

I think you cover a great deal of ground in your questions. I think it is very important that we do look at the issue of human rights, particularly in relation to the opportunities that we have to build on the founding legislation of the Welsh Government. You will be aware, of course, that we are looking at a holistic approach to human rights in Wales, because we want to fully support the need to uphold and protect the human rights of all our citizens. Of course, this is something that the Equality and Human Rights Commission were very keen to engage in in terms of looking at ways in which we can possibly incorporate conventions, particularly, as you say, the UN convention on disabled people. We have had a seminar to look at the way forward and, indeed, research that's been undertaken.

We need to look, of course, at how we can build on existing legislation and specific duties, and I think that's something where we can work together in terms of our work with other agencies. Of course, the Welsh Government was the first Government to bring in specific equality duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010, and that does cover engagement, review and reporting arrangements as well as equality impact assessments. But it is important that we then review that and, as you say, not only monitor how public bodies are delivering on those duties, but consider whether we can take this forward in terms of strengthening it and looking at the way forward. 'Is Wales Fairer?', the EHRC report, does provide valuable evidence of the efforts of all our public bodies to reduce inequality in Wales.  

You do raise issues in terms of impact of Brexit, and I think it's important that, last week, the Counsel General and I went and met with the civic forum who are bringing together disabled people, and they raised with us concerns that they had about the impact of Brexit. And I think it's important to recognise in terms of the impact of Brexit, particularly on disabled people, that they were looking at the impacts on them. It actually relates to the previous statement. Many of them were concerned about the impact of the loss of people who work with them in terms of disabled people, and the fact that they will not be able to recruit those staff who work with them. But it will also impact on access to medical treatment, as I said, barriers to sourcing personal assistants and carers from the EU after Brexit, food shortages, blue badge portability, and a wider impact on funding in local communities in terms of community cohesion and hate crime.

In fact, Disability Rights UK have developed a Brexit manifesto that Disability Wales have contributed and signed up to. It is important that we consult our colleagues, those who are most vulnerable across all of the equality groups that we support, in terms of the impact of Brexit, but also that we support those who are victims of hate crime. We have used the EU transition funding to support our community cohesion co-ordinators, and I know that you will welcome the events that are happening next week, not just in terms of the nation of sanctuary—Refugee Week—but also the Windrush event that I believe you're also supporting in north Wales. 

I have to say that, in terms of the UN report and the rapporteur's work, it is true that this leading UN poverty expert has compared Conservative welfare policies to the creation of nineteenth-century workhouses, and he's warned that unless austerity is ended, the UK's poorest people face lives that are solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. We can mitigate, we can decide on our priorities, but I think, also, if you look at the 'State of the Nation' report from the Social Mobility Commission, we have to recognise, again, their findings, where they are saying, again, that

'The middle class is being supported while the most disadvantaged are left behind.'

And that goes back to some comments earlier on about leadership contenders in your party. But they're saying also that this work that they undertake is more critical than ever, as

'Research shows that living standards are getting worse for the working class and for young people. If we do not address the soaring costs of housing, the wellbeing of our nation and the rising rates of child poverty, social mobility is predicted to get even worse in future years.'

So, we have got to address this evidence and also ensure that we are looking to ways we can strengthen equality and human rights in Wales, as well as safeguard and defend them.

There's nothing, really, in this statement that tells us anything fresh about the Government's approach, so, if I may, I'd like to address one particular aspect of the equality and human rights agenda that needs much more focus than it is currently getting, and that aspect is neurodiversity, and, in particular, the way public services still operate on the assumption that everybody is neurotypical. I believe that this question should be seen as an equalities question.

There's increasing recognition that not everyone's brain works in the same way. With new and increasing understanding emerging from neuroscience, it's likely that this understanding will further grow, and all of this, then, clearly has an impact upon human rights. Now, the arguments around legislation on autism have been rehearsed in this Chamber on numerous occasions. We in Plaid Cymru believe that legislation is needed to improve services and to protect the rights of people who are not neurotypical. The Government doesn't believe that we should have such legislation. This means that many people on the autism spectrum can wait for years for a diagnosis. It means that there is a near-total lack of adult autism support services available, with many people often referred to inappropriate services that regard their neurotype as a mental health condition or a behavioural problem, blocking them from receiving the support that they require.

I'd like to highlight two examples of where public bodies are not respecting the rights of non-neurotypical people. A 15-year-old girl on the spectrum in my constituency was referred to child and adolescent mental health services. After waiting, it was clear that she did not need a CAMHS intervention, but there was little else available. So, she has now stopped going to school, she rarely leaves her home, and her mother doesn't know where to turn. Where is the equality for this young woman? A second example is Bridgend's decision to reorganise school transport, which involved changing transport arrangements for pupils on the autism spectrum. The change was communicated poorly with no consideration that a sudden change of routine is especially stressful and potentially harmful to some children who are on the autism spectrum.

So, my questions are as follows: do you, Minister, think that neurodiversity needs to be considered as an equalities issue in its own right, with having a non-neurotypical brain becoming a protected characteristic? Do you accept that, currently, many public services are designed and delivered around the assumption that everyone is neurotypical and therefore fail to take into account the needs of people of a different neurotype? Do you think that the response of public services needs to move beyond treating autism as a medical condition and, instead, begin to see having a neurologically different brain not as a defect, but, rather, as a form of neurodiversity that requires social acceptance, and social inclusion as much as it does practical support? And will you therefore ensure that this shift in thinking can move across Government? And do you accept that this is a basic human right and to achieve what I have outlined here this afternoon will require legislation and that nothing will happen with a business-as-usual approach? And, finally, would you agree that non-neurotypical people are best placed to represent and advocate for their neurotype, and that all education and awareness-raising campaigns should ensure that the authentic autistic voice is front and centre of policy formation and service provision, through inclusion of members of the rapidly growing neurodiversity self-advocacy movement?

I'd like to thank Leanne Wood for raising a very important dimension. I think it's a dimension in terms of understanding and strengthening equality and human rights that we obviously now need to look at across Government, not just in terms of my portfolio. Interestingly, this did come up last week when Jeremy Miles and I went to the civic forum to talk to disabled people about the impact of Brexit. That was the focus, but many issues came forward in terms of the impact of policy on disabled people's lives. And, of course, I talked again about the social model of disability, which, actually—and some people were here then in 2002, when this National Assembly did adopt the social model of disability, and it's enshrined in the UN convention on the rights of disabled people. But we need to ensure that that's now imbued in all our policy making and that it enables, of course, Assembly Members, committees and disabled people to scrutinise us on the basis of delivering the social model of disability.

So, the issue that you're raising in terms of non-neurotypical people and neurodiversity has got to be clearly addressed. You've raised an important issue and I think also it's not just an issue that we may want explored in terms of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, but the Children, Young People and Education Committee as well, because it is something—there needs to be awareness raised of these issues. But, certainly, it is something that we need to look at.

I hope, also, that you would consider, Leanne Wood, that the scope that we have in Wales to strengthen equality and human rights is laid out in the statement today. It covers a lot of ground and we have a great deal to do to safeguard the rights, particularly of disabled people and those who are impacted by the non-neurotypical situations that they find themselves in as people, and what that means for their rights. And I hope that we can follow this discussion.

I very much welcome the statement today. As Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, these matters are central to our work, and, indeed, in our report on human rights in Wales, in the inquiry that we conducted, we made many recommendations that I think are relevant to this statement today. And, of course, in the joint debate with the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee, and correspondence that surrounded that, we've engaged with Welsh Government to try and take this agenda forward.

One of our key concerns was the protections provided by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and trying to ensure that they remain in place, post Brexit, if Brexit occurs. And at the time, the former First Minister was in correspondence with the UK Government to try and take forward some sort of political agreement that would endorse that existing framework of equal treatment legislation. And I'd be interested, Dirprwy Lywydd, to hear whether the Minister is able to provide us with an update today in terms of those discussions—how they're progressing and the stage and any understanding that has been reached, and also whether we might have further information on the practicalities of commencing the socioeconomic duty of the Equality Act, because I think those practicalities are very significant in terms of effective implementation.

Also, in terms of my committee's inquiry into parenting and employment in Wales, we made a number of recommendations around the public sector equality duties, including calling for data on maternity retention rates to be collected, and for the Welsh Government to refine the employment data required by the public sector equality duties, with the aim of reducing the administrative burden on authorities. These recommendations were accepted by Welsh Government, and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission and Fair Work Commission have also recommended improving these duties. So, further information, Minister, on work Welsh Government is doing to update the duties and when you expect that work to be completed would be useful.

Just two other matters, very briefly, Dirprwy Lywydd—it's very good to hear what you mentioned on the Refugee and Asylum Seekers Week coming up next week, Minister. Again, my committee did a report, and we're very keen on the nation of sanctuary work, as I know you're aware of. I very much look forward to next week, and I hope some meaningful and substantive proposals and work from Welsh Government to take forward that very important agenda.

Just finally on Windrush, again, I very much welcome what you said about that, Minister. I just wonder, in terms of Welsh Government's relationship with UK Government, whether you are representing some of the points that have been put forward by members of the Windrush community in Wales, and, hopefully, applying pressure on UK Government. One example, I think, is the cap on compensation, because I am aware of cases where very substantial loss has taken place as a result of the UK Government's actions, and people have lost their homes, for example, as a result of that. So, any cap on compensation that doesn't reflect the extent and the scale of loss is a very real and practical issue for members of our communities here, and I would hope that Welsh Government would put those points forward to UK Government.

Thank you very much, John Griffiths, and can I thank your committee for being such an important force—a force of scrutiny and also of inquiry and providing evidence in terms of the way we should be addressing these issues in terms of equality and human rights? I was a member of the external affairs committee where we worked together on that letter to the First Minister and had that response, and I will get an updated response on that from our First Minister, in terms of where we're taking this forward, particularly in relation to Brexit. We're concerned about the potential erosion of human rights within the UK if Brexit takes place. We've been clear—Welsh Government—that UK withdrawal from the EU should in no way lead to a dilution in human rights protections—of course, that has been made very clear on so many occasions—but, indeed, in any other social, environmental or employment protections, which are also crucial in terms of strengthening and safeguarding equality. So, that's why we're looking at ways in which we could help strengthen the rights of the people of Wales post Brexit to assess the benefits of possible actions. I've talked about not only the possibility of incorporating UN conventions into Welsh law, but also strengthening existing regulation. The enactment of the socioeconomic duty is important, but also we need to look at legislative provision relating to relevant international treaties.

We've provided £150,000 to fund research into how the Brexit process could impact on community services in Wales and help the third sector plan for all eventualities. And they have—. I've mentioned the Disability Wales group and forum that we met, but they have a civic forum looking at equality and impacts on equality, and I know that you have met with them.

It's important that we look to—in terms of delivering on public sector duties, we look also to our strategic equality plan, which is now being—. There's a consultation and we'll be moving forward in terms of engagement on a refreshed plan. It's ensuring that we deliver the outcomes that really matter: eliminating discrimination, fostering good relations. That's going to drive forward Welsh Government actions for tackling inequality, very much responding to issues that have been raised in your committee in terms of those concerns, and the evidence that we have and the concerns that we have in terms of the most vulnerable in our communities.

I think it's important that we do recognise next week, Refugee Week, as a time to also take stock of the plan for refugees and asylum seekers in Wales, 'Nation of Sanctuary', and we have refugees coming next week. I will be making a written statement on actions to deliver on the 'Nation of Sanctuary' and, indeed, in terms of the Windrush community, we have events being funded all over Wales, but I have also raised my concerns about the unfair treatment of the Windrush community, and met with elders, particularly in terms of the cap on compensation. I am awaiting a response from the UK Government on this important issue. But I think the way in which the committee acts as an important source of evidence, engaging with people who are vulnerable, and also holding the Government to account in terms of strengthening and safeguarding equality and human rights, is key to the work that I'm undertaking.

Thank you for your statement, Deputy Minister. I'm sure all of us share the Government's wish to create a fairer and more equal Wales. It's been 70 years since the United Nations' universal declaration of human rights was adopted, and we have come a long way in the past seven decades. Deputy Minister, I welcome the fact that your Government is looking at incorporating some UN conventions into Welsh law. I note you expect the work to be completed by the end of next year. Can you indicate at this stage whether you expect to place duties outlined in all the UN conventions on Welsh Ministers, and whether you will look at extending those duties across the public sector?

I welcome the move to a social model of disability. Deputy Minister, can you explain how changes to the independent living fund fit with the Government's framework on disability? I am pleased that you have decided to embed older people's rights across public service delivery in Wales. Do you believe this move will help ensure that older people's rights under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 are implemented and also improved upon, and will this move ensure that older people receive the carers' rights assessments to which they are entitled?

Staying on with people with a disability, and even those without a disability, with the closure of our public services, public conveniences, some of our elderly feel that they are confined to their homes, so this leads to social inactivity. Libraries are closing, and, again, these were the body of the whole community in bringing people together. So, I wonder how we can bring services such as these back, although they are local government services and decisions, often. But I am concerned about people being confined to their homes, even those with young children and families, because of the lack of public services available to them. So, I wonder how those with a disability are also going to be looked at with this lack of public services, please, and how we can cope with this.

Within my region, child poverty is high in many constituencies across my region, often reaching 26 per cent, and with child poverty and family poverty comes inequality, lack of opportunities, and I wonder how we can all work together to improve this for children, and even families, to reach their full potential. As Leanne Wood has referred to, many children—. I've had people come to me about being referred to the CAMHS register, but there is such a lengthy wait for diagnosis of autism or ADHD, and families are concerned that they're very often unable to cope 24 hours a day with a child who has been undiagnosed. So, I wonder if we can improve upon these areas, please.

I thank the Deputy Minister once again for her statement, and I look forward to scrutinising her detailed proposals for improving equality within our nation. Thank you. 

I thank the Member for her questions. Of course, there have been calls over recent years for us to undertake our own legislative action to strengthen and advance equality and human rights, particularly in the context of the UK's exit from the EU. We have to ensure that we do take the right actions in terms of the strengthening of those rights, including issues that might arise in light of calls to incorporate UN conventions and treaties into Welsh law. But I think we also, as I said in response to other questions, need to look at how we can strengthen our regulation under the Welsh-specific duties, guidance and monitoring, taking forward—. That's as a result of consultations that we've had—there is a very strong feeling that we should look at existing law and regulation, see how this also accords with our well-being of future generations legislation, pioneering legislation, and also enact duties like the socioeconomic duty under Part 1 of the Equality Act, which of course will tackle socioeconomic disadvantage. It will be a duty on public bodies and we are now starting on the commencement Order and the statutory guidance that will, once we've had drafting—. We're also looking at how they've taken this forward in Scotland in terms of that Scotland has already enacted the socioeconomic duty, so we are learning from them. It's often useful to learn from others. They've learned from us in other respects in terms of policy, but this is also very linked to the gender equality review, so we're consulting on the legislative models that could emerge from this research and also to look at the opportunities that this will—how this will take us forward.

In terms of independent living, the way forward, which is being taken forward in terms of independent living by my colleague Julie Morgan, Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services, is entirely in accord with the social model of disability. This is a way forward that is also very much based on the experience and views and evidence from people, from disabled people themselves, and, in terms of our action framework for disability, this is about how we can ensure that disabled people are informing us in terms of policy. Of course, it does mean then we have to ensure we, as a Government, adopt this as a priority and deliver it in partnership with those who are most affected.

There are many issues here, and I've already given my views and the evidence of others, such as the UN rapporteur and indeed the Social Mobility Commission and End Child Poverty alliance today. We heard the evidence in terms of child poverty and the impact of UK Government policies that have led to the deepening of that child poverty here in Wales. Clearly, that is a very political issue, but it's not just our evidence, and evidence from those who advise us and enable us to respond to that policy, but it is the evidence of the UN rapporteur, and to those who can understand what it means in terms of those levels of poverty that are shocking and getting worse. And the First Minister outlined that very clearly in his answers to questions this afternoon.

Finally, Suzy Davies.

Thank you very much—diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.

That was a very full statement, and I appreciate your answers today. But, in response to what you were saying to John Griffiths, it's my understanding that the Welsh Government's responsibility for human rights and equality cuts across all Government departments. This isn't just a matter for the Assembly, and one of the things that perhaps I want to ask you about today is economic activity. Now, this is an area where I actually would expect participation to help create a more equal and fair society, but it's not doing that. I'm just referring to the Chwarae Teg 'State of the Nation 2019' report, which shows—and this is not new, Minister—that our constituents still do not have equal opportunities to contribute to and benefit from the Welsh economy, depending on particular personal characteristics or combinations of those, every bit as much as an accident of geography or education. Now, personally, I'd say these are elements of a wider anti-poverty strategy, but, if we're not going to be having one of those, perhaps you can tell us what you expect the economy department, in particular, to do to mainstream some targeted interventions that develop pro-equality, as opposed to anti-discrimination, work to make sure that those words 'equal opportunities' actually genuinely become equally accessible opportunities. And just to give you an example, the state of the nation report shows that the majority of men who are economically inactive are so because of ill health, whereas—and this is worth remembering in carers week—for women, the reason is household and caring responsibilities. And for the economy department in particular to be looking at those two different reasons for economic activity—I would like some reassurance that one of those reasons will not receive more attention than the other. Thank you.

I think, Suzy Davies, you raise a key point. In terms of delivering on strengthening equality and human rights, it has to be a cross-Government responsibility. I think it's very relevant if we look at the Fair Work Commission's report, in terms of understanding how we can address this. I mentioned in my statement that, actually, in terms of commencing the socioeconomic duty—which I believe will have a profound impact on socioeconomic disadvantages affecting all the protected characteristics and disadvantaged communities—it's a fair and living wage, improvements in procurement that are crucial, and that's going to be the first phase of our work in terms of strengthening and advancing equality and human rights.

This is about tackling poverty, but also it's building on the work, which also is the finance Minister's responsibility as well as the economy and infrastructure Minister in terms of the ethical code on procurement and supply chains, and our economic contract promotes fair work and inclusive growth. It is crucial, in terms of economic development, that we look at the quality of jobs, that we look at issues in terms of low pay, low skill and insecure jobs. And I have also mentioned, of course, the pay gap—not just in terms of the gender pay gap, but disability and race pay gaps, and the intersectionality that obviously has an impact, in terms of addressing equality and human rights. And this, of course, is something where we have to work with the UK Government, in terms of the powers that we have and the powers that take us forward in terms of employment legislation and, indeed, protecting, of course, progressive EU employment law in the way that I've described.

Thank you very much, Minister.