2. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the threat to Welsh citizens following the terror attack in London last Friday? 373

Welsh Government has received no intelligence to suggest a direct threat to Welsh citizens, but the UK threat level remains substantial. We're continuing to work closely with the police, UK Government departments and other services that are responding to the tragic events of last Friday.

I want to start by paying tribute to the two young people murdered on London Bridge last week, Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt, and to the values that they stood for. The courageous words of Jack Merritt's father were, in the circumstances, inspirational. And I'm sure that I speak for all Members here and others throughout Wales when I say that we feel for the family and close friends, and that all of us will want to do what we can to reduce the likelihood of a tragedy like this repeating itself.

I've a number of questions for our Government. The first is a matter that falls within the devolution settlement, and that's education. Can you tell us what initiatives are in place to combat far-right extremism in all its forms, especially where violence is a risk? How is supremacist ideology, which puts people above those that they 'other', whether that's in terms of skin colour, nationality, religion or anything else, being challenged within our education system? How are teachers and youth workers trained to ensure that this sensitive and difficult work is done? How are these supremacist ideologies being challenged within the prison education system, for both those people serving terror-related offences within Welsh prisons and for those Welsh prisoners serving their sentences in England?

I'd also like to know what representations are being made to your counterparts in Westminster about the cuts to the National Probation Service and the failures in assessment and monitoring of former inmates released on licence that this latest terror incident has exposed. Are these failures related to austerity and privatisation?

I very much hope that you are already asking these questions and that you are doing all that you can to realise the ongoing demand for the criminal justice system to be devolved to Wales as quickly as possible, so that we can create a system focused on preventing these horrific, violent and ideology-driven incidents, and in keeping people in all of our communities safe.

I thank Leanne Wood very much for that question, and can I also join her and extend our deepest sympathies to the families of Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt? You're absolutely right, and I'm sure that it's shared across this Chamber. It is about the fact that we feel, as you say so powerfully, for the family and close friends. And also, they were killed on Friday in the attack in the Fishmongers' Hall in London, but also we recognise the huge courage, extraordinary courage, and bravery of members of the public. It was Jack Merritt, we understood, who went out—a young man who was working with offenders. He was at an event—the Learning Together programme. The fact that he went out, and that ex-offenders were also involved in trying to protect the public people working in Fishmongers' Hall—astonishing courage that we saw at this appalling incident. But it is very important that we do learn from this incident, and I'm very grateful for the question today because I think your first point, about education, is absolutely crucial and I'm glad the education Minister is in the Chamber.

Interestingly, last week I met the commissioner for countering extremism to discuss the findings from her report—Sara Khan—'Challenging Hateful Extremism'. It's a report I'll share with the Chamber that they very recently published. We have been working alongside the Welsh Local Government Association to develop a £350,000 hate crime in schools project. This is about building children's critical thinking skills, recognising and challenging hate speech online or offline. Good practice has been recognised in 2018 by the hate crime inspection report. Regional community cohesion is also extremely important. As you'll be aware—Members are aware that we've invested additional funding through the EU transition fund to support our community cohesion regions.

I will follow up your question about the prison education system. I'm shortly going to be visiting both Swansea and Cardiff. I've also visited the prisons HMP Eastwood Park and Styal—women's prisons—but I'm visiting the prisons in Wales and I will be asking questions and have asked questions about the prison education system there. We have to be responsible in terms of our devolved responsibilities in terms of those services, and, again, that's something in terms of working with the education Minister, but also recognising the important report that was recently published about prison education and recognising the recommendations that we've got to now follow through.

Making representations to Westminster in terms of the cuts to our services, the impact of austerity, and, of course, that's very clear in terms of the damage to Wales, including the justice system—. I have to say, again, as you will be clearly aware, that the cuts to legal aid as well as the crisis in our criminal justice system have left our communities less safe, victims less supported and people less able to defend their rights, and that's why our justice commission is so important, the Thomas commission. And I think, importantly, the issues about the probation service and the fact that we have fought hard to reunify the probation service—that is now happening. We do have an opportunity to help shape the future direction of the probation services and that reunification is taking place sooner in Wales than it is in England, and I will certainly want to report back on that because that is taking place. And I, of course, am meeting regularly with UK justice Ministers and clarifying the transition and the impact of that transition following the UK general election.

Thank you very much, Minister.