Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:31 pm on 14 January 2020.
I thank Joyce Watson for that supplementary question, Llywydd. The Welsh Government welcomed the inclusion in the withdrawal Act of 2018 section 17, which was the result of cross-party action on the floor of the House of Commons, which provided a legally binding commitment to negotiate the continuation of the current Dublin III arrangements. That was deleted last week in the EU withdrawal Bill, and it is absolutely right that the Welsh Government work with others to see that commitment restored.
Last week, in the House of Lords, my colleagues the Deputy Minister for equalities and the Counsel General were, on two separate days, talking with peers who are interested to support amendments that we have drafted, and there will be amendments in the House of Lords to protect these most vulnerable children. The Welsh Government believe that the previous arrangements did not go far enough. At the very minimum, we need to secure the continuation of those protections that have been there in the past that the previous Conservative Government was prepared to see put on the face of the 2018 Act. Yesterday, in the House of Lords, Dirprwy Lywydd, Lord Callaghan said that the policy position of the UK Government remained unchanged. In that case, why did they amend the Bill? Why did they take away a commitment that they had already made? They ought to replace it, and they ought to give security to some of the most vulnerable children we see in this country.