The following amendments have been selected: amendments 1 and 2 in the name of Darren Millar and amendment 3 in the name of Siân Gwenllian.

Item 10 on our agenda is a debate on progress on tackling hate crime, and I call on the Deputy Minister and the Chief Whip to move the motion—Jane Hutt. 

Motion NDM7281 Rebecca Evans

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Agrees there is no place for hate crime in Wales.

2. Notes the efforts of the Welsh Government and partners to tackle hate crime by increasing the confidence of victims to come forward, improving the way hate crime is recorded and working with communities to prevent hate crime in future.

3. Supports the work of the Welsh Government and partners to ensure victims receive dedicated advice and care.

4. Recognises that tackling hate crime remains a high priority for the Welsh Government.

Motion moved.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm pleased to lead this important debate on tackling hate crime to outline the interventions we've put in place, as well as to speak up against hate, which is the powerful message of the Jo Cox campaign. We can't ignore the prevalence of divisive narratives in the media as well as political discourse, both in the UK and across the world, so it is incumbent upon us as elected representatives to state categorically that there is no place for hate in Wales, and that's what the motion today proposes. 

Prevention, of course, is key to tackling hate crime in Wales, and therefore the focus of much of our work. Our community cohesion programme forms an integral part of our prevention work, delivering projects focused on creating a diverse and united nation by fostering environments where we can learn from each other, as well as live and work together in Wales. Living in communities where people are safe and welcome benefits everybody. Government funding can help communities thrive and should not have to be spent tackling unacceptable hate-fuelled behaviour.

We've invested an additional £1.52 million of funding into the community cohesion programme to expand cohesion teams across Wales, and over the past few months their front-line engagement with communities, including the delivery of projects to encourage integration, have been crucial in fostering good relations and supporting those affected by prejudice. We are providing £480,000 of funding over two years through our hate crime minority communities grant, and the grant is funding third sector organisations supporting ethnic minority and religious communities affected by hate crime.

We were in the process of awarding the funding at the time of the last debate, so I will provide a brief overview of the projects that are now running across Wales: Show Racism the Red Card Cymru, providing hate crime training to staff and students for all further education colleges in Wales; Women Connect First, which is delivering restorative justice training and hate crime awareness-raising sessions in south-east Wales; BAWSO, which is training community advocates in north Wales to help community members recognise hate incidents and encourage reporting; Ethnic Minorities and Youth Support Team Wales is developing a train the trainer project around hate crime for schoolchildren, teachers and teaching assistants with front-line health and public sector staff in south-west and mid Wales; NWREN, the north Wales race equality network, is providing hate crime awareness and equality legislation training to local authority education directors, senior leadership teams in schools and teaching staff across north and mid Wales; Race Equality First is delivering activities in schools, and accredited training, including prisoner rehabilitation and outreach sessions in the community across south-east Wales; Race Council Cymru is delivering hate crime awareness-raising sessions through ethnic minority communities, and promoting wider awareness of rights and equality in north and south-west Wales; and the Welsh Refugee Council is training refugee and asylum seeker hate crime ambassadors to deliver hate crime awareness sessions across Wales. 

These projects are in their early stages, but we've already seen good progress. By using experienced and well-established connections of these organisations, we can work with partners at the grass-roots community level and provide support directly to those who need it. The long-term aim of our £350,000 hate crime in schools project—£350,000, that is, of funding—led by the Welsh Local Government Association is raising awareness through education to help children and young people learn about the strengths and benefits of living and learning together in diverse communities. The project is being delivered in over 100 schools across Wales, and will equip pupils with critical thinking skills to enable them to identify misinformation and hateful narratives. 

We recognise that promoting positive communications has a crucial role in hate crime prevention work, in particular reinforcing the message that hate is not welcome in Wales. We are on course to launch a multi-media, pan-Wales, anti-hate crime campaign this autumn, engaging with partners, including victims. This is progressing well, and we've got good feedback that supports the creation of this campaign, which encourages the reporting of hate crime and increases the public understanding of hate crime. 

Further to the work I've already outlined on working to support ethnic minority communities, we are also working with All Wales People First to fund a series of workshops with local networks of adults with learning disabilities across all areas of Wales. Evidence suggests that hate crime against people with learning disabilities is often misunderstood and largely unreported, and this work seeks to improve our knowledge, allowing us to gain an understanding of the scale and nature of this form of hate crime, and to help identify ways to tackle it. These are seldom heard voices, but we want to ensure they feed into the development of the forthcoming campaign and future hate crime policy.

Over the last few months, we've worked with a range of partners to improve anti-hate messaging. We funded the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust to deliver activities and awareness raising in Wales, and this included the development of the Stand Together website and participation in the 75 Memorial Flames art project currently on display on the Hayes in Cardiff. We're working to expand the reach of the open and global Wales communication campaign, developed by south-east Wales local authorities and led by Cardiff Council. They're developing a community cohesion and anti-hate crime campaign, built around the message that we are a welcoming and global nation. Our investment will ensure the campaign is seen across Wales.

Our last debate came a week after the publication of the 2018-19 hate crime statistics for England and Wales. The increased recording of hate crime reflects the growing negative discourse in wider society. However, we should also recognise the effort that we're putting in with our partners to encourage victims to report incidents of hate crime.

We are trying to prevent and tackle hate crime, and victims are at the heart of our response. So, last year, I announced an additional £360,000 of funding for the next two years for the national hate crime report and support centre, run by Victim Support Cymru. And this additional money, on top of annual funding, will increase the centre's support and advocacy to victims of hate crime. 

We don't hold all the levers to address the wider issues, and we're aware of the frustrations in regard to hate crime legislation in the UK. Hate crime laws in the UK have developed in several phases over recent decades, and this has led to the situation where the five protected characteristics in hate crime legislation—race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability—are not dealt with in a consistent way. And this is something where the Law Commission is exploring this matter as part of a review into hate crimes in the UK.

I just want to conclude that February was LGBT+ history month, when we had the opportunity here in the Senedd to celebrate the contributions the LGBT+ communities have made to Welsh life and culture. We're committed to protecting and supporting victims of LGBT+ hate crime, and working with our partners to encourage those members of our community to report hate crime.

So, we're grateful to all our partners for their support and expertise on this area of work. I thank the regional community cohesion teams who play a vital role in working with local government, communities and the third sector to foster cohesion. In support of the three amendments tabled today, I hope you will agree that this is a chance for us to unite, to agree and support the breadth of work that's been undertaken in relation to hate crime, demonstrating this is a continuing high priority that we place on ensuring victims have confidence to report, receive the care and support they need, and seek to prevent the amount of hate crime incidents in the future. 

Thank you. I have selected the three amendments to the motion, and I call on Mark Isherwood to move amendments 1 and 2, tabled in the name of Darren Millar. Mark.

Amendment 1—Darren Millar

Add as new point at end of motion:

Notes the UK Government’s hate crime action plan which applies to England and Wales.

Amendment 2—Darren Millar

Add as new point at end of motion:

Regrets the 17 per cent increase in recorded hate crimes across Wales last year, compared to an overall 10 per cent increase across the whole of England and Wales.

Amendments 1 and 2 moved.

Diolch. As the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Wales states, hate crimes are any crimes that are targeted at a person because of hostility or prejudice towards that person's disability, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, age, sexual orientation or transgender identity. This could be committed against a person or property. They say a victim does not have to be a member of the group at which the hostility is targeted; in fact, anyone could be a victim of hate crime. 

As the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip stated in her hate crime statement last October, 2018-19 hate crimes statistics for England and Wales were published by the Home Office on 15 October. The statistics show a 17 per cent increase in recorded hate crimes across Wales compared to 2017-18; this compares to an overall 10 per cent increase across the whole of England and Wales. I therefore move amendment 2, which regrets the 17 per cent increase in recorded hate crimes across Wales last year compared to an overall 10 per cent increase across the whole of England and Wales.

We therefore need to better understand why this differential exists, especially when the Welsh Government states that the statistics reflect the hard work being done across Wales by police forces, third sector, and the national hate crime report and support centre, run by Victim Support Cymru, to increase the confidence of victims and encourage them to report these incidents. Some 76 per cent of the hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales were race related—falling to 68 per cent of the 3,932 recorded hate crimes across the four Welsh police force areas—with 19 per cent related to sexual orientation, 11 per cent to disability, 5 per cent to religion, and 3 per cent to transgender.

Using similar arguments to the Welsh Government, the Home Office states that the increase in reported hate crime over the past five years is thought to have been driven by improvements in recording by police and the growing awareness of hate crime, as well as short-term rises following certain events such as the 2016 EU referendum. Of course, whatever our views on Brexit, it's now a reality, and we must all work together for an inclusive Wales within an outward looking and global UK.

The crime survey of England and Wales is considered to be a more reliable indicator of long-term crime trends than the police recorded crime series. Experience of hate crime captured in the crime survey has gone down steadily over the last 10 years. Ironically, it's higher overall than the police figures, but is showing a decline rather an increase. So, according to the crime survey, hate crime incidents averaged 184,000 annually, between 2015 and 2018, representing around 3 per cent of all crime recorded in the survey, compared with only 2 per cent of police-recorded crime. And between 2015 and 2018, 53 per cent of the hate crime incidents recorded by the crime survey were reported, so 47 per cent went unreported.

I move amendment 1, noting the UK Government's hate crime action plan, which applies to England and Wales. 'Action Against Hate: The UK Government's plan for tackling hate crime—"two years on"' reflects the devolved policy responsibilities in Wales, stating,

'the Welsh Government has published a Hate Crime Action Plan for Wales, which includes activities that are specifically applicable to tackling hate crime in Wales.'

As the UK Government plan states,

'Action to prevent and tackle hate crime will also support our ambition to build strong, integrated communities'.

It goes on,

'We want to build communities where people—whatever their background—live, work, learn and socialise together, based around shared rights, responsibilities and opportunities. Hate crime undermines this vision, spreading fear and stopping people from playing a full part in their communities.'

As I've said previously, we must recognise the vital work being carried out by front-line community and third sector organisations to promote multicultural integration in Wales. As the chair and founder of Networking for World Awareness of Multicultural Integration, Dr Sibani Roy, has stated,

'Some of the people think that when you talk about integration, you mean assimilation. We have to explain to people that integration is not assimilation. We have to respect the law and culture of the land.... What we need to do is educate people and say we are all human beings, we're friendly and we should try to understand each other's culture.... By talking to people and educating people—eventually by convincing them that human beings are not all bad...we treat them as individuals—it doesn't matter what the background is, their faith or colour.'

And, as she said only last week, we're a team, and we need to work collectively towards the noble cause of integration and reducing hate crimes.

I leave the last word to her.

Thank you. I call on Leanne Wood to move amendment 3, tabled in the name of Siân Gwenllian. Leanne.

Amendment 3—Siân Gwenllian

Add as new point at end of motion:

Calls on the Welsh Government to ensure that preventing hate crime is a key strategic driver in the planning and creation of a Welsh justice system.

Amendment 3 moved.

Diolch. I welcome the steps that the Welsh Government is taking to acknowledge the problem with hate crimes today, as well as providing this space for discussion. I'd like to start my contribution to today's debate with two case examples, which go some way towards highlighting that more needs to be done to take on hate crime in all its subtle and sinister forms. 

The first case is one from the Rhondda that came to may attention last year. A 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted. The perpetrator pleaded guilty and last September received a sentence of 24 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. A sexual harm prevention order was made for 10 years and he was also registered as a sex offender for 10 years. The suspended sentence has resulted in this convicted paedophile being allowed to return to his home, which is less than 300 feet away from the family home of this teenage survivor. His continued presence is making the whole family, but in particular this vulnerable teenage girl, feel intimidated, unsafe and unable to move on. The whole family are undertaking counselling and are receiving mental health support to come to terms with what has happened, but the ongoing daily traumatic reminders mean recovery is nigh on impossible. This is not justice; this is an outrage.

Incidences of sexual assault and rape are based on wielding power, and that is a characteristic common to most hate crimes. I've been told by the Welsh Government that the management and assessment of risk post-sentence falls to the probation service, and so is part of the non-devolved justice system. However, I simply cannot accept that nothing can been done in a case like this. How does it, for example, fit with the wording in the Government's motion about increasing victims' confidence or ensuring that victims receive dedicated advice and care? It's because of cases like this that I want to see the criminal justice system devolved. Would we not put victim protection, child safeguarding and public safety at the heart of a Welsh-run criminal justice system? As things stand, the system is cruel and is causing more harm. The Thomas commission says it all:

'With legislative devolution of justice, the Welsh Government and the Assembly should make significant reforms which would make a material contribution to Wales being a just, equal, diverse and prosperous nation.'

The second case I wish to raise is that of Christopher Kapessa, a 13-year-old black boy whose body was found in the river Cynon, near Fernhill, last year. We don't know if this was a hate crime, but Christopher was pushed into the river and he drowned. The police only interviewed four of the 14 people who were at the scene. Christopher's mother has accused South Wales Police and the Crown Prosecution Service of institutional racism over a failure to prosecute anyone in relation to her son's death, despite there being,

'sufficient evidence to support a charge of unlawful act of manslaughter'.

Again, I cannot accept that the Welsh Government can do nothing in this case. Now, I'm aware that a meeting will be held soon about this and I urge the Government to get involved. Please, don't be a bystander. All the people need to be safe living here, and in the light of this case many people of colour in our communities simply do not.

As many of us are acutely aware, the far right are emboldened in the present time. Although all minorities are at risk, there are certain groups of people who are particularly vulnerable from their attacks. Muslim women, and particularly women of a Muslim faith who choose to cover or wear a veil, and trans people, especially trans women, seem to me to be on the front line of the so-called culture wars. Trump's America should be a warning to us. Intolerances there will travel here. In November, the FBI reported that violent hate crimes in the US reached their highest levels in 16 years, with a surge of attacks seen against Muslims, Latinos, Sikhs, people with disabilities and transgender people. Brian Levin, the director for the Centre for the Study of Hate and Extremism said,

'The more we have these derisive stereotypes broadcasted into the ether, the more people are going to inhale that toxin.'

The domino effect of this widespread hatred is clear, and rights thought to be well-enshrined are endangered; rights such as abortion rights, citizenship rights. It's critical that we recognise that hate crime against some of us is a hate crime against all of us; it cannot be tolerated at any cost. This famous poem by Martin Niemöller reminds me why we must all stand together against all hate crime in all its forms:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— / Because I was not a socialist. / Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— / Because I was not a trade unionist. / Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— / Because I was not a Jew. / Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

We have to learn from this.

Thank you. Jenny Rathbone.

That's a very powerful message that Leanne has left us with. I proudly represent one of the most diverse constituencies in Wales, where the community at large warmly welcomes asylum seekers and embraces the city of sanctuary and the country of sanctuary that I hope that we all aspire to. But, we know that the rise of far-right groups in Wales is a particular cause for concern for the police.

Across the UK, we know from the 'HOPE not hate' report published in the last few days that 12 far-right activists were convicted of terrorism-related charges last year, and 10 more are facing trial this year. The 2019 report by the Community Services Trust, 'Hidden hate: What Google searches tell us about antisemitism today', highlighted that the number of antisemitic searches on the internet—[Interruption]. Excuse me—[Interruption.] I think I'm going to have to—[Interruption.]  

Are you going to—? Do you want to—? All right, I'll move on and I'll come back to you. Mandy Jones.  

Thank you, Llywydd. I cautiously welcome the debate, and there is nothing in the motion or the amendments that my group cannot support. While we may not agree with the devolution of justice, of course, if powers are gained in this area in future, preventing crime of all types must be preferable to dealing with the aftermath. I say 'cautious' because I find it quite depressing that we are even here discussing this again today. Again, I would cautiously welcome an increase in reporting, as it now shows that people know their rights and will no longer accept the behaviour that is at the root of the crime.

Quite rightly, the protected characteristics are at the heart of this matter. However, as a general observation, I think that respect—or lack of respect—with regard to our differences, is a major factor, as is ignorance or lack of knowledge. I would, though, like to point out that we have our own responsibility in creating an environment of respecting differences of opinions, of politics, of views, and I think that this fifth Assembly has been the most divided and most febrile so far.

This now appears to be the case in wider society as well. Social media plays its part as it can bring out the worst in people who would never, ever say in person what they are willing to type in a tweet. People sit in the gallery here. They view our behaviour, hear the tone of our debate and the words that we use. They hear the heckling and see the twisted looks on people's faces that indicate exactly what we think of each other in this Chamber. What exactly do we set for Wales?

A few short weeks ago, I raised a point of order about myself being called a racist by another Member. While that was upheld, it was not clear whether shouts of 'racist', 'sexist', 'hard right', 'fascist' are acceptable in this Chamber. They are used far too often and, in my view, it really needs to stop. They are derogatory terms, filled with misconceptions and, yes, bigotry. I say they have no place here, as such terms only seek to shut down debate and the exchange of opinions. It is only the exchange of opinions, and the life experiences that have helped create them, that will allow us, as humans, to recognise our commonality.

And, a note of caution while I have the floor: I see that the Labour leadership candidates are still, disappointingly, arguing over the definition of antisemitism. Also, Plaid Cymru have apparently just installed someone with antisemitic views as a candidate. So, in this short contribution, I'll commit my group's support of this motion and suggest that a change in tone and acceptance needs to start here and it needs to start now.

Thank you. Jenny Rathbone.

Thank you very much. I was listening to Mandy Jones's contribution outside, and thank you for calling me back. I just wanted to add, though, that there's no room for complacency in Wales. We know that the highest number of antisemitic searches on the internet was in Wales. It highlights that there's often a cross-over between those who are looking to confirm their antisemitic prejudice, along with their racist prejudice as well as misogyny, because it is a fact that Jewish female politicians have been far more bombarded by hate messages than Jewish male politicians. So, there's a rich cocktail of hatred that we need to be combating, and it's very important that we don't become paralysed by this hatred.

Indeed, in many cases, it is those who have been the butt of prejudice who are at the forefront of combating it and reaching out to others in similar situations. For example, the Community Services Trust celebrated National Hate Crime Awareness Week last October by remembering a Gypsy by the name of Johnny Delaney, who was murdered in Ellesmere Port in 2003 simply because he was from the Irish Traveller community. Nevertheless, the judge in the murder trial refused to accept the police verdict that this was a racist attack. And as chair of the cross-party group on Gypsies and Travellers, I'm well aware of the discrimination that this community regularly suffers from, not least by the failure of several local authorities to provide a single Traveller site in their area, in contravention of the Planning (Wales) Act 2015.

René Cassin was a French-Jewish lawyer, professor and judge, who co-drafted the universal declaration of human rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. He said that

'There will never be peace on this planet as long as human rights are being violated in any part of the world.'

His work inspired the creation of a UK Jewish organisation in his name, and I was delighted to read that next week, René Cassin is hosting a women’s Seder to commemorate International Women’s Day. One of the speakers is Laura Marks, a founder member of Nisa-Nashim, the Jewish Muslim women’s network set up two years ago to combat ignorance and misconceptions about women in both communities. And Leanne mentioned the hatred that many women face simply because they dress differently to other people, and this is completely intolerant. As Mark Isherwood said, we need to explain to people, just because people are different from us, it doesn't mean to say that we want them to be assimilated and for everybody to look exactly the same. It is part of the wealth of our community that we have people from different backgrounds, and there is no room for complacency.

We know that Brexit unleashed the dark side in many people, and much of the debate was generated in the referendum by pointing the finger of blame to other people, simply because people were in economic distress and social dislocation. We really do have to work hard to ensure that we celebrate the goodness in people. For example, the people with very little who have reached out in solidarity to the people who have nothing as a result of the flooding they've experienced. That is just a wonderful expression of solidarity.

But we also have to be mindful of the fact that the coronavirus disease—if it becomes as serious as it might—could generate further hostility against members of the Welsh and UK Chinese community. In fact, a member of my own family who was travelling with his girlfriend to Italy the other day—the girlfriend was the subject of racist abuse simply because she happened to be of Chinese ethnic origin. So, we need to be constantly combating the fear that people feel when they are threatened, and we need to remember that Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern, who spoke at the Holocaust memorial event in Cardiff on 27 January, reminded us that it is simply not enough to commemorate the appalling crimes of the Nazis, but to reflect on the ordinariness of the people who did that, and the fact that there have been 50 Holocausts since the end of the second world war, including Rwanda and Srebrenica. There is no room for complacency. The world is in a terrible turmoil and we need to work very hard at community cohesion.

I rise to talk about the subject of hate crime, and when people think about hate crime, very often, they will think about hate crime in racial terms and they're right to do that, because in 2018-19, 68 per cent of all hate crime was racially motivated across Wales, and across all crimes. And I do commend the work that's been done to give confidence to people to come forward, and that's all 3,932 of them who have come forward. But there are other hate crimes, and they are: sexual orientation, religious and transgender. But I want to focus today on disability hate crime.

The Welsh Government has a framework for action that was launched in 2014, and it looks at crimes under the Equality Act of 2010, and their protected characteristics. I find it somewhat alarming—and I hope that everybody will share my alarm—that there were 120 hate crimes reported by disabled victims. And that is really the most shocking for me, when you're talking about people, who already have huge challenges in life just to get through their daily life, being picked on by able-bodied people, just because they don't look like them. So, there's a very clear thread, and Jenny did very well to describe that, because what hate crime really is all about is, 'You are not one of us'. It's about marginalising people. It's about putting them in a box so that they look different to you, and we must recognise that reality, because without recognising that reality, we're never really going to come through and out the other side.

So, that is why I am pleased that the Welsh Government has invested £350,000 of funding into schools for the forthcoming year, and that will be delivered by the WLGA in anti-bullying guidance for schools. Because I think our best hope going forward—and sometimes, our only hope going forward—is for young people to adopt and recognise that difference isn't something to be attacked; that it's something to be embraced—that we are all different, thank goodness, and that we share a collective humanity. That is who we really are, and that is what we really want to recognise. And I think teaching children through this programme that they can challenge misinformation and they can recognise hate speeches, will certainly help those young people to grow up and to be balanced individuals—[Interruption.] In a minute. But I think it's critical that people who do report it—and I'm talking here about young people, particularly when we're talking about schoolchildren—that they are picked up and offered some counselling, because of the trauma that they've gone through, so that they, themselves, can come through that. And I think that the hate crime criminal justice board that's been set up will enable the work between the partners, including Welsh police forces, but all other agencies as well, so that we can actually take forward and recognise all aspects of hate crime. Thank you.

[Interruption.] Obviously not. Sorry about that.

Oh, I forgot.

I call on the Deputy Minister and the Chief Whip to reply to the debate—Jane Hutt.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I'd like to thank Members today for all their contributions and support across this Chamber. I think it's been a very important debate that we need to reflect on.

I've supported all the amendments because it is vital that we work together and look to the future, as well, in terms of our powers and responsibilities. We of course welcome and encourage action from the UK Government and work together, where possible, to tackle hate crime. Some of the key policy levers that relate to tackling hate crime aren't devolved, such as policing and justice, but we are playing our part in terms of the hate crime criminal justice board Cymru. I'm bringing together police force partners, and I chair, of course, the policing partnership board. We've worked with the UK Government on aspects of this, our plan, to ensure Wales is represented—and on their plan too—and considered in the development and implementation of its hate crime policy.

An example is the UK Government's places of worship protective security funding scheme. I've written to all Members about this. I'm aware that we haven't actually had that much of that Home Office money yet in Wales. We're working with faith communities to identify and address barriers, and we hope we'll see some successful applicants.

Clearly, in relation to hate crime statistics, any rise is a cause for concern and scrutiny, but as I've highlighted in my opening speech, there's been a significant amount of work and effort in Wales to increase awareness and give confidence to victims to come forward and report hate crime. And we know that hate crimes are significantly under-reported, with data from the crime survey for England and Wales for the years 2015-16 to 2017-18 showing only 53 per cent of incidents are reported to the police, as has been said. And it is so important that the message from today is a united message that victims keep coming forward.

Now, I have mentioned, in terms of race, the importance of our hate crime minorities communities grant, and we'll see the impact of that. But I also want to pay tribute to the Wales Race Forum. It's a crucial resource of expertise and advice, and we're working together to review terms of reference, looking at ways in which they can influence policy in the most effective way.

Yesterday, I visited the Chinese Christian Church in Cardiff in Llandaff Road—some of you might be aware of it. It was an opportunity just to meet with members of the Chinese church and community to understand how they felt in terms of some of the impact in terms of coronavirus. We've seen some concerning statistics. But they just really wanted to say, 'Thank you for coming to see us.' And this is about the way we must reach out to people.

It's important, also, as has been mentioned, in terms of hate crime statistics for England and Wales showing an 80 per cent increase in transgender hate crime, which Leanne Wood has mentioned, and a 12 per cent increase in hate crime where sexual orientation is the motivating factor. This has been due to hate crime being under-reported in previous years or not being better recognised and recorded by the police. But we're considering how we can further support these members of our community. And it's crucial, therefore, that we do welcome that Law Commission ongoing review of the adequacy and parity of protection offered by hate crime legislation.

We, of course, the Welsh Government, have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism in full and without qualification, and we do encourage community members to report any incidents. If anyone in the community witnesses or are made aware of suspicious or threatening behaviour or hate crime incidents, they must report them, contact the police or the national hate crime report and support centre, which is run by Victim Support. And I do encourage people to look at the 75 Memorial Flames project. Eight Welsh community groups have created pieces of artwork—and many of us joined in with this—to remember all those who lost their lives during the Holocaust. They're currently on display in the Hayes in Cardiff.

I also would like to thank Leanne Wood for drawing attention to those specific cases of concern that she's raised—and she, of course, has raised those with me from her constituency—and to say that I am meeting Mrs Alina Joseph next week, and I hope that she will join us. Because the case that she has brought to us about Christopher and that we're aware of was tragic, and the family have serious and unanswered questions about what happened on that day and I'm sure all our thoughts are with Christopher's family and friends. So, the meeting next week, again, is about meeting, talking and breaking down barriers.

Finally, I'll also say that I support amendment 3. The prevention of hate crime is a key goal for this Welsh Government, and it will remain a key goal as we seek to develop and deliver changes to our justice system to put right the problems identified by the Commission on Justice in Wales, and the Welsh Government's position is clear: we think justice should be devolved and we are pleased that the commission has stated this case so convincingly.

There's no room for complacency. We must reach out to the goodness in people. We must share a collective response. We must welcome the wonderful positive responses we've had in our communities over the past weeks in terms of flooding. This is reflected in Wales being a nation of sanctuary, a welcoming Wales, and I'm grateful for the tone of the debate today. Diolch yn fawr. 

Thank you. The proposal is to agree amendment 1. Does any Member object? [Objection.] Therefore, we will defer voting until voting time. 

Voting deferred until voting time.

Unless three Members wish for the bell to be rung, I intend to proceed directly to voting time. [Interruption.] Ring the bell? Three Members have to show that they want the bell rung. Thank you. Ring the bell then, please. 

The bell was rung to call Members to the Chamber.