Thank you very much, Llywydd. I wish to focus on one particular aspect of the motion related to the socioeconomic sub-group established by the First Minister at the height of the pandemic to look at the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on black and minority ethnic communities. This is a very thorough approach and report and provides a way forward for action, and that's what we need: action. And the motion before the Senedd today does bind the Welsh Government to accept those recommendations in full and to take urgent action to implement them.

I welcome this sub-group's report as an addition to the evidence and the increasing consensus of the need to make black and minority ethnic history a central part and a compulsory part of the teaching of history in our schools. Rooting anti-racism in the curriculum is one small but substantial step in the bigger picture as we move towards eradicating structural and systemic racism in Wales, and there is an opportunity for this legislature, through the curriculum Bill, to ensure that that is guaranteed in statute.

I have mentioned before in this Chamber the comments made by Judge Ray Singh, another who has stated that a voluntary approach of teaching about these issues doesn't work and, as a result, BAME history is virtually absent from school classrooms. But, despite the clear recommendation that action should be taken immediately to include BAME history in the national curriculum for Wales 2022, the Government's response is a cause of concern. The Government say that they acknowledge that developing certain aspects of the new curriculum are sensitive issues, and then refer to another working group established, chaired by Professor Charlotte Williams, focusing on teaching materials most of all.

Now, I don't oppose the establishment of the Charlotte Williams working group—to the contrary—but it does concern me that the Government's response to a clear recommendation from this sub-group is being diluted. The latest working group chaired by Charlotte Williams, as far as I can see, hasn't been asked to consider making BAME history and education a compulsory part of the curriculum through the Bill, and there's no expectation for this working group to report until the spring, and by that point it is more than likely that the curriculum Bill will be an Act. So, I would like a pledge from the Deputy Minister today that the remit and timetable for this working group chaired by Charlotte Williams will not actually hinder the possibility that the Government may accept an amendment in Stage 2 or 3 of the curriculum and assessment Bill to make BAME history a mandatory part of that curriculum.