5. What support is the Welsh Government providing to tackle domestic violence in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire? OQ56052

This year, the violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence sector has received over £4 million of new money, much of it to respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic. The mid and west Wales regional partnership received over £685,000 this year.

Thank you for that, and thank you for the support you give the victims of domestic violence. I know that this is a cause incredibly dear to your heart, and I'm grateful for everything that you do. Basically, I wanted to know if you would help me recognise the Royal Mail, because they've recently launched an online safe space portal, and, as we know, because of the COVID crisis, so many people aren't able to go out there and get help, there are so many people trapped in their own homes, not able to get away from an abusive or coercively controlling partner, but this safe space portal you can get to from any website, there's no record of internet trace history, and it does help and can help people. It's been developed in conjunction with Hestia. First of all, Deputy Minister, would you also welcome this amazing initiative? Secondly, perhaps you could just outline other ways in which the Welsh Government could work with organisations such as the Royal Mail to reach out and give that lifeline to people who are feeling utterly, utterly trapped at the moment.

I thank Angela Burns for that question and for her earlier questions this afternoon. I certainly endorse and welcome Royal Mail's initiative with their new portal. Indeed, I'm very impressed, across the public and private sectors, by the ways in which organisations are responding to this need. It's not just for the public sector; it is, indeed, for all those organisations who have a role to play and who are actually in touch with people on a daily basis.

I think it's important that we also just share today, as we move towards the Christmas period, recognising that is not an easy period for many in terms of how home is not always a safe place, that we're launching another phase of the 'Home shouldn't be a place of fear' campaign during Christmas and the new year. It'll be aired on tv, radio and digital platforms to reach the most vulnerable so that victims will know about the services that are operating, and it's back to encouraging bystanders and concerned others to access help and information, with the dial 999 plus 555, which is, of course, where you can get police support as well. So, I thank the Member very much for raising this, and hope that all Members across this Chamber will respond to our call in terms of making the Live Fear Free helpline widely understood and known across Wales.

Thank you, Deputy Minister.