1. What assessment has the First Minister made of the impact that the UK Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will have on women's safety in Wales? TQ548

I thank Delyth Jewell for this question. The Welsh Government received the final version of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill upon its introduction, last Tuesday, 9 March. We are considering the provisions in detail and how they will impact on Wales, including the safety of women and girls.

Thank you, Minister. This is a deeply personal issue for me, not least because I am the same age as Sarah Everard, who was so devastatingly killed near London recently, and whose vigil was so horrendously mishandled by the police. At least seven women in Wales this year alone have died at the hands of male violence. We are still counting dead women, including Wenjing Lin, who died in Treorchy. My concern over the policing Bill is rooted not just in the context of assaults on the right to peacefully protest, though these are worrying, but I have grave concerns at the treatment of male violence against women. It is a Bill that doesn't centre on survivors; it places greater sanctions on people who attack statues than on those who attack women. Heavier sentences would be given to fly-tipping than for stalking. I was involved in the inquiry and campaign in 2012 that brought in the new laws on stalking, and Minister, this development is offensive to all of the survivors who played such a crucial role in that campaign.

If the last week has taught us anything, it should be that for women in Wales, as in all of the UK, navigating fear and adapting our behaviours to reduce the risk of violence is a normal occurrence. Women and young girls are taught not to do certain things instead of tackling the underlying reasons why male violence happens. In failing to tackle the prevention of male violence against women, this Bill is not just a missed opportunity; it is a catastrophe that will play out in slow motion. Surely we need a public health approach that focuses on prevention, early intervention, changes to how we educate young girls and boys, changes to how women are portrayed in the media, in magazines. I'd ask you, Minister, how much discretion Welsh police forces will have in how they implement this Bill. I'd also ask you if you agree with the suggestions of Chwarae Teg about using the curriculum to tackle gender stereotypes, ensuring planning guidance specifies women's safety as a central consideration in designing urban spaces, and the need for more funding and awareness-raising campaigns like Ask for Angela, which offers women in bars a way of getting out of dangerous situations.

And finally, Minister, aside from this radically different approach we need to take in Wales, doesn't this Westminster legislation show why we need the devolution of policing and justice? I'll close with this, Dirprwy Lywydd: if we don't do something radical, if this daily horror in our society isn't fixed, we will go on mourning yet more women we never knew.

Thank you very much, Delyth Jewell, for that very strong, impassioned and committed speech. As a woman of the age of Sarah Everard, you have enabled us to again remember, as I did yesterday, the recent killing—that senseless, awful killing of Sarah Everard. It has sent a shock wave through us all, it has reignited this national conversation about women's safety, and you'll have seen that reflected in my written statement yesterday. That was a statement on women's safety in Wales, and it's reminded us, of course, as I said in my statement, that violence against women and girls is far too common. It's highlighted again the impact that violence and abuse has on the daily lives of women. And so my recommitment again in terms of our pioneering legislation—and I thank Nick Ramsay; he raised this yesterday, as other Members did across the Senedd—is that it's our commitment in Wales to end violence against women and girls.

I think it's also a wake-up call, isn't it, to us all that we must honour Sarah's life by making changes to society and culture, and that is what I said in my statement. But I think it is very important, as I said yesterday, that I have called on the UK Government, and indeed also call on the UK Parliament, to make sure that this Bill is a Bill that should strengthen the safety of women and girls, and of course, we have the opportunity now to comment on that. I think it's crucial that we recognise that the Bill that's coming forward, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, should be about strengthening the criminal justice system to protect women and girls, and also—equally strongly, I would say, and I did say this yesterday—enabling people to continue to express their concerns freely.

I also agree with you that this is a public health issue, as did our great national adviser, Yasmin Khan, on Sunday. On many occasions, she talked about the need for a culture change, and she recognised that this was a public health issue, that we had to hold perpetrators to account, that we had to have a trauma-informed system, and also that we cannot be bystanders. That's why we have a strong Don't Be a Bystander campaign as part of our violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence legislation and strategy. I'm also very proud of the fact that we actually do now have in our new curriculum, in the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill, that statutory duty to make raising awareness about healthy relationships and sexuality education part of the curriculum for children up to the age of 16. It will help young people to challenge toxic attitudes and behaviours.

I'll speak, if I may, as the son, brother, husband, father and grandfather of women and girls who I care about and love passionately. The recent tragic cases of Sarah Everard and Wenjing Lin have highlighted the issue of violence against women in a truly shocking way. We in this Welsh Parliament are united, I believe, and determined to make our streets and communities as safe as possible for women and girls. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill seeks to equip the police with the powers and tools they need to protect the public while overhauling sentencing laws to keep serious sexual and violent offenders behind bars for longer. New powers proposed will halt the automatic release of offenders who pose a danger to the public, end the halfway release of offenders sentenced to between four and seven years in prison for serious violent and sexual offences, and reform criminal records disclosure to reduce the time period in which people have to declare previous non-violent sexual or terrorist convictions to employers. The Bill also imposes a legal duty on local authorities, the police, criminal justice agencies, health, and fire and rescue services to tackle serious violence through data sharing and intelligence. Would you therefore agree that these measures, which complement those included in the Domestic Abuse Bill discussed here yesterday, should make women safer in Wales? And given that the UK Government is seeking views to help inform the development of its next tackling violence against women and girls strategy, how will you engage with this process?

Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood. Can I thank you also for speaking up as a father and in terms of all the women in your life? We know that men are standing up, as they do year in, year out. The November International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is an important event. Every year we have our vigil, don't we? Our virtual vigil this year was very much led by Joyce Watson—always led by Joyce Watson—with a cross-party response, as you say, Mark Isherwood. I'd like to pay tribute to all the men across our services who are White Ribbon ambassadors. I think Jack is here today; I know that he is a key White Ribbon ambassador, as are so many, of course, not just here, but represented across Wales.

I just want to say, just on the Bill, that we received, as I said, the final version of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill last week. It is a UK Government Bill, and we are considering its provisions in detail and its impact on Wales, but we are calling on the UK Government to strengthen the Bill to ensure the criminal justice system protects women and girls, because we are concerned about many aspects, just receiving the Bill as it is, and seeking advice in terms of those measures and provisions. It will be important for, obviously, our colleagues in the Westminster Parliament to look, scrutinise this, and there have been many concerns already raised about the Bill. But we need to make sure it is scrutinised effectively. But I would say today that we have got to do, within our powers in Wales, and of course there are powers in terms of the Thomas commission—and Delyth made that point—that we seek to consider, being powers that we would recognise that could enable us to strengthen our responsibilities in this area. But we seek in Wales to work closely with our four police forces, our local authorities, as well as the UK Government, and all our third sector organisations, to ensure that the safety of women and girls can be at the forefront of our powers and our provisions, our priorities, and our budgets.

And that is why, of course, our Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015, our pioneering legislation, is so crucially important, and that we do have our Live Fear Free helpline. And I will use the chance again to say this is a free 24/7 service for all victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence. And not only has it remained open, of course, through the coronavirus restrictions being in place, that means that home shouldn't be a place of fear, but it has been extremely concerning to us all in the Senedd about the impact of COVID-19 on people who are restricted because of COVID-19. But we have given additional funding to Live Fear Free, and of course we're working with our Don't Be a Bystander and 'ask and act' training provisions, as well as funding Hafan Cymru's Spectrum Project, which of course is promoting healthier relationships effectively in our schools and with our young people.

Thank you very much, Minister.