Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:51 pm on 16 June 2021.
Thank you, Llywydd. This is Refugee Week, which is an opportunity for us all to celebrate the contributions made by refugees to our communities, and also the long and proud history of Wales of welcoming people who are escaping oppression and violence. World Refugee Day is marked every year internationally on 20 June, which is next Sunday. I hope we will all take the opportunity to learn more and to consider the state of millions of refugees across the world. As Plaid Cymru spokesperson on social justice, I am very proud to support the aspiration of making Wales a nation of sanctuary, and take pride in the fact that groups such as Swansea City of Sanctuary, in my region, work hard to support refugees. And I would want to take this opportunity to congratulate Swansea City of Sanctuary on celebrating its tenth anniversary this year by staging a conference this week.
But there is more that we can do. The pandemic has revealed and deepened many of the problems with our refugee and asylum-seeker system. At a Government level, I think we need to urge the Westminster Government to change their plans that would make it more difficult for people to seek refuge here, and I want to see the Welsh Government going further in terms of the nation of sanctuary scheme, delivering against the pledge to extend the educational support for pupils who are asylum seekers, as well as securing access to free school meals and the pupil deprivation grant. It's a duty upon us all to do everything within our ability to help these most vulnerable people, and I thank you, Llywydd, for the opportunity to raise the issue. Thank you.