The next item is a statement by the Minister for Social Justice: eradicating racism and building an anti-racist Wales. I call on the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt. 

Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible. These words, which were spoken by Maya Angelou more than 30 years ago, still echo as loudly today. Today marks the fourth national Windrush Day, a day that recognises and celebrates the contributions of men and women across the Commonwealth who helped to build a modern Wales and made this country their home, and I am delighted the Welsh Government has been able to fund a number of organisations to mark this event across Wales, to retell those stories and to celebrate those contributions to our nation.

Migrants have long formed an integral part of our nation before and since the Windrush arrivals. And it would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity to remind our EU citizens in Wales that the stories of your contributions, that your desire to call Wales your home, is something that we wholeheartedly support. And that's why we have worked tirelessly to remind those EU citizens in Wales to apply for settled status and to do so before the application deadline on 30 of June.

As a Welsh Government we have also long supported and offered sanctuary to refugees and asylum seekers. We continue to work towards Wales being a nation of sanctuary, and last week I published a written statement marking the remarkable contribution of refugees to the fight against COVID-19 in Wales.

Dirprwy Lywydd, if we take a moment to reflect, 2020 was, without a doubt, the year we confronted racism like never before, where we were forced to face up to the past and to the present state of our race relations. The impact of COVID-19 paralysed the world. Amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic were our black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. The brutal murder of George Floyd sent shockwaves across the globe and sparked worldwide protests against racial injustices and inequalities, including here in Wales. These are some of the events that changed our world and they will be remembered in our history books as a wake-up call for racial justice and change. 

The 25 of May 2021 marked one year since the death of Mr Floyd. For his family, a form of justice came when a jury of 14 found police officer, Derek Chauvin, guilty of his murder. For us, George Floyd’s death is a reminder that we must take steps to address racism in all its forms and move forward. Here in Wales, we have strived to do that: to move forward. 

In March 2020, I discussed with the Wales Race Forum the development of a race equality action plan and the events of 2020 accelerated our determination to deliver a plan by the end of the last Senedd term. And last year, the Senedd supported a motion to wholeheartedly root out racism and racist ideologies and strive towards a more equal Wales, tackling systemic and structural racial inequalities. And we have made remarkable strides since then in our attempt to work towards eradicating racism and achieving our vision of an anti-racist Wales.  

On 24 March, we launched the draft race equality action plan for Wales, an anti-racist Wales, for consultation. I am proud that we are the first nation in the UK to call for an anti-racist country.

The testimony from black, Asian and minority ethnic people as we co-constructed the action plan made the scale and pervasiveness of the racism people face every day very clear. This reinforced the need for the action plan to promote an anti-racist Wales. It is not good enough to be ‘non-racist’. The entrenched detrimental impacts of racism and resulting inequalities require proactive, anti-racist action. 

Anti‑racism is a call for individuals, organisations and institutions to commit to thinking actively and responding to the potential impacts of their existing structures, processes, policies and practices on black, Asian and minority ethnic people. It is time we shift the burden of tackling racism from the recipients and victims of such acts to everyone in society. And that's how we will truly achieve a Wales which is more equal, fairer and accessible for all our citizens. And I'm grateful for the efforts of so many people and organisations across Wales who gave their valuable time, knowledge and expertise and to those who shared their lived experiences of racism in co‑creating the action plan.

Together, we've achieved a draft plan that is clear in purpose, grounded in action, and championed by the people who will hold the Government to account. It is an action plan that is unashamed in its determination to eradicate racial inequalities by 2030, and it is a plan we can strengthen further.

To ensure the opportunity to participate in the consultation is available to everyone, I have extended the consultation period to 15 July 2021. It's crucial that the consultation has a broad reach into diverse communities, provides opportunities for flexible dialogue, which can take many forms. I launched our race equality action plan community consultation grant to ensure consultation opportunities are made available to black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and groups, to enable them to respond to the plan. Their voices are crucial in this process, as we want to ensure that we take the time to engage with individuals and communities facing racial inequalities, to include those views in our plan. And we will take the learning from this process to inform how we work with black, Asian and minority ethnic people in the future.

Hearing from the public, private and third sector is equally vital too, as this is not just a plan for the Welsh Government, it's a plan for the whole of Wales and its people—we all stand to gain from an inclusive and anti-racist Wales. Together, we must keep talking about tackling racism in Wales, and use opportunities presented to all in this consultation process. We must join forces as political parties with business associations, trade unions, public bodies, third sector and civil society. It's only through our collective effort to recognise and stamp out racism that we can truly eradicate racism and achieve our vision for an anti-racist Wales.

June is also Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month and Pride Month. And these events are key milestones that give us the opportunity to celebrate our diversity and the strength that that brings to educate and raise awareness. And marking important anniversaries such as Windrush Day, Refugee Week, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month and Pride Month serves to reinforce a basic truth: we should not, and we do not, take our communities for granted. Instead, we will redouble our efforts to make Wales a country where equality for all is assured and not seen as something that is earned.

So finally, I call upon everyone here to pledge to work with us on our vision to achieve an anti-racist Wales. Dirprwy Lywydd, together we must commit to eradicating all forms of racism. Together, we must strive to create a fair and just society. Together, we must match our hopes for our country with a determination to change. Diolch yn fawr.

Conservative spokesperson, Altaf Hussain.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, thank you, Minister. Racism is not easy to spot, grasp or denounce. If it was, the task of anti-racism would be simple to identify it. People feel that it's not racist if a racist attack has not occurred, or the word 'N' or 'P' has not been uttered. We think that good people can't be racist, we think that true racism only exists in the hearts of evil people, we think that racism is about moral values, when instead it is about the survival of the system of power. The hidden nature of structural racism is difficult to hold to account. It slips out of your hands easily, like mercury from your hands—you can't spot it. Reni Eddo-Lodge chooses the term 'structural' rather than 'institutional', because she thinks it is built into spaces much broader than in our more traditional institutions. Structural racism is impenetrable and goes unnoticed, it is not just about personal prejudice, but collectively affects our bias. It is the kind of racism that has the power to drastically impact people's life chances. The national picture is grim, and it affects groups within the black, Asian, minority ethnic communities differently.

We also see the routine accusation of racism levelled against anyone who offers to endorse, to teach, to uphold the values of western civilisation. Fear of a charge of racism has led commentators, politicians and police forces all across the western world to refrain from criticising or taking action against many overtly criminal customs that have embedded themselves in our midst. Customs such as forced marriage, female circumcision, honour killing and a growing intimidation from religious groups of any one remotely critical of their faith. Research from a number of different sources reveals how racism is weaved into the fabric of our world. This demands a collective redefinition of what it means to be racist, how racism manifests and what we must do to end it. 

I am concerned that nearly 79,000 racial hate crimes were reported in 2019, an 11 per cent increase on the previous year. As outlined in our manifesto, our vision is a Wales without racism, prejudice and discrimination, which is why I want to press Welsh Labour to lead by example and take a zero tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination throughout the Welsh Government. You cannot expect others to act unless your own house is in order. So, will the Minister explain what her own Government will do? In developing a new race equality action plan, what assurance can you give the Senedd that the document will mean something beyond the warm words that are often associated with tackling racism, and, that in building an anti-racist Wales, you are clear about what that actually means for the people? Thank you. 

Thank you very much. Diolch yn fawr, Altaf Hussain. Thank you very much for those very important words. And, as you say, it is difficult to address and challenge our structural racism. It can go, and has gone unnoticed for too long. It's been hidden, and, of course, it has affected the chances of so many. So, eradicating racism and promoting race equality—always been a priority for the Welsh Government. And we have shared in this Chamber—we've supported together—as all the parties represented last year, on more than one occasion, our abhorrence of racism and racist ideologies.

I think you do set an important challenge for us as Welsh Government. It cannot be just warm words. It's actually—. That's why the plan is so important, because it's built on the values of anti-racism. It calls for zero tolerance, as you say, for racism in all its guises, but it's been developed collaboratively, and I think that's its strength, because it hasn't been the Government saying, 'This is what we think is right.' This has actually been about those who are affected by racism, and those who work in our professions and who live in our communities have worked with us to get this plan to the point where then we can implement it, and we do intend it to be a practical plan. If you look at it, and we look forward to your responses, it does have very specific actions to be taken, and it's across all policy areas. So, in developing the plan, I met with all the Ministers in the Welsh Government. Every part of the Welsh Government has a responsibility, and their actions across it—. And, once finalised, the Welsh Government will be committed to and held accountable for it. 

Just a couple of points I wanted to follow up, in terms of the key issues, and I think education is crucial, as you say, because this affects the chances of everyone. And the black, Asian and minority ethnic communities' contributions, and Cynefin, in the new curriculum working group, which was chaired by Professor Charlotte Williams, commissioned by the First Minister and working to the education Minister—that was established last August. And it did oversee that development of learning resources crucial for our schools. It identified gaps in current resources or training related to black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, their contributions and experiences, and, as Members from that Senedd at the end of March who were here, you will recall that the former Minister for Education accepted all 71 recommendations in the new curriculum working group's final report on 19 March. So, the Welsh Government now is already implementing the recommendations. The Minister, Jeremy Miles, is taking this forward as Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, looking at it as part of the new curriculum implementation, and the Welsh Government's race equality action plan has a set of very early recommendations put forward by the group on learning resources. But then, of course, it means it has to engage with Estyn, regional consortia, race equality action plan stakeholders and, indeed, Professor Charlotte Williams, supporting the Welsh Government's implementation of the recommendations in an advisory role.

I just also want to say something about hate crime. You talk about hate and how we have to address and tackle the intimidation and the fear that's been woven into the fabric, as you say, of our world. Yesterday, I met with BAWSO—really important to hear from them about the work that they've been doing to support black, Asian and minority ethnic women, particularly through the pandemic, and the ways in which they have fought against very difficult situations for those with no recourse to public funds, which, of course, we feel should be addressed—we're working on it in the Welsh Government, but it also needs UK Government support as well. But just to finally say, to raise awareness and understanding of hate crime and encourage reporting, the Welsh Government invested £180,000 in the development of Hate hurts Wales, and that's a campaign to help tackle hate crime and incidents. And to do that, to develop that campaign, again, we consulted with people from ethnic minority backgrounds to actually get the right kind of communication campaign and to ensure that we had addressed it in a culturally sensitive way but that we also looked at the tone and the message for the campaign, and that was launched on 9 March. And we continue to fund the national hate crime report and support centre run by Victim Support Cymru. I would very much advise, especially our new Members, and returning Members, to visit the national hate crime and support centre, which is working so hard in this field. So, I'm very grateful for that support from yourself, Altaf, and obviously from the Welsh Conservatives today.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Sioned Williams.

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, as a newly elected Member in the Senedd, I'm very pleased to respond to this statement on such an important issue within my first few weeks as a Member and as Plaid Cymru spokesperson on equalities and social justice. Eradicating racism and creating an anti-racist Wales is crucial to Plaid Cymru and it is an issue that I'm determined to see progress on by the end of this Senedd term. Given that the creation of a race equality action plan was part of the Plaid Cymru manifesto, I clearly welcome this statement very much.

The Minister opened her statement by quoting the Afro-American author Maya Angelou, and it's a cause of pride, of course, that one of the greats of Afro-American literature, Ralph Ellison, came to the Swansea and Morriston area in my region as a GI and noted that Invisible Man, his famous novel of 1952, was actually started here in Wales. The reactionary Tory Government in Westminster wants Windrush and the multicultural history of these isles to be invisible—it is our duty here in Wales to not allow that to happen.

We must give everyone a presence in our history, a role in imagining our future and a voice and visibility in the present.

First of all, then, on the plan and the consultation, can you explain how the recommendations made by Professor Ogbonna have been incorporated into the plan? You're also extending the consultation period in order to ensure greater input, so what is your process in ensuring that cross-cutting voices can feed into this? And finally on the plan, you're eager to include a number of public and private organisations in the vision of an anti-racist Wales, so what's the system of accountability built into the plan in order to ensure that this vision does become a reality?

Secondly, leadership pathways need to be clear to black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. What is your impression of how reforming the Senedd could have an impact on an anti-racist Wales? Clearly, there are policy areas, such as education and housing, where the Senedd could make positive change. But I also believe that there is so much more that we can do if we devolve policing and justice. It's a cause of sorrow that Wales is tied to a reactionary right-wing Government that is led by a politician who has made racist statements himself, that makes it more difficult for people to insist upon sanctuary and equal rights—for example, given the current threats to the European Convention on Human Rights—and that has cut unconscious bias training to Border Force officials.

There's no time today to list the whole host of other examples that have done nothing to eradicate racism and discrimination. Do you therefore agree with me, in light of this plan, that the Welsh Parliament is far better placed to make decisions on justice that impact on equalities, and that devolving them would be an additional boost in our journey to reaching an anti-racist Wales? Thank you.

Thank you, Sioned Williams, and thank you very much for your questions.

I'm also really delighted to welcome you—and congratulate you, which I haven't had the opportunity to do—to be the spokesperson on social justice for Plaid Cymru, and to respond to your questions on this very important statement, which I know Plaid Cymru has fully backed. Indeed, it was very good, in the previous Senedd, when the committee that was chaired by John Griffiths, which obviously had Plaid Members, had Members from across the Senedd—. There was such strong support for the race equality action plan, as we were developing it, and the evidence that they were taking, particularly of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on black, Asian and minority ethnic people, but also looking at the socioeconomic impacts as well—. And what was really important was that, as we looked at the disproportionate impact, we were able to get benefit from Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna, who worked with people with lived experience as they were living it, looking at the socioeconomic impacts. That's why the race equality action plan looks—and, indeed, the programme for government, which is so important—. If you look through the programme for government, it's not just equality that's addressing these issues. There are actions in terms of housing, in terms of employability, in terms of improving access to apprenticeships, and also in terms of education, as I've already said.

Now, one of the most important issues in the early starting work of those who were co-constructing the plan was to look at what should the priorities be: yes, of course, health and social care, but also education, employment and income and leadership and representation, which is where we will make the changes. The criminal justice system also came in, even though it's not devolved. It was very clear, from the discussions and also looking at the evidence from reports like the David Lammy report, that we needed to look at the impact of the criminal justice system and, indeed, what we can do with our powers, but also looking at, again, the programme for government, looking at policing and devolving policing and justice and how we progress that, but looking at housing and accommodation, culture, heritage, sport, local democracy, Welsh language, environment, all of it—everything that we are responsible for as a Senedd—but of course much more than that.

I just also want to say that there is a chapter in the plan, and I'm sure that you will respond to it fully, in terms of the criminal justice system and how we can take action to support and respond within our powers and then look further to what we can do. Some of that will be in partnership as well, in terms of non-devolved policies. The chapter is called 'Crime, Justice, Hateful Attitudes and Community Cohesion', and community cohesion, of course, is crucial in terms of how we address the impact of racism on people, individuals and communities.

Building cohesive and integrated communities is very much part of the actions, recognising that there's underrepresentation of black, Asian and minority ethnic people in the criminal justice system as well, that we need to ensure that that's reflected, particularly in relation to our criminal justice agencies, but also recognising that this is part of how we refresh our Wales hate support centre, and I've already commented on those points. So, with your support, I think there are real opportunities, as committees start forming, and moving forward, to not only engage with how we respond to the race equality action plan, but how we take it forward.

But I have to say that we did provide funding, not only for groups to contribute to the development of the plan, but, as I said in my statement, we wanted to also, within this consultation period, reach out to more groups to really dive deeply into communities. So, we’ve given out more grants to say, 'This is the plan' so that they can respond and contribute to it. So, it’s been a commitment from across the whole of the Welsh Government.

But I think as the values—. If you look at the plan, our purpose is to make a meaningful change to the lives of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities by tackling racism, and we believe that minority ethnic people are asking only for their rights, as opposed to favours in decision making, in the workforce and service delivery and in all aspects of everyday lives.

Thank you also for commenting on Invisible Man and what started in Wales, and Maya Angelou. When I went to—. I spoke to the Windrush elders today, and they spoke of 73 years, when they came on the Empire Windrush. They came because they were asked to come. As they said, 'We answered': 'Britain called—we answered.' That was on the flag, and to hear Roma Taylor, a veteran of the 203 Welsh field hospital, speaking today was very powerful.

I want to thank the Welsh Government and all the stakeholders, of course, involved in all the work that they've done in developing this draft race equality action plan. It's certainly bold, it's ambitious, and it's what we need to help eradicate racism here in Wales. As you said earlier, Minister, it covers all areas, and we can't cover all areas here today, so I'm going to focus very much on culture, heritage and sport, particularly sport, because you would expect sport to be one area where people would be united, regardless of their ethnicity, with us all sharing a common desire to see our team or our country doing well, whether that be at a local or at a national level, yet it’s an area where we see competitors from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds experiencing some of the most vile abuse. Earlier this year, Welsh footballers Ben Cabango and Rabbi Matondo received abusive racial messages on social media following a Wales versus Mexico game in March. These young men are just two of many sportspeople of black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds who experienced horrendous abuse online this year alone. I’m keen to know what discussions Welsh Government have had with organisations about tackling online racism in sport.

I noted that one of the key actions in the plan for tackling racism in culture, heritage and sport is to take action to increase ethnic diversity in the workforce at all levels, and specifically in leadership teams and on boards. I was particularly pleased to see that in light of the report from Wales This Week that showed the shocking—

Will the Member conclude now?

—lack of diversity in Wales's larger sports governing bodies. Okay. The figures revealed that, of 765 employees, only 19 were from those communities. Do you agree with me, Minister, that, for things to change, we have to change them on the board, and we have to lead from the top?

Thank you very much, Joyce Watson, and thank you for drawing this to our attention today—this key area of racism in sport, and the blight, the shameful way in which so many of our sportsmen and women are treated to racist abuse, and the racist abuse that’s there on social media. We don’t all see that. They see that racist abuse after performing brilliantly in their sport and showing their talent and their skills, and for their teams, and that racist abuse that is so abhorrent to us. And thank you for drawing this to our attention in this debate today. It's clear that we have to do more to tackle racism in sport. That's why there is that policy theme in the race equality action plan—culture, sports and heritage—and I'm glad, again, that it's very clearly highlighted in the programme for government. It's a key priority for this Government.

We have to do something about those national governing bodies of sport in Wales, highlighted by that ITV programme, Wales This Week. And you draw attention to the policy theme, leadership and representation. We've made our commitment, Deputy Llywydd, to hold all leaders of public bodies personally accountable for delivering a representative workforce, and inclusive and psychologically safe workplaces. We are supporting the work of Sport Wales and they are working with UK Sport, Sport England, Sport Scotland and Sport Northern Ireland to tackle racism and racial inequalities, but they are now expected to respond in terms of the actions outlined in the race equality action plan. I think it's very important, also, that we just do acknowledge the work of Sport Wales who've produced the—and this has come through as a result of information from that programme—#TellYourStory campaign, asking people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to share their knowledge and understanding of what it's like to be involved in or even be excluded from sport, and that racism that has actually driven people out of the sport because of the intolerable impact on their lives.

This is also why it's so important that we do invest in Show Racism the Red Card in our schools, that anti-racist educational charity. We've got to start with our children and young people. And, of course, they're role models; they're predominantly, but not exclusively, footballers, but they present an anti-racist message to young people and others in schools. Some of you also might have been in schools whilst they've undertaken their work, and it is so powerful and so important.

But let's address this, and thank you for drawing attention to this and calling it out, which is what we must do, and we must all do that today in terms of racism in sport, as we think of our players as they move forward. Diolch yn fawr.

Thank you for your statement, Minister. It's four years ago this week that the Welsh Government adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism—a decision that I and all Members on these benches very much welcomed. I think that taking leadership in stepping forward like that, and taking hold of that definition and applying it to an organisation is a really very important thing to do. But, regrettably, there are many organisations, which are funded by the Welsh Government, which have still declined to adopt that particular working statement and definition of antisemitism, including many of our universities. Just down the road here, Cardiff University still has refused at the moment, unfortunately, to adopt that particular statement.

Can I ask you, Minister, what action will the Welsh Government take to proactively not just encourage people to adopt this statement, where they are funded by the Welsh Government, but to actually require them to adopt the definition, going forward? Because I think it is time now to start taking a more radical approach to deal with the sort of anti-Jewish hatred that we're seeing, unfortunately, on some of our campuses.

Well, certainly, that is something that we would do anyway. The Wales race equality action plan has a whole range of actions relating to education, including higher education, and looking at these issues in relation to the expectations we have of our higher education institutions clearly is part of that in terms of the importance of that definition. Thank you.

Finally, Mabon ap Gwynfor.

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you, Minister, for this statement. I'm very pleased to see the steps that are being taken in this regard.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to note specifically the fact that it is Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month, and I was very pleased to hear you referring to that in your statement. Unfortunately, it appears that racism against these communities continues to be accepted in our society, and that is based on a lack of knowledge. But, because of that lack of knowledge, that's the basis of the fact that there is nothing done to celebrate the contribution of these communities to our history and our growth as a nation. If you consider that without the Roma and the Gypsy, we wouldn't have, for example, our folk songs and our folk dances here in Wales today, as Dr Meredydd Evans noted. When you think specifically about people such as Abram Wood and the huge contribution made by his family; when you think about the language of the Roma in Wales—the Kale here. In Dolgellau, people continue to refer to each other as 'chavi', which is 'child' in the Roma language in Wales. And as somebody who was brought up for a time in Swansea, I'm very familiar with the term 'mush'—people referring to each other as 'mush'—which is the word for 'man' in the language of the Roma here in Wales. But there's no recognition of the role of these communities in our growth as a nation, nor even official status given to the language or their culture. So, what do you want to do to ensure that these communities, which have played such an important role in the growth and development of our nation and our culture, that they receive the acknowledgement that they deserve, as well as every other community here, and to get rid of these racist attacks against them? Thank you.

Well, I'm very grateful for that question from the Member. The Welsh Government does provide funding every year to TGP Cymru to deliver the Travelling Ahead project, which provides advice, advocacy and support for participation to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in Wales. And we do have a stakeholder group, which we work very closely with, particularly over the pandemic, tailoring our public health responses for these vulnerable communities, but also engaging with those communities to look at the recommendations for tackling racial inequality. But I think a really important point made is about the fact that we can learn so much more from our Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. I'm sure that Mabon's aware of the Romani Cultural and Arts Company. They've recently produced—and that's supported by us—a Gypsy, Roma and Traveller LGBTQ spoken archive resource, because, obviously, there are connections, intersectional connections as well, in terms of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month as well as Pride Month. We've got a competition running during Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month with community cohesion teams across Wales. In fact, they're designing masks, with young people engaged. And I'm very pleased to say that Professor Charlotte Williams has engaged through the groups that we're working with. They're looking at the inclusion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture and values within the curriculum and school support mechanism, because it is with our children and young people that we will start to make that difference.

We will now suspend proceedings temporarily to allow changeovers in the Chamber. If you're leaving the Chamber, please do so promptly. The bell will be rung two minutes before proceedings restart. Any Members arriving after the changeover should wait until then before entering the Chamber.

Plenary was suspended at 16:08.

The Senedd reconvened at 16:21, with the Llywydd in the Chair.