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.