Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:47 pm on 29 June 2021.
Can I thank the Member for his contributions and for his support? I think, you know, this is an area, as it should be, that we can rise above party political lines on and all strive together in the pursuit of equality, and to make Wales a safe place for everybody.
I'm pleased I was able to meet you previously, with the Minister for Social Justice, and to talk about the work, and we very much want to involve you in terms of actually taking forward the LGBTQ+ action plan, when we publish it in the summer. And I certainly take away the points you made in terms of the importance of this institution, this Senedd, in monitoring that progress as well, and I think it's certainly something myself and my colleagues can come back on in terms of actually how we can do that. And I would very much welcome that continued—the role of the Senedd, to hold our feet to the fire, to make sure that action plans become actual action and start to make a difference to people's lives and to build on the work that we've already done. And the Member touches very much on the unfortunate and sad reality that too many people still face hate and hate crime just for being who they are, for walking down the street, going about their daily business, being at work, just being outside their home. And I know that my colleague the Minister for Social Justice, in her previous role, has been in contact with the UK Government in terms of what is being done at a UK level to tackle hate crime, and it will certainly be an integral part of our LGBTQ+ action plan.
And the final point, I think, the Member made was around the role of the public sector and workplaces in terms of leading the way, in terms of being a safe space for people, and I think this is certainly a role in terms of our trade union colleagues. And when we talk about fair work and becoming a fair-work nation, actually, to be able to be yourself and feel able to be yourself in work is central to that. Because it's not just about, you know, if you're in a workplace and you feel safe, then you're able to give much more of yourself to that work, and not just for your health and well-being, but in terms of the production and productive nature of that workplace as well.