Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:26 pm on 6 July 2021.
Thank you for that question. I won't respond in respect of the issue with regard to Senedd Bills, because I think that is, appropriately, a matter for this Parliament to determine. But you do raise issues in respect of human rights. I would, of course, remind the Member that it's his Government that has been making all sorts of efforts and noises that it wants to abolish the Human Rights Act 1998 and has withdrawn us from all sorts of international agreements and conventions that actually promote and support human rights. There have been calls in recent years for the Welsh Government to undertake legislative activity to strengthen and advance equality and human rights in Wales, particularly in the context of the UK's exit from the EU and the COVID pandemic.
But we need to be clear about some of the things that we have done in terms of those rights with regard to equality: the implementation of section 1 of the Equality Act 2010, which the UK Government in Westminster still refuses to implement; the review of specific duties under the public sector equality duty to ensure they're up to date, protective and effective; the work we are doing in conjunction with the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Wales to review PSED monitoring and reporting arrangements; work that is going on in respect of advancing the gender equality action plan, the race equality action plan, the LGBT+ report and action plan; lockdown—liberating disabled people's lives and rights in Wales beyond that. Also, perhaps something that will touch more on some of the points that the Member raised, research has been commissioned in order to explore the options available in taking forward the work of strengthening and advancing equality and human rights in Wales. The aim is to develop a clear understanding of the existing legislation and statutory guidance frameworks, the issue of the United Nations' various conventions and how they might be incorporated or engaged with in regard to Welsh law with a view to considering the possibility of the introduction of new legislation. And, again, of course, you'll be aware of the work done in respect of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and also the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015.
So, we are working to develop that area. The research report is nearing completion, and it will be distributed to Ministers shortly. It is research that's been carried out by consortia, led by Swansea University, since January 2020, and when that report is available, I'm sure there will be an opportunity to discuss all those opportunities in terms of how we may use the powers that we have in order to improve issues such as the one raised by the Member, but the many more equality issues that exist that we wish to tackle.