Diolch, Llywydd. Prynhawn da. I am pleased to update the Senedd on the steps we have taken in Wales to respond to the evacuation of Afghan citizens over the past few weeks, with my thanks to Members across this Chamber for their engagement in promoting Wales as a nation of sanctuary. Wales has now welcomed more than 50 families from Afghanistan and work continues to increase this further. I am sure that Members will agree that this is an important milestone we have reached.

I have met with the UK Government and Ministers from Scotland and Northern Ireland on two occasions to support a four-nations approach to resettlement. And yesterday, the Home Secretary and communities Secretary wrote to me to set out more details of the schemes. I was encouraged that some of my requests regarding the eligibility criteria for the new Afghan citizens scheme and the level of funding being made available have been accepted. There are still many questions that need exploring.

Members have also received, I know, a great deal of generosity from their constituents in their responses. This kindness, I believe, is the embodiment of what it means to be a nation of sanctuary. And that concept doesn't belong to the Welsh Government; it belongs to all the people and institutions that make up our country and want to give what they can for a humanitarian purpose. I've been truly heartened by the responses of members of the public, charities and organisations across Wales to support those who need help. We are working hard to find an effective outlet for this support.

I am very grateful to every Welsh local authority that has come forward to pledge their support to the two new schemes—the Afghan relocation and assistance policy, or ARAP, and the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme. This support should also be seen in the wider context that every Welsh local authority previously supported and continues to support the Syrian resettlement scheme, and many have continued to support the asylum system day in, day out for the last couple of decades. We will always challenge ourselves to do more, but there can be no doubt that Welsh local government is playing a full part in this endeavour. To that end, approximately 230 individuals from 50 families have so far arrived in Wales. This work has only been possible through the committed work of local authority resettlement teams, dedicated funding from the Home Office to procure the accommodation, and, in some cases, the kindness of landlords and other institutions to make their properties available.

The vast majority of the families that we have accommodated so far have existing links to Wales through their work alongside the Wales-facing armed forces who have been active in Afghanistan over 20 years. They have shown bravery and skill in supporting our armed forces, and we've worked in tandem with the Ministry of Defence to ensure that these families can be accommodated in Wales, alongside the friends whom they worked to protect in Afghanistan. And it will be my privilege to welcome some members of these families to meet Members at the Senedd in the near future.

This made-in-Wales solution has required innovative ways of working. I am particularly grateful to Urdd Gobaith Cymru for genuinely embodying their long humanitarian purpose by stepping up and offering temporary accommodation to those desperately in need. The Urdd’s deep connection to Welsh culture and work with children and young people provides significant added value, which will make their temporary stay far more supportive and helpful to integration than any other temporary arrangement that could be offered.

I want to thank local government for their consent and rapid mobilisation of support, the Home Office for ensuring that we could progress this solution, and the WLGA for their unstinting efforts to co-ordinate such an important humanitarian response. We have worked closely with refugee support organisations, faith leaders, Welsh Afghan communities already living here in Wales, and many more, to ensure that those arriving receive the best support possible.

Providing accommodation is key, but we must also ensure that those who arrive can understand Welsh life and be supported to rebuild their lives. Our collective experience in Wales from the Syrian resettlement scheme and the asylum system puts us in good stead, but we are continuing to discuss ways to ensure the most appropriate welcome that we can. Our commitment to these schemes is clear, but I want to recognise that we have a long-term commitment to supporting people seeking sanctuary in Wales. Anyone who is resettled or dispersed to Wales will be supported, as far as we are able, as a nation of sanctuary.

People living now in our communities have been forced to flee their country for fear of persecution, and this is not just in relation to Afghanistan. We have urged the UK Government to think again about the proposals put forward in the Nationality and Borders Bill, which would create an unhelpful two-tier system between asylum seekers and resettled refugees. These proposals should be scrapped, and we're happy to work with the UK Government on an asylum system that genuinely works and is humane.

Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini once said,

'Refugees are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, with the same hopes and ambitions as us—except that a twist of fate has bound their lives to a global refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale.'

I call upon everyone here to pledge to work with us on our shared nation of sanctuary vision, and I will be happy to update Members further in due course. Diolch.