The next statement is from the Minister for Social Justice on Afghanistan—Jane Hutt.

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.

We continue to maintain our long-standing commitment to Wales as a nation of sanctuary. As the Minister may recall, I sponsored and hosted the Sanctuary in the Senedd event five years ago. We must ensure that Afghans who have had to flee their homes, including those coming to the UK who worked closely with the British military and the UK Government in Afghanistan, and risked their lives in doing so, receive the vital support they will need to rebuild their lives and have a future with stability and security. Wales must play its full part in this.

However, in late August, I was asked for a press comment by Voice of Wales, after it was reported that the Pontins holiday park in Prestatyn could house refugees from Afghanistan. I was told that the decision didn't seem popular with local residents that they had spoken to. I was subsequently advised that Pontins Prestatyn was not being considered for this purpose. However, in your technical briefing last Thursday, you stated that Urdd Gobaith Cymru accommodation would be used for this purpose, as you have reconfirmed in your statement today. What sites, including this, will therefore be used across Wales? How will you ensure that they all meet the necessary quality standards for individuals and families? And importantly, how will you ensure engagement with local communities to minimise opposition and maximise understanding and support?

Press coverage on 1 September confirmed that each of Wales's 22 councils had pledged to house refugees from Afghanistan, but responses then range from Carmarthenshire saying they would take three families comprising 15 people, and both Monmouthshire and Neath Port Talbot saying they would supply initial support for three families and for two more later, to Pembrokeshire stating, 'Zero but subject to community response', and Bridgend, Caerphilly, Flintshire, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Denbighshire failing to answer the same four questions put to every council. However, Denbighshire subsequently confirmed that it will provide support for five refugee families under the UK Government's Afghan relocation assistance policy, and that the number could be increased to 10 families, dependent on a comprehensive funding settlement or commitment beyond the then one-year time frame.

What, therefore, is your understanding of the number of placements now on offer from councils across Wales? How will you endeavour to ensure that they all take a fair share? And how will you work with the UK Government to ensure that funding support from both Governments reaches the right places, now that the UK Government has announced a funding package under which councils supporting people through the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme or Afghan relocation and assistance policy scheme will receive £20,520 per person over three years for resettlement and integration costs, and local councils and health partners that resettle families will receive up to £4,500 per child for education, £850 to cover English language provision for adults requiring this support, and £2,600 to cover healthcare?

What action will you be taking to ensure wider support from the devolved services for which the Welsh Government is responsible, especially health, education, and social services? And finally, given the key role that the third sector, churches and other faith groups that you referred to will play in supporting the Afghan adults and children settled in Wales after having to flee their homes, how will you ensure that they are directly integrated into the planning, design and delivery of support services from inception?

I thank Mark Isherwood for those questions and thank him and the Welsh Conservatives for their support for the nation of sanctuary. I’m very happy to respond to the questions, particularly recognising that we are initially talking about that temporary accommodation response. I think it is very helpful for us to, at this point—. Again, I’ve made it quite clear in my statement that it is a made-in-Wales solution that we have got that Urdd Gobaith Cymru involvement, in fact, enabling us to reach to the 50-family milestone as quickly as we have, and so appropriately in terms of the temporary accommodation that is being provided, but very much in the short term. So, obviously, in order to get that commitment, in terms of being able to respond to the Urdd’s humanitarian vision and response and offer, which came very early on when we realised that we would be welcoming refugees—that was done with support from the Home Office, local government, and all those who engaged in terms of responding to them and working with them.

But, obviously, what’s important is that this is temporary accommodation in the short term as we continue to work closely with local government to ensure appropriate onward accommodation. The quality of support, as everyone would understand and recognise, being received by families is high, building on the Urdd’s extensive expertise of working with children. I think it is important to actually talk about where we go from here in terms of moving forward in terms of support, because this is about the temporary accommodation, but the ways in which local authorities are welcoming families under these schemes, I think, should be a source of great pride. As I’ve said, all Welsh local authorities are rising to this challenge. In fact, the leader of the Welsh Local Government Association, Councillor Andrew Morgan—he wrote early on in August to all authorities, and to the UK Government, saying that they were urging all authorities to engage, as they have done, in response. Half of those have already received families; others are working towards the outcome as quickly as possible.

There's an urgent need to ensure that families are accommodated now, so we have the temporary bridging accommodation. But then, of course, we have to move to onward dispersal, to more sustainable accommodation. And that's exactly what local authorities have been doing, playing their part in the asylum accommodation system for so many years. Because we don't want families to be in temporary bridging accommodation any longer than is necessary, because then that, of course, leads to the questions that you've raised, Mark, about ensuring that families then can put down roots, integrate with their communities, with the support of all those organisations who are going to engage and who are fully engaging. I met with all of the third sector organisations, faith groups, churches, as you've indicated, the voluntary sector, like Red Cross, the British legion—everyone who's got a stake in making this work.

I want to just finally comment on your point about funding. You have given the details, Mark Isherwood, about the funding—the integration package that I just received yesterday from the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. What is important about that funding is that it does provide some clarity, although, as I said, there are further questions to be asked. But it's important as well in terms of that funding clarity that we look to our responsibilities, the shared responsibilities that we have in terms of devolved services. So, for example, just last week—I think it was only last week—when we knew about the arrival of the families, there was close working co-operation with Cardiff council, with the health board, with local police, with everybody who's got a role to play in integrating and supporting those families, very much following on what we successfully did with the Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement scheme.

I welcome the opportunity to respond to this statement on the resettlement scheme, given the heart-rending situation in Afghanistan, and to discuss how Wales can and will provide refuge and support to those who need it. And I'd like to thank the Minister for organising a brief for us as Senedd Members last week so that there is an opportunity for an update.

Plaid Cymru opposed the war in Afghanistan from the very outset, questioning the military objectives of the campaign and the tactics used, warning that failing to have specific aims and a strategy could lead to a long-term ineffective intervention. And, unfortunately, that's the situation we find ourselves in today—in the midst of a crisis that is developing and growing worse because of the failings of Labour and Conservative Governments in Westminster. But, although this wasn't a war we supported, I would like to make it clear today our full support in terms of providing asylum and refuge to those fleeing Afghanistan. As a nation of sanctuary, it's crucial that we do everything we can to welcome them and support them.

You noted in your statement that you yesterday received more details about the relocation and resettlement plans, and that some of your requests in terms of criteria had been accepted. Can you confirm or share with us which have now been accepted and which have been rejected? Also, in terms of the citizenship programme, is there any objective in terms of when this will begin, and if there are no dates, how is the Welsh Government intending to help citizens in Afghanistan who need support but can't receive it as part of the current programmes?

You also made reference in your statement, and also in response to Mark Isherwood, to the issue of funding, and that your request in that regard had been accepted. Has that been accepted in full or do you still have ongoing concerns? I would like to know clearly what the latest situation is in terms of providing adequate funding for local authorities. Have you also received confirmation that financial support will be provided from Westminster if there is no sufficient money available in the Welsh Government budget?

We have all referred to the Urdd, and I would like to echo our thanks that the Urdd has committed to providing sanctuary, and that they are also going to arrange a range of activities—sporting, cultural and educational—to support these families as they settle. We saw the value of that, in terms of how communities can resettle here in Wales, over the summer, with interviews through the medium of Welsh with refugees from Syria—something that was very emotional and made me very, very proud to be Welsh. And I very much hope that we will see similar scenes with refugees from Afghanistan in the future too. Does the Minister therefore agree, as part of providing all opportunities for refugees to make a full life here in Wales, that we should also include giving them the opportunity to learn Welsh if they choose to do so? You've also made reference to all of the third sector and voluntary organisations who are very willing to provide support; is there any financial support available from the Welsh Government in that regard?

Of course, the situation in Afghanistan is happening in the context of Westminster Government cuts to the foreign development budgets, and, unfortunately, this was announced earlier this year in the UK Government budget. Dropping this commitment will undermine the UK Government's aims of being a power for good on a global level. Minister, are you therefore concerned that these cuts will mean less support in future for those in need in Afghanistan, and has the Welsh Government carried out any assessment of how this cut will impact the Welsh Government's ability to support people and nations in need across the globe, including Afghanistan, in the future? 

Finally, we can only imagine what these individuals and families have been through, and continue to go through, and it's important today that we as a Senedd send a clear message that there is a warm Welsh welcome for everyone who comes here to Wales. Unfortunately, as became clear in the recent report from Hope Not Hate, although we are a nation of sanctuary, racism continues to be a problem here in Wales, and we all have a responsibility to send a clear message that this is not acceptable. Wales is their home now, and we have a responsibility to ensure that they get the welcome and support that will make them feel safe here.

Diolch yn fawr, Heledd Fychan. I thank you so much for your strong statements this afternoon in support of our, as we've said, made-in-Wales humanitarian response to the situation with the Afghan citizens who we're now welcoming to Wales, and particular recognition of our ambition and our aspiration to be a nation of sanctuary. We have a lot to do to achieve that, clearly. I think, again, your support and recognition of the role of Urdd Gobaith Cymru—we must express it many times this afternoon, I'm sure. But I think it is very important that you can help me, as your Minister, in this respect, to actually engage fully in what the challenges are. And these are challenges for our local authorities; they're challenges for the third sector organisations who are engaged; they're challenges that they're rising too. So, clarity about the funding was vitally important. And if I could just respond particularly on that, because it relates to your questions about what next, integration and funding levels.

We are pleased that there'll be parity between funding arrangements for the two schemes, the ARAP scheme and the ACRS scheme, and we did want this so that there'll be no perverse outcomes in terms of the support that local authorities could provide to those families arriving. Perhaps I could just say also at this point that I'm very pleased that the UK Government has accepted that anyone arriving under the ARAP or ACRS will receive indefinite leave to remain. I've said I've attended two four-nations meetings. These are issues that we've raised at these meetings. It's an important step to ensure families can then access the services that they need. And also, we are continuing to urge the UK Government to ensure that those with any fear of persecution, which would normally entitle them to refugee status, aren't disadvantaged in terms of access to services—these are our public services—if their status under either of these schemes isn't technically considered to be refugee status. These should not be technical issues; these are key humanitarian issues that we closely watch.

But I also wanted to just say that we've also pressed hard to ensure that, under the citizens' resettlement scheme, special consideration should be made of vulnerable people, including women and girls at risk, members of minority communities at risk, including LGBTQ+, ethnic and religious minorities. That point has been made, and the UK Government has confirmed a recognition of that consideration. But also, having met with Afghan families in Wales who've been living here for many years, many of them are concerned about their relatives, because there may be links, obviously, concerns of risk among our Wales-based Afghan communities with any links that they might have with families in Afghanistan. So, those are the kinds of issues that we are addressing.

But I think what's important in terms of the questions that I asked and that have been answered is that the tariff of the schemes is going to be provided over three years instead of five. Now, obviously, we need to see what happens as we move forward, because that was different from the Syrian scheme, the five-year scheme. But also, the UK Government has agreed that this level of funding is necessary, but we will also have to explore what this means in terms of an integration package.

We still don't have clarity yet about how the funding will be awarded, whether it's going to be directly awarded to Welsh local authorities and Welsh local health boards. So, we're seeking clarity on this. We don't want to have any gaps in support, and we can build on our experience of the Syrian system and resettlement scheme. We are pleased that UK Government has stated a further £20 million fund of flexible funding in the current financial year to support local authorities with higher cost bases with any additional costs in the provision of services. We don't know what this means in practice, but this is something where we'll be working with our colleagues in local government to take this forward.

I think, as we know, there are many refugees in Wales who have wanted and been willing and have learnt Welsh. We must now look at our schemes, our existing schemes, and how we can assure they're good, but I also think children are already, in terms of our education system and their experience with the Urdd already for those who have been temporarily accommodated, who have arrived. They are going to very quickly see they're in Wales and what that means as a bilingual nation. So, we need to address all these issues, and I would want you to help me in terms of scrutiny and questioning as we move forward in our welcome to ensure that we can be a nation of sanctuary, as you support, for these citizens from Afghanistan. 

Thank you, Minister, for bringing today's statement. I think many of the points I was probably going to raise with you, you've already covered off this afternoon, but I'd like to recognise the exceptional work that's been carried out by our servicemen and women in supporting those fleeing persecution in Afghanistan, alongside Government agencies and those in Afghanistan to ensure those people who need it most were able to escape the Taliban. I also very much welcome the four-nation approach that you highlighted in your statement. It was really quite reassuring to see nations working together in the best interests of those who need it. And also, I was very pleased to see, as you mentioned, all local authorities in Wales taking part in the relocation and assistance policy, and they, as you mentioned, will be supporting and assisting Afghan citizens who've been resettled, I think, here. And I think a huge amount of credit is due to local authorities for the urgency and the speed with which they've reacted to this situation, whilst also managing pressures on the ground in other areas.

My concern, perhaps like yours, Minister, has been to ensure, actually, that there's a long-term plan and integration and opportunity for refugees coming into Wales, and I thank you for recognising the significant difference that the additional money from UK Government will make to ensure this integration and opportunity are available for those refugees. You did mention some lack of clarity around how that funding will arrive at councils and health boards. I was wondering whether today you could commit, if that money is going via Welsh Government, that actually all the money does end up at those councils that need it, rather than some being siphoned off to work in the Welsh Government. And also would you commit to listening to councils and continuing that engagement with councils, not just in these reactive stages now but also over the coming months and perhaps even years to make sure that we do get this real integration of these refugees into our communities and it's not a flash-in-the-pan programme right now? Thanks, Minister.

Thank you very much, Sam Rowlands, and thank you for acknowledging the way in which we have worked together across the four nations and, indeed, with all our partners in Wales, and also, as much as we can, on a cross-party basis in terms of this humanitarian response—an all-Wales and a made-in-Wales response. I think it's very important that at the meetings that we've had we've included, for example, Sion Walker from the 160th (Welsh) Brigade, Colonel Walker. In his statement, alongside a statement from the Urdd and Cardiff Council leaderships, Sion Walker made the point of the direct historical links with Wales-based, and Wales-facing, units. And many of the families coming to Wales have worked alongside each other during very difficult times in Afghanistan. There's a recognition of the comradeship that has developed during these times and pride in the part that they're playing.

So, I think it has been an extraordinary response that has come forward, with everybody working together, but it is crucially important that we recognise what does this actually mean, particularly at the sharp end for local authorities, because many arriving will have experienced so much trauma as a result of the evacuation. So, we're working with Traumatic Stress Wales and local health boards to ensure mental health support is considered. We've got the local authorities assessing what's needed in terms of school places, what's available, and also language tuition—we've mentioned this—which, for new migrant arrivals, is a crucial component of effective integration. We're assessing, again, what it actually means in terms of the funding support for us in terms of those particular needs. 

I think also that we've got to recognise there are other needs, like COVID-19, and effective support for new arrivals so that they can have access to our effective—highly effective—vaccine roll-out programme, and also that health screening for general health needs is being considered. Every cultural consideration as well, from food to worship needs, are being considered. And also, local authorities are ensuring that citizens are able to register for bank accounts, national insurance numbers, GP and dentists' surgeries, and are able to submit for social security benefits. So, we've got this commitment because of experience, because of long-term experience, here in Wales but I also just want to thank very much, finally, the Wales Strategic Migration Partnership, which is already effectively working in Wales. They're a key conduit between ourselves, local government and the Home Office. So, we're meeting with them. They're engaged with authorities particularly in relation to the move on from temporary to settlement, with more sustainable accommodation. So, it's a close, team Wales approach that we're following through. Diolch. 

The Chair of the Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee, Delyth Jewell.

Diolch, Llywydd. Thank you, Minister, for the statement. In the recent response you sent to a joint letter that was sent from me and the Chair of the Equality and Social Justice Committee, you set out a number of details. Could you tell us more about the discussions you've had with the UK Government about progressing the timeline for the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme, building on what Heledd Fychan asked you earlier? I'm particularly concerned about the plight of women and girls who are at risk of dehumanising treatment and human rights abuses by the Taliban. And finally, Minister, in your letter to our committees, you set out that the UK Government, you were hoping, would engage with the Welsh Government and the UN Refugee Agency, the UNHCR, about eligibility for that scheme. Have you had any engagement as yet with the UNHCR itself about this matter from an international relations perspective, please?

Diolch yn fawr, Delyth Jewell. I was very pleased to have an early letter from both Delyth Jewell and Jenny Rathbone as Chair of the committee for equality and social justice as well as yourself as Chair of your committee, and because it also set out questions that we were ready to be answered as soon as we had the responses from the UK Government and the engagement that we needed, but it also helps prepare, I'm sure, for committee attendance as well with following up these questions.

I think we've got some more clarity now in terms of the Afghan citizens' resettlement scheme. It is going to welcome up to 5,000 people in the first year, up to a total of 20,000 over the coming years. And as I said, there is a recognition that vulnerable refugees from Afghanistan and those that are particularly put at risk by recent events need this route to safety, and I'm pleased also in the letter that I have had from the UK Government that this includes, as they've said, people who've stood up for values such as democracy, women's rights, and freedom of speech: journalists, women's rights activists are vulnerable people; I've mentioned this already, women and girls at risk. I've had representations and concerns raised with me about women in sport and you will have seen some of the concerns and outcomes people have that there is a real issue about who's been left behind and what the circumstances are for them, in terms of their situations.

So, I hope that gives you a starting point in terms of a response, and I've been able to respond to you, Jenny Rathbone, initially, but there's a lot more to respond to, I understand.

Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, and thank you very much, Minister, for a great job. I'm sure that the Minister will join me in recognising the enormous contribution of our armed forces in airlifting 15,000 people from Afghanistan to the United Kingdom. I know that the US and UK handling of the withdrawal is subject to much debate, but for me, as someone who has made his home in this country, our key focus now needs to be on what we are doing to help to ensure we discharge our humanitarian duties to those who have fled the fear, the discrimination and the pain of an Afghanistan that is sadly no longer theirs. I hope the Minister agrees with me that in welcoming people to Wales, we need to do more than merely offer people a building in which to rest, but a home where connections to the local community are forged to help people to readjust to their new lives and where our land of opportunity can reach out to them in offering the chance to study and to work.

Before I ask a couple of questions, I do want to raise one concern, and that is the work that is needed to mitigate the risk of radicalisation. Islam teaches universal brotherhood, freedom from fear, racial equality, fight against despair, and fearlessness. There is urgency for communities to come together and accommodate each other in the greater interest of this country.

Now, going to the questions, Minister: does the Minister have a steer at this point as to how many of those 15,000 we're able to house and support in Wales? Can the Minister detail the level of accommodation she believes is now available to support those who can settle in Wales?

The Prime Minister announced financial support for the NHS and to charities to provide mental health support for our military personnel; can the Minister outline what plans are now in place to ensure support for those who are travelling home?

The Prime Minister also announced free English courses and university scholarships; what discussions has she had with partners in the education and higher education sectors about the scope and resources needed to provide similar support to those settling in Wales?

Last: what contact has she had with colleagues in the United Kingdom Government about the funding requirements for school places, and what assessment has been conducted across Wales to identify capacity? Thank you, Minister. 

Thank you, Altaf Hussain, and thank you for attending the technical briefing last week with the very relevant questions, as all Members raised with me last week, which has helped us with our planning. The majority of families who've arrived in Wales so far, as I've said, have direct links to those Wales-based and Wales-facing armed forces units. There's actually been, I understand, over the past weekend, some emotional reunions that perhaps I could just comment on between Afghan arrivals and armed forces personnel here in south Wales. And I've mentioned the fact that the Ministry of Defence have been supporting us with planners, and very much reflecting what they helped us with through the COVID-19 pandemic in our vaccination centres, as you will all recall.

We've had a great many offers of support from communities across Wales—obviously, local authorities are at the forefront, but the third sector as well, and I think very much people are motivated by the situation in Afghanistan, but we need to harness that support, and I know many Members are asking me how can they harness the support. In terms of offers of accommodation, that must go to the local authority. I have commented on the fact that local authorities are assessing their needs in terms of school places. You've mentioned higher education as well. That will all be part of the work that they're undertaking at the moment, but I then will be able to, as we assess the needs, make representations as necessary to the UK Government and account for the impact—you know, assess the impact that it's having on local authorities and our public services, and the good response that has already come forward. 

So, again, I think there's much more that will come out over the next few weeks, and, hopefully, I can come back and report to the Senedd here and to the committees as well. 

Thank you, Minister, for your statement. I think it's absolutely essential that we support those who've supported us, albeit that they've supported us in another country. We know that we support our own armed forces, and that is absolutely right, yet the work that they do, predominantly, is elsewhere. So, I'm really proud that we here in Wales are a nation of sanctuary. Of course, many of the questions I was going to ask you have already been asked, so I won't restate those. But there are a few obvious questions I think that we need looking at. 

In terms of the settled status, once individuals have achieved that, of course, if they are in a position to do so, they can then share their expertise with the communities they find themselves settled into by working. And that is an advantage, of course, to everybody. And the ongoing support, of course, that has been mentioned several times, is essential. But I'm concerned, and it's been raised elsewhere, about the impact within families, particularly on girls and women, and making sure that they're not cut off from the wider support that's afforded to everybody. I think it's essential that women's voices are heard, and that when we're speaking to leaders in those communities we make absolutely every effort, and that we do speak to the women and to the girls to make sure that they are safe in the homes that they now find themselves in. Thank you. 

Thank you very much, Joyce Watson, and, as I said, thank you for your support for the nation of sanctuary and everything that we are striving to achieve here in Wales in this response. I think it's very important that we recognise that they will have indefinite leave to remain as a result of arriving under either of these two schemes. And that's so crucial in terms of access to services and access to people and access to democratic arrangements that we have here in Wales.

So, I've said that it would be very good if we can meet together; I would hope that, particularly with your experience, we could reach out to the women who are arriving as mothers, workers, as well as partners in families, and the girls and young women as well. There will be lots of outreach, and it's already starting, in terms of the temporary outreach from the Urdd. But I think the point of their concerns as well about what they've left behind, and the concerns that they have that they will be here. But they have skills that we will also—and a voice that we want to hear and learn from.

We do want to support them to re-enter the labour market as soon as possible, and also we've got—. So, as part of that, the Department for Work and Pensions are actually involved with this. There are already businesses and companies who are interested in seeing what employment opportunities there will be. And of course that's why some of that work in terms of getting your national insurance number, et cetera, bank account, is crucially important.

But I think there's—. Many of us have the experience of supporting and working with Syrian refugees in Wales, and the amazing role the women are playing and the ways in which the children and everyone are such an important, vital part—citizens in our communities. And that's what we would want to see progress.

I thank the Minister. We will now take a short break to allow for some changeovers in the Chamber.

Plenary was suspended at 15:36.

The Senedd reconvened at 15:48, with the Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) in the Chair.