The Imperial War Museum maintains a register of war memorials and the Welsh Government has provided financial support to the War Memorials Trust to make information about those memorials more accessible to the public through War Memorials Online. This includes thousands of records and provides a platform for members of the public to get involved by contributing their own photographs and details of memorials. Other sources of information include Cadw's online database Cof Cymru, which details over 230 listed memorials, and the statutory historic environment records maintained by the four Welsh archaeological trusts. Besides war memorials, of course, these also include information on hundreds of historic buildings and structures associated with the defence of Britain and life on the home front, including anti-invasion defences, air fields, hospitals and munitions factories, which have all been investigated by the archaeological trusts with funding from Cadw over the past 10 years.

Now, as Paul Davies said, the range of war memorials in Wales is remarkable, from commemorative statues, obelisks and plaques to windows, gardens, community halls, hospitals, chapels and bridges. The range of ownership is similarly diverse, but these are all important community assets. Often, they're paid for by subscriptions with personal ties to families and individuals. While there are some that have fallen into disrepair, we shouldn't overlook the success of so many community initiatives that continue to care for these memorials. The Welsh Government provides help with this. The guidance document, 'Caring for War Memorials in Wales', produced by Cadw in association with the War Memorials Trust, provides guidance specifically aimed at helping communities to care for their war memorials. It includes practical advice for conservation and repair and is beautifully illustrated with photographs of monuments from across Wales, and examples of successful conservation projects. I encourage all Members to read it. It can be downloaded free through the Cadw website.

The Welsh Government has also given generous financial support to protect war memorials from decay. Cadw provides grants to help conserve historic monuments and, in recent years, has included nearly £240,000 for repairs to war memorials. Under the war memorial grant scheme, it gave out funds to 45 projects in communities throughout Wales. Cadw will shortly be announcing a new community heritage grant scheme that will offer grants of up to £15,000 to support the maintenance and repair of community assets, and listed war memorials will be eligible to apply for support. Now, I know that Cadw is always keen to support historic assets across Wales that have particular significance to their communities, and the last thing we want to see is important historic structures and buildings being lost, especially those with such meaning to local people.

The National Lottery heritage fund has also been extremely generous in its support for projects. As well as providing the £2.8 million to funding the restoration of Yr Ysgwrn, as I mentioned earlier, it provided over £1 million of grant aid to 126 community-led commemorative projects reflecting the heritage of conflict. And it's currently working with Cadw to deliver a new 15-minute heritage grant scheme that encourages community engagement with local heritage. 

But as well as funding activities within Wales, we have also funded memorials in France and Belgium, and I'm proud that we supported the refurbishment of the memorial to the 38th (Welsh) Division at Mametz Wood, which was one of the focal points for the Cymru'n Cofio Wales Remembers national commemoration service, which the First Minister attended in 2016. We've also funded the national monument at Pilkem Ridge in Langemark in Belgium. I think it's important to acknowledge that while war memorials in towns and villages across Wales are there for local communities, memorials actually at the battle sites provide another important focus for commemoration in the places where so many lives were lost.

A concern that I'm sure we all share—and I know that Paul has touched on this, as have other speakers this evening—is the criminal damage such as vandalism that affects those memorials. Sadly relevant to our debate today is the shocking recent news of the defacement of the memorial dedicated to the poet Hedd Wyn that stands in the centre of Trawsfynydd. I join with the local community in condemning this despicable act of disregard for a memorial that represents all the men from Trawsfynydd who lost their lives in the first world war. I'm sure that we all hope that the police will soon be able to identify and bring those perpetrators to justice.

Sadly, I also have experience of an example of vandalism that took place in my own constituency not so long ago. There is a beautiful memorial in Troedyrhiw park in Merthyr Tydfil in the form of a statue of a serviceman. A couple of years ago, the soldier's rifle, which was actually made of marble, not metal, was stolen. The monument had been paid for by public subscription, and this act of vandalism not only disrespects the memories of 73 local men whose names are listed on it and who died in the first and second world wars, but it also disrespects the local people who gave their hard-earned money to build that memorial in the first place. I'm pleased to say that work is now under way to replace and repair it, with support from the War Memorials Trust.

The actions of a minority of vandals do not represent the views of the majority and must not be tolerated. The police already have powers to tackle vandalism, and perpetrators can be prosecuted under the offence of criminal damage, which can carry a hefty prison sentence. Heritage crime is something that is being taken very seriously in Wales, and Cadw is working closely with local police forces to investigate and prevent this type of crime, to encourage the use of deterrents such as SmartWater, which Paul referred to, to protect memorials at risk of theft. I understand that anyone responsible for a war memorial can apply to the SmartWater Foundation for the use of this product for free.

Of course, local authorities do play an important role in caring for war memorials, specifically those that have been given statutory protection, and also have powers under current legislation to undertake works to repair monuments. Many have carried out initiatives to support community engagement with memorials. So, I don't believe that it is necessary to use additional legislation to push them into action, but instead prefer to engage in the spirit of co-operative partnership.

The importance of war memorials is widely accepted, and local authorities all over Wales are already carrying out important repair work. I do, however, recognise that there is always room for improvement, and I fully support the calls for local authorities to remain proactive in their support for war memorials, and to ensure that they seek opportunities to support communities to engage at all levels. This can be facilitated by individual officers within local authorities working to encourage partnerships, and also by encouraging the uptake of the many resources in this area, such as the bilingual education packages that have been produced to support primary and secondary schools on Hwb.

Commemoration remains as important today as it did when our memorials were first built, so I thank Paul Davies once again for raising this subject today and recognising the role that memorials play in the lives of our communities today and will play in the future. Thank you.