Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:08 pm on 21 September 2021.
Llywydd, I was very pleased indeed in August to be able to go to Neath with the local police and crime commissioner and with Jane Hutt to announce that we had already found the money to fulfil that manifesto commitment. So, an extra 100 PCSOs are being recruited now. They will cost £3.7 million annually. That will take the total investment by the Welsh Government to £22 million each year and that will secure the services of 600 PCSOs across Wales. I entirely agree with what Huw Irranca-Davies has said, Llywydd: I've had the good fortune to talk to a whole series of police and community support officers, and they really are problem-solving people, out there on the front line. Whether that's engaging with young people, whether it's dealing with traffic outside schools, whether it is responding to mental health needs as people see them on the streets, they are there working with those local communities to solve the problems. That is why this Government has chosen to invest in them. It was a proposal very warmly welcomed earlier this year, and I look forward to seeing that investment continue.