5. What recent discussions has the Minister had with the Ministry of Justice on the establishment of the first residential women’s centre in Wales? OQ57779

I recently met the Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice to discuss the residential women's centre in Wales. Work is progressing and Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service Wales are working closely with Welsh Government, local authorities and other partners on this important initiative.

Diolch yn fawr, Weinidog. Data just released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to Dr Robert Jones of the Wales Governance Centre showed that there has been an increase in the average number of Welsh women in prison between 2020 and 2021—gone up from 208 to 218. It also shows that women from north Wales are being held in the prison estate right across England, far away from their support network. Despite the announcement, nearly two years ago in early May 2020, of a residential centre in Wales, as far as I'm aware we still haven't got a site, we still haven't got an open date, and we still don't know what the legal status of that residential centre will be. In the meantime, Minister, as you well know, women are suffering in Wales, and this is not a good advertisement of partnership working between the Welsh Government and Ministry of Justice. We need to move on with this. When will the centre open, Minister? What will its status be? And how can we ensure that women across Wales, wherever they are from, will have equal status? Diolch yn fawr.

Diolch yn fawr, Rhys ab Owen. I'm as impatient as you, I can assure you. It is about partnership working with the UK Government, and the residential women's centre is going to be piloted in Wales. It's a key element of the female offending blueprint. As I said, I met with the Minister very recently. I hope we can have some news very shortly in terms of this centre, because it is crucial to tackle that injustice that women face in terms of the criminal justice system. I've visited women in English prisons. They shouldn't be there, they're separated from their families. They're often in prison because of poverty and abuse, and we want them to be supported in our women's residential centre in Wales, providing accommodation for up to 12 women to stay close to their homes and communities, and actually, then, tackle the causes, particularly relating to abuse and poverty, that meant that they were in the criminal justice system. I'm impatient, and I'm getting on with it.