Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Last October, the whole Senedd endorsed a motion to support wholeheartedly the global fight to root out racism and racist ideology and strive towards a more equal Wales, tackling systemic and structural race inequality. Following our consultation last year, we've continued to co-design with black, Asian and minority ethnic people across Wales the actions we must take to tackle institutionalised and systemic racism. I'm therefore proud to be publishing today the 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan'. At its heart is a shared vision to create an anti-racist nation by 2030, where everyone is treated as an equal citizen and is enabled to thrive and prosper.

The plan sets out the goals and actions we will take over the next 24 months, covering all aspects of public life that shape and influence the experience and life chances of ethnic minority people. We want to make sure that we continue to walk in the shoes of people with lived experience, and that the experiences of individuals and communities keep shaping our thinking and the decisions we make. We developed the plan by involving people and communities and in collaboration with organisations across all parts of Wales, and this will continue as we move to implementation.

To provide the necessary and continuing confidence that this plan is being implemented an accountability group will be established, led by Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna, from Cardiff University, and Dr Andrew Goodall, Permanent Secretary at the Welsh Government. It will mainly consist of ethnic minority people, and will be further strengthened by including experts with lived experience of racism, and will benefit from evidence and insight coordinated from our recently established race disparity unit. 

We knew that we needed to shape the goals and actions with ethnic minority people, so we made valuing lived experience one of the values underpinning how we developed the plan. And, quite rightly, we were also asked to embrace the values of a rights-based approach and that of openness and transparency. Ethnic minority people’s expectations are clear: they want action that makes a meaningful difference to their lives. An anti-racist approach is a fundamental shift that we need to take. Adopting an anti-racist approach requires the Welsh Government, public services and us all to be proactive in identifying and tackling systemic racism in all aspects of how Wales works. It requires us to look at how racism is built into our policies, formal and informal rules, and the way we work and involve people in the decisions that affect them, and then do something about it.

This plan will play an important part in creating a united and fairer Wales for all. This is a commitment at the heart of the co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru, sharing a determination to tackle institutionalised and systemic racism now, as racism is a pernicious feature of the lived experience of black, Asian and minority ethnic people. The agreement with Plaid Cymru also commits us to ensuring that the justice elements of the action plan are as robust as possible and address these matters with the police and the courts. We continue to work with partners from the criminal justice in Wales board to develop and fully embed a collective anti-racist approach to criminal justice in Wales. We must also ensure that the experience of racism is not passed on to future generations. No-one should be held back or left behind. 

Many people gifted their precious time and their experiences to shape the plan. Earlier today, I joined the First Minister for a stakeholder moment to thank everyone for their contribution to this work. I, with many of you, want to recognise the willingness of ethnic minority people to extend their trust in securing the possibility of change and in providing their leadership and sharing their lived experiences to help make this plan what it is.

I want to record my thanks to Professor Ogbonna and the Permanent Secretary as co-chairs of the steering group for this work and to all members of the steering group who have helped shape and guide this work over the last two years. The generosity of those contributions and what people were willing to share freely to bring about change was inspiring. 

Through this plan, we're making clear the contribution this Government will take to tackle systemic and institutionalised racism. Achieving the more equal Wales well-being goal and an anti-racist nation by 2030 will require a collective effort. Tangible improvements will come as a result of change within public services and in those in positions of power. 

We do this acknowledging the immense leadership within the ethnic minority communities and leadership at all levels—as individuals, as political leaders, as community activists, as academics and as leaders of organisations. Ethnic minority people, for generations, have contributed to all spheres of our economy, education, social care, and cultural and sport heritage, to name a few.

Visionary leaders and activists like Betty Campbell worked with passion to be a good example to the rest of the world about how we can live together regardless of where we come from or the colour of our skin. Professor Charlotte Williams's pioneering work means that learning about the cultural heritage and ethnic diversity of Wales is now a mandatory element of our national curriculum.

Many of our key services, like our health and social care services, would not be possible without ethnic minority people working in them, and during COVID-19 we would have been lost without this workforce.

We are committed to provide the leadership, our resources and our influence to tackle systemic and institutionalised racism within Wales. This is a whole-of-Government plan, with commitments and actions from across ministerial portfolios and within the Welsh Government civil service. This is reflected in the statements made today by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language and the Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, and Chief Whip, taking forward key actions within the anti-racist plan.

We're asking everyone to work with us in creating an anti-racist Wales, a Wales in which we can all be proud to belong and in which each of us will thrive.