Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:29 pm on 22 June 2022.
Diolch yn fawr, acting Presiding Officer, and can I thank Members for tabling this important debate? Just also to say, in following on from many Members who’ve spoken today, that I’m also pleased to have the opportunity to recognise the thousands of community groups across Wales, and thank them for making such a difference to the life of their communities, which they support. And of course, many of these community groups are addressing inequality, tackling poverty, building confidence, self-esteem, and improving health and well-being. Many of these groups are already also managing community facilities, buildings and green spaces, which act as a focus for community action, and provide local access to vital services. And it's clear that community-owned and community-run assets can help to empower our communities, which is the headline of your debate today—empowering communities—but also to improve their resilience. Because it's quite clear that evidence is showing that communities with resources like community assets, strong partnerships and local advocates can actually be very resilient in terms of responding to the sorts of shocks that so many communities have experienced in recent years—not just the pandemic, but flooding, and now, of course, the cost-of-living crisis, a cost-of-living crisis that we have not seen for decades. And communities are responding to that.