I’m grateful to you, Presiding Officer, and at the outset of this contribution I’d like to declare an interest, in that I’ve recently joined the board of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association for Wales.

I’m grateful to the Minister for opening this debate, and grateful to her also for reminding us that, when we debate and reflect on these matters in November, we reflect on the sacrifice that has been made, maintaining our freedoms and our way of life, but we’re also aware that, this November, we also meet at a time when there is war in Europe. I think it’s something where we all need to come together to not only support the people of Ukraine in their struggle today, but also to reflect that we have put in place the structures and the pillars of peace in Europe over the last 70 years, and, when we seek to take away those pillars, we lose more than we can ever gain.

The reflection that we make in November is something that is deeply held across the whole of our national communities, and it demonstrates that there is more power in a silence than in almost any speech. The collective bowing of the head and the collective silence pay tribute to all of the sacrifices of servicemen and women through and down the years. Communities gather together in every part of this country for a moment in a busy year or a busy day, and they take that time to say ‘thank you’ to everybody who has paid the ultimate sacrifice, but also everybody who has taken part in the struggle to maintain our freedoms and our ways of life.

We did this year, Presiding Officer, as the Minister recalled, remember the sacrifice of those who died in the Falkland islands, and we took time to think about and to remember the conflict that took place there 40 years ago. I'm grateful to the Welsh Government, and I think all of us are, for the way in which they led the commemoration of those events here in Wales, and co-ordinated events in Wales to ensure that people across this country were able to remember that sacrifice, and particularly, of course, the loss of the Welsh Guards, and it's something that stays with all of us who remember that conflict. 

But we also, Presiding Officer, will remember the loss of Her Majesty the Queen. Throughout all of our lives, Her Majesty the Queen led us in remembrance, and even though in recent years she wasn't able to lay the wreath in London, in Whitehall, her presence there was a constant reminder of that generation. And, Minister, I reflect on how we're losing the generation who fought in world war two, we're losing the people who bore witness to the sacrifice and the fight against Nazism and fascism, the struggle to free our continent from those evils 70 and 80 years ago. I hope the Minister will reflect as well how we can now take care of those veterans as they approach the twilight of their lives. Let us ensure that there isn't a single world war two veteran in this country who doesn't go without the care and treatment that they will need in these years.

I'm grateful to you, Minister, as well for your confirmation that the Welsh Government will continue to support the armed forces liaison officers. They were introduced, of course, to bring together services and to ensure that all of our services, no matter what part of the public sector they're located in, are able to understand and deliver for the needs of the armed forces community, and the armed forces community in its totality. I hope that the liaison officers have been successful in doing so, and I hope that the contribution that we can continue to make to support their work is something that will bear fruit as years go by.

In closing, Presiding Officer, I'd also like to say to the Welsh Government that in supporting the work of the armed forces and reflecting on the sacrifices made, it is also important to ensure that we continue to support our defence industries as well. You cannot guarantee our freedom without the industries and without the capacity to support our armed forces, and it is important that our defence industries are also supported. It is our defence industries that provide us with the means to defend our country. It is our defence industries that enable us to protect the people of Ukraine. It is our defence industries that ensure that we have the ability here today in Wales and the United Kingdom to ensure that our freedoms, the sacrifices made in the past, are freedoms that our children and grandchildren will continue to enjoy in the future. Thank you very much.