1. What discussions has the Minister had with the Deputy Minister for Climate Change regarding the future of the welcome ticket that provides free bus and rail travel for refugees? OQ58649

Thank you very much for the question. The Deputy Minister for Climate Change has agreed the extension of the welcome ticket scheme for refugees until March 2023. A working group has been established to take forward a programme of work for the free transport scheme and work needed to be taken beyond April 2023.

Thank you so much, Minister. Minister, as far as I'm concerned, the welcome ticket is a fantastic initiative and has been very much welcomed by refugees all across Wales. However, it has been brought to my attention directly from asylum seekers and the Welsh Refugee Council that improvements are needed to make the scheme even better. I do apologise to everyone here if I do sound like I'm repeating myself, Minister, because I did recently raise it in a business statement, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to question you directly myself.

To get onto a bus or a train, refugees have to show either a biometric residence permit, a passport or a letter from the Home Office. I'm sure that you'll agree with me that it is a very important document that refugees are having to carry around with them every time that they want to access public transport here in Wales. And some refugees have been left incredibly embarrassed and stopped using the scheme altogether because some services do not actually recognise the welcome ticket. Apparently, there is a misunderstanding by drivers of the various types of status on biometric residence permits, so, sadly, Minister, many asylum seekers are not eligible for the welcome ticket as well. By extending the scheme to include asylum seekers, it would enable them to better integrate into life in Wales by allowing them to attend English lessons and have volunteering opportunities. So, Minister, will you commit to looking at rolling out a special card that will be universally recognised by drivers to avoid confusion and to stop refugees from having to carry important papers? And will you also look at extending the welcome ticket to include asylum seekers? Thank you so much, Minister.

Thank you very much, Natasha Asghar. It's really important that we look to this working group to resolve many of the issues that you've raised. You'll be aware, of course, that the Welsh Government—and it's only the Welsh Government; there is no other scheme of its kind in the UK—provided free transport for asylum seekers in a short pilot, which was managed by the Welsh Refugee Council from January to the end of March this year. So, of course, we're taking forward the outcomes of that pilot to consider free transport options for sanctuary seekers. 

It's very important that, in the working group, we've actually got representatives from the Welsh Refugee Council as well as from Transport for Wales and the Welsh Government. And what we're now looking to do is to develop a welcome ticket with a free travel smartcard based on the current concessionary card scheme so that you can then get that eligibility assessment prior to the issue of a free travel pass and eliminate some of the difficulties that have been experienced. It is a really important scheme. We want to look at the eligibility and, as I said, here in Wales, we're going much further, for example, than the UK Government in our offer in terms of travel to integrate into Welsh society.