I'd like to pay tribute to Travelling Ahead, first of all, which is a really excellent organisation, financially aided by the Welsh Government. It's really good at helping the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community assert their rights, but they really can't do it on their own, and that is why I'm really pleased that the Local Government and Housing Committee has looked at this, because we are going to have to keep coming back to this one, if we're not going to have what Joel James said, which is that there's not sufficient progress in the last eight years. The Minister is, I know, a serious champion of this issue, but frankly the Minister cannot authorise sites in any particular local authority—it's local authorities who need to do that—and all public bodies need to have a bit more equity in their approach to delivering public services. The situation we face at the moment simply is unacceptable.

The Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community is one of the oldest communities in Europe, and yet they are the most discriminated against ethnic group, throughout Wales as well as throughout Europe. The level of prejudice they suffer is worse than anything that any other ethnic minority group suffers. Year after year, local authorities have failed to act on the requirement under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 to analyse the sufficiency or insufficiency of housing provision for the Gypsy and Traveller community. Quite frankly, they've been allowed to get away with it, because year after year, capital sums have been set aside in the Welsh Government's budget to enable the cost of providing sites to be accounted for, and local authorities simply have ignored the problem, in the main. Obviously, there are no votes in this, and that is why people don't do it. And that is why people end up next to busy roads with polluted air, where nobody else would ever dream of living. 

They're also the lowest performing ethnic group for educational attainment by a racing mile. The curriculum needs to be flexible enough to meet every pupil's needs, and that includes the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma community. There are many careers that are actually quite suitable for people who have a travelling lifestyle. For people who work in the construction industry, when one project ends, another one has to start somewhere else. So, there are lots of bonuses and positives about the Gypsy and Traveller way of life, but respect is simply not possible without participation and consultation in shaping a better life for them. 

It is tragic that one of the worst decisions of the UK Tory Government, amongst a long list of poor decision making, is the criminalisation of the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma community, who have to stop anywhere if there is not a registered site. It's simply unacceptable. I'm glad to hear that the police say that it's only as a last resort will they criminalise people and take away their caravans, but we really can't go on like this, and local authorities are going to have to have their feet held to the fire.

There is some good practice. As I recall, Monmouthshire and Pembrokeshire have provided some good sites, and other local authorities have simply ignored their responsibilities. I suggest that we need to keep bringing this matter back to the Senedd, because we all have a duty to see some progress on this. I know that the Minister for Social Justice is very keen to see progress, but she needs to liaise with the Minister for Finance and Local Government and ensure that we actually get action on this now. I'm very glad that the Minister has accepted all the recommendations of what sounds like a really interesting inquiry, but we can't just go on noting these things, we've got to see some change.