Happy new year, First Minister. 

4. Does the Welsh Government intend to follow in the footsteps of the Scottish Government with a gender recognition reform Bill? OQ58937

The powers available in Scotland are not currently devolved to Wales. We will seek those powers, as set out in the programme for government. Legislative use of any new competence will, of course, be for the Senedd itself to determine.

Thank you, First Minister. There are obvious, justified concerns following the Scottish legislation being rushed through and, due to the nature of the United Kingdom, how it will impact women here in Wales, particularly with regard to 16 and 17-year-olds and sex offenders now being allowed to self-ID without medical diagnosis, and the clear and obvious risks that come with that. What conversations have you had with the Scottish and UK Governments on how this legislation will affect us, and will you therefore rule out such legislation in Wales?

Well, I'll certainly not rule out any such legislation, Llywydd, nor do I accept that the Scottish Bill was rushed through the Scottish Parliament. I have indeed had an opportunity to hear directly from the Scottish First Minister about the passage of that Bill, and it was very thoroughly and very carefully debated through the Scottish Parliament's own procedures. It was supported, in the end, by Members from all political parties in the Scottish Parliament, including Members of the Conservative party, and I just don't accept the characterisation that the Member has made. We will do as I've said, Llywydd: we will seek the powers. If we obtain those powers, we will put them to work here in Wales, and we will put proposals in front of this Welsh Parliament, so that those people seeking gender recognition are able to do so in a way that is not stigmatised and does not involve them having to go through a lengthy medicalised route in order to establish themselves in the way they themselves would wish to see established.

First Minister, would you agree that discourse on sensitive matters such as gender recognition should be conducted with respect and compassion? It really doesn't help when anonymous groups and intolerant keyboard warriors inflame discussion with untruths and intolerant language. First Minister, I'd be really interested in your view on the UK Government's immediate response of threatening to block the law from gaining Royal Assent.

I entirely agree with what Ken Skates has said. This has been a deeply polarising debate. The proper role for elected politicians, I believe, is to promote dialogue, rather than to seek to deepen conflict. I was surprised by the UK Government's reaction. They are threatening to use a power that has never been used in the whole history of devolution. They appear to say that they will not accept a gender recognition certificate obtained in Scotland, when they already recognise such certificates that are obtained in Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, New Zealand, and Switzerland. A number of those countries use the same self-declaration process to be used in Scotland. When we have a system that recognises certificates from other parts of the world, it seems very odd indeed that the UK Government is not prepared to recognise a certificate that is created in another part of the United Kingdom. I will say this to be absolutely clear, Llywydd: if anybody obtains a gender recognition certificate in Scotland and then comes to Wales, that certificate will be recognised here for all the purposes that you would expect it to be recognised for.