Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 1:58 pm on 25 January 2023.
Well, Gareth, as I've said, we're committed to keeping communities in Wales as safe as possible, both in Rhyl and Prestatyn, and across the country. We have sought to do that through our programme for government. Even though it's not devolved, we, the Welsh Government, have maintained our funding for 500 police community support officers, and we're increasing their number in these very stretched times by 100. These are funded by the Welsh Government, not by the UK Government—by the Welsh Government. We are the envy across England, in Wales, for what we're doing. I do want to put on record again that this means annual funding of over £22 million, and we've funded that despite policing being reserved and being in a challenging fiscal position.
I do want to answer your point about the fact that PCSOs, I think, are crucial in promoting community safety and tackling anti-social behaviour. We know that many of those issues that are facing people we are working on with other initiatives, in terms of our youth offending strategy and in terms of our work to tackle substance misuse, violence against women and domestic abuse. But I think that PCSOs act as ears and eyes on the ground for police forces; they build local relationships and create a sense of security in our communities.