Of course, we live in a land of communities: from Aberdeen to Aberystwyth, Cumbria to Carmarthen, Cornwall to Conwy, Belfast to Bridgend and Yorkshire to Y Wyddgrug. As we approach St David's Day, you refer to your cross-governmental strategies and action plans in the area of social justice and Cymraeg. Speaking here seven years ago, I noted that

'Asset-based community development is a large and growing movement that considers people as the primary building blocks of sustainable community development.... Building on the skills of local residents, the power of local associations and the support of local institutions...drawing upon existing community strengths to build stronger communities for the future.'

Do you acknowledge this, and, if so, what practical steps are you taking to give voice, choice, control and real power to the people in our communities?

Speaking here six years ago, I referred to the Welsh Government grant-funded 'Valuing place' report by the Young Foundation, based upon research with people in Aberystwyth, Connah's Quay and Port Talbot, which found that establishing a local network to help encourage, train, mentor, coach and connect people together who want to take local action, whatever their skill set or resource, should be a priority. We need to allow for positive development of place that is inclusive and participatory. I also referred then to the Bevan Foundation 'Communities First—Next Steps' document, which found that the Welsh Government's £500 million Communities First programme did not reduce the headline rates of poverty in the vast majority of communities, still less Wales as a whole, and that a new programme should be co-produced by communities and professionals and not be top-down, i.e. by local authorities, that it should be based on a clear theory of change, building on people's and communities' assets not deficits, and that local action should be led by established community-based organisations with a strong track record of delivery that have significant community engagement. Did the Welsh Government accept the findings of these and other similar reports, and, if so, where is the change and how is this being monitored?

How do you respond to the Carnegie Trust statement, that the enabling-state approach is about recognising that

'government, alongside driving the performance of public services, should enable communities to do what they do best', where communities

'are best-placed to bring a wealth of local knowledge and collective energy to the decisions that affect them'?

What consideration have you given to the January 2022 Wales Co-operative Centre discussion paper, 'Communities Creating Homes', which stated Wales is trailing other nations in the UK when it comes to community ownership rights, adding that the policies in Wales do not offer quite the same empowerment as enjoyed by communities in England or, particularly, Scotland, as they either focus solely on assets and facilities owned by public bodies or necessitate the direct involvement of a public body to implement the power rather than co-production?

What consideration have you given to the February 2022 Institute of Welsh Affairs's 'Our Land: Communities and Land Use' report, which found that Welsh communities are the least empowered in Britain, and community groups in Wales told them about an arbitrary, demoralising scenario with little real process for communities to take ownership of public or private assets?

Funded via a lottery endowment, Building Communities Trust runs the Invest Local programme in 13 local communities across Wales, strengthening their localities in ways that communities themselves see fit, and enabling community groups to provide local social infrastructure and support their communities. However, Building Communities Trust found people in Wales feel increasingly less able to influence decisions affecting their local area. Questioning you here last October, I referred to research by Building Communities Trust with community groups across Wales, showing that they often feel overlooked and under-resourced by local and national government. When I asked you to respond to their statement that they believe there is a big opportunity for Welsh Government to develop better support for community-led, long-term local approaches in Wales, you replied that you'd had a really useful meeting with them the previous week to talk about community policy and to talk about our community asset reach. What practical changes therefore, if any, have you since introduced? 

Finally, the Scottish Government has announced a £27 million investing in communities fund over three years, with over 100 initiatives developed by local people, aiming to tackle community poverty. So, finally, what, if any, action are you taking to support similar projects developed by local people in Wales in which everyone can feel a sense of ownership for the language, culture, economic performance and social well-being of Wales?