5. Will the Minister make a statement on the report into misogyny and sexual misconduct in the North Wales Police force published by the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner? OQ59183

Diolch yn fawr. Misogyny and sexual misconduct have no place in the police service. It's essential for North Wales Police to continue their urgent work to identify those officers who do not live up to the values the public rightly expect, and to take decisive action.

I thank the Minister for that response. I'm sure it was concerning for you, like me, to read that there were 24 members of staff, not just police officers, having inquiries into them because of cases of domestic violence, sexual misconduct or violence against women in North Wales Police. We're expecting reports from other police forces relatively soon too. Of course, the report was commissioned in light of the appalling case of David Carrick from the Metropolitan police, but we won't forget the appalling case of Sarah Everard either. And it follows a particular complaint made by the Centre for Women's Justice and the the Bureau of Investigative Journalism back in 2020, which showed that police forces weren't carrying full inquiries into cases of domestic violence and abuse that involved the police. The Welsh Government funds part of the police activity here in Wales, such as PCSOs, so what steps is the Government here taking in order to ensure that the employment process is entirely transparent and thorough and that women in Wales can have confidence in the individuals represented in our police forces?

Diolch yn fawr. That is such an important question for us this afternoon. Although policing isn't devolved—it's the responsibility of the UK Government—we are engaging, as you say, Mabon, in every way we can, to work with the police, to influence the policies and delivery and, indeed, to fund large sections of the delivery of community safety in Wales in particular, and in our schools. It is vital that our police demonstrate the integrity and values the public expect from them. I very much welcome North Wales Police's approach. They've taken a very transparent and decisive approach to this issue, recognising the need to ensure that a minority of officers who don't deliver high standards that the public expect have no place in a police force in Wales.

Can I just say that we discussed this at the policing partnership board, which I co-chair with the First Minister? We discussed it in December, and we talked about the issue of trust in policing, which of course you've touched on. We're going to have this as a standing agenda item on the board, because Welsh policing leads committed, at that meeting, to standing against inappropriate behaviour, ensuring staff who have behaved unacceptably are identified with swift action. As colleagues will know across the Chamber, all police forces across England and Wales are reviewing urgently records of all staff, to establish if there are any other cases that need to be addressed. I'm very pleased that the North Wales police and crime commissioner and chief constable Amanda Blakeman came out publicly about this. They've got to have this information by the end of March. Can I just take the opportunity to remind colleagues of our Live Fear Free helpline, a free 24/7 service for all victims and survivors of violence against women?

And finally, just to say that PCC Dafydd Llywelyn and I co-chair the national partnership board for the delivery of the next stage of our national strategy to strengthen our approach to violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. This is working very actively with our police forces and our police and crime commissioners. We have work streams, including workplace harassment. The workplace harassment work stream is co-chaired by Shavanah Taj from the Wales Trades Union Congress and Mark Travis from South Wales Police. I do expect this to come out with recommendations and address the issues that you've raised this afternoon. 

The actions of serial rapist David Carrick, the murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens and the abhorrent treatment of the bodies of sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman by police constables Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis shocked us all, and it left those police departments' reputation in tatters. Of course, as my colleague has mentioned, North Wales Police now has 27 conduct investigations ongoing relating to 24 individuals, and 13 of these cases relate to violence against women and girls, including sexual misconduct and police-perpetrated domestic abuse. My colleague Joyce Watson has done so much within this Chamber about domestic abuse. At this time, 21 cases are assessed as gross misconduct and six are assessed as misconduct. Dismissal is only available as a sanction if a gross misconduct panel makes a finding for gross misconduct. Personally, I do not believe that any officer who displays unacceptable conduct, misconduct or inappropriate behaviour should be allowed to serve again; the confidence will have gone. Therefore, will you, as part of your round-table discussions, undertake discussions with the UK Government to see if misconduct could be grounds for dismissal? 

Thank you very much, Janet Finch-Saunders. Thank you for raising these points following on from that question from Mabon this afternoon. I think it is really important that North Wales Police have taken the lead. At the board that I co-chaired with police and crime commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn, Amanda Blakeman, who is new to the role, was absolutely clear that she was going to be rigorous about ensuring that her police force was fit for purpose. We welcome that report released by Andy Dunbobbin, the police and crime commissioner, in February, because it looks at the prevalence of cases of misogyny in the force—numbers of cases and investigations, as you say—measures in place to protect the public, and ensuring the correct vetting of officers. 

I am joining Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, who's written to the Home Secretary asking her to urgently push through new laws allowing police chiefs to sack rogue officers on the spot. We know that the Home Office is reviewing dismissal processes because of the failure to remove Carrick as a serving officer. But I agree with Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, that existing laws mean that the Met and other police forces can still employ officers who've committed serious offences, and we need to make that change. I'm sure you will all back me in that call alongside Sadiq Khan. 

Question 6 [OQ59184] has been withdrawn.