Found: our acute provider on a shared waiting list (both Shropshire and Telford Hospital (S aTH) and Robert Jones

Found: Robert Jones: Apologies.

Found: in accessing specialised healthcare services, such as the Veterans’ Orthopaedic Service at the Robert Jones

Found: means its residents have a specific reliance on cross-border care, with the main providers being Robert Jones

Found: Ian Barrow, the Executive Director for HMPPS in Wales, and his team are in contact with Dr Robert Jones

Found: I will give the example of Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, which is very well used

Found: With respect to law enforcement cooperation, Robert Jones of the National Crime Agency said that, if

Found: Cymru) [PIW0003] Welsh Justice Uni ons Group [PIW0004] Ministry of Justice [PIW0005] Dr Robert Jones

Found: Robert Jones: Prüm developing coincided with exit.

Found: In the latest Prisons in Wales 2022 Factfile , published in November 2023, Dr Robert Jones found that

Found: PIW0006 Written evidence submitted by Dr Robert Jones Introduction Cardiff University’s Wales Governance

Found: Research by Dr Robert Jones from the Welsh Governance Centre at Cardiff University notes that,

Found: Rydym yn ymwybodol o brosiect ymchwil sydd ar y gweill gan Dr Robert Jones o Ganolfan Llywodraethiant

Found: Questions 1 - 78 Witnesses I: Dr Robert Jones, data curator and author of the annual Prisons in Wales

Found: Police Chiefs’ Council , Lynette Woodrow, Lead for Modern Slavery, Crown Prosecution Service , Robert Jones

Found: technology-facilitated trafficking, including websites which facilitate exploitation. 93 Similarly, Robert Jones

Found: worked on this inquiry were Jennifer Martin-Kohlmorgen (Clerk), Alex Nice (Policy Analyst) and Robert Jones

Found: Police Chiefs’ Council , Lynette Woodrow, Lead for Modern Slavery, Crown Prosecution Service , Robert Jones

Found: With best wishes, Robert Jones CBE Director General Operations National Crime Agency Jim Pearce Assistant

Found: Robert Jones: Good morning. I am Robert Jones.

Found: Yours sincerely, Robert Jones CBE Director General National Economic Crime Centre

Found: Yours Sincerely Robert Jones CBE Director General National Economic Crime Centre/ Threat

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure sustainable long-term funding for the Veterans' Orthopaedic Service at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne

The NHS Long Term Plan committed the National Health Service to a series of financial reforms, designed to return the NHS to financial balance. NHS England’s regional finance team have been working directly with The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on possible solutions to enable funding for the service to continue.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of (a) verbal abuse and (b) physical attacks experienced by NHS staff in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England in each of the last three years; and what steps his Department is taking to protect NHS staff in those areas from such abuse.

Answered by Will Quince

We do not currently have a national mechanism to capture and report incidents of violence and aggression in the National Health Service, as data is held at a local level.

The NHS Staff Survey does ask questions relating to incidences of violence, harassment, and abuse. The 2022 NHS Staff Survey indicated that 14.7% of NHS staff have self-reported that they had experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, relatives, or other members of the public in the last 12 months. In addition, 27.8% of NHS staff who completed the survey experience at least one incident of harassment, bullying or abuse in the last 12 months from patients/service users, their relatives, or members of the public. This figure is broadly consistent across previous years. Data extracted from the Staff Survey is provided below for England, Coventry and the West Midlands.

The following table shows the extracted data from the Staff Survey for England, Coventry and the West Midlands relating to Question 13a (‘In the last 12 months how many times have you personally experienced physical violence at work from: Patients / service users, their relatives or other members of the public?):

The following table shows the extracted data from the Staff Survey for England, Coventry and the West Midlands relating to Question 14a (‘In the last 12 months how many times have you personally experienced harassment, bullying or abuse at work from patients/service users, their relatives or other members of the public?’):

NHS England has commissioned several data insight workstreams to better understand the current landscape of statistics, data reporting and associated challenges. This includes a national review of all available data and intelligence sources and an analysis of the costs of violence to the health care system in England and a review of the impact on the safety and wellbeing of NHS staff.

Tackling violence against NHS staff is largely an employer led issue, with NHS organisations responsible for putting in place their own policies and procedures to support staff, giving them access to appropriate training and making appropriate arrangements for security.

NHS England established a NHS Violence Reduction Programme in 2019, which aims to prevent and reduce violence and aggression from patients, their families and the public, and mitigate the effects of violence and abuse on NHS staff.

In 2022, the Government legislated through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act to double the sentence for assaults on emergency workers to a maximum of two years.

Found: University Hospitals Of Leicester Trust 63.4 Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals Trust 61.9 The Robert Jones

Found: 30 Commons Library Debate Pack , 22 November 2022 Times 15 October 2020 Jonathan Evans, Robert Jones

The Welsh Criminal Justice System: On the Jagged Edge

Found: South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust Capital 30,000 25 21,432 0 1,428 20004 670 RL1 The Robert Jones

Found: Stephen Robert Jones 33. Julie Larsen 34. William Logue 35. Stephen Logue 36.

Found: Stephen Robert Jones 33. Julie Larsen 34. William Logue 35. Stephen Logue 36.

Found: General (Capabilities) – Claire Smith 13 June 2022 12 June 2025 Director General (Operations) – Robert Jones

Found: South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust Capital 30,000 25 22,860 0 1,428 21,432 722 RL1 The Robert Jones

Found: October 2021, Graeme Biggar held the position of DG NECC and his 2021-22 salary reflects this. iii Robert Jones

Found: October 2021, Graeme Biggar held the position of DG NECC and his 2021- 22 salary reflects this. iii Robert Jones

Found: Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust Capital 8,900 10/0 3,560 - 890 2,670 47 RL1 The Robert Jones

Found: Foundation TrustsFTRK5XSherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustNHS Foundation TrustsFTRL1XThe Robert Jones

Found: Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustNHS Foundation TrustsCCG07HNHS WEST ESSEX CCGCeased 1 July 2022FTRL1XThe Robert Jones

Found: $A:$C,3,FALSE)FTRL1XThe Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust=VLOOKUP(A185

Found: Schools & Academies The Rivers CofE Academy Trust £6,795.00 Schools & Academies The Robert Jones

Found: However, Robert Jones of the NCA disagreed with Ms Beddoe™s assessment.

Found: 2024 8 Hospital-onset, healthcare-associated 2 Yes No Klebsiella spp NHS acute trust RL1 THE ROBERT JONES

Found: 2024 11 Community-onset, healthcare-associated 0 Yes No C. difficile NHS acute trust RL1 THE ROBERT JONES

Found: Integrated Care Board Midlands 2024 11 Unknown 0 Yes No C. difficile NHS acute trust RL1 THE ROBERT JONES

Found: London 2024 6 Community-onset, community-associated 8 Yes No E. coli NHS acute trust RL1 THE ROBERT JONES

Found: Care Board London 2024 9 Total cases 1 Yes No Pseudomonas aeruginosa NHS acute trust RL1 THE ROBERT JONES

Found: Midlands 2024 4 Community-onset, healthcare-associated 0 Yes No MSSA NHS acute trust RL1 THE ROBERT JONES

Found: Integrated Care Board Midlands 2024 1 No information 0 Yes No E. coli NHS acute trust RL1 THE ROBERT JONES

Found: 2024 2 Hospital-onset, healthcare-associated 2 Yes No Klebsiella spp NHS acute trust RL1 THE ROBERT JONES

Found: Midlands 2024 2 Community-onset, healthcare-associated 0 Yes No MRSA NHS acute trust RL1 THE ROBERT JONES

Found: 2.5933810721888912 4700 880 18.72340425531915 Yes Yes Y60 Midlands Commissioning Region RL1 The Robert Jones

Found: Meetings with Directorate colleagues Preston; UK Private Car Economy/Standard 98.12 N/A 16.57 114.69 Robert Jones

Found: LIMITED 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 OK1136987 LONDON NETWORK SCAFFOLDING LTD 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 OK1137035 ROBERT JONES

Found: Senior Leadership Team Meeting Liverpool; UK Train, Taxi Economy/Standard 95 129.05 N/A 224.05 Robert Jones

Found: Yes (Quality, access & outcomes; finance) Yes: quality and safety of estate Yes The Robert Jones

Found: 2024 HMRC Stakeholder Conference London, UK Train, Taxi Economy/Standard 346.20 146.75 N/A 492.95 Robert Jones

Found: General (Capabilities) – Claire Smith 13 June 2022 12 June 2025 Director General (Operations) – Robert Jones

Found: Engagement Meeting and Workshop Rail, Taxi Standard 115.00 Nil return 183.38 Nil return Robert Jones

Found: Hospital NHS Trust Yes (Quality, access & outcomes) Yes: financial sustainability The Robert Jones

Found: October 2021, Graeme Biggar held the position of DG NECC and his 2021- 22 salary reflects this. iii Robert Jones

Found: October 2021, Graeme Biggar held the position of DG NECC and his 2021-22 salary reflects this. iii Robert Jones

Found: HOSPITAL, KING'S LYNN, NHS FOUNDATION TRUST HULL UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS TRUST THE ROBERT JONES

Found: MATCH(IndependentProvidersList[[#This Row],[Code]],KnownIndependentProvidersList[Code],0),"")THE ROBERT JONES

Found: thal=IF(ISERROR(MATCH(M177,$L$5:$L$43,0)), 0,1)Z6E6UROYAL LANCASTER INFIRMARY LABORATORYRL1THE ROBERT JONES

Found: thal=IF(ISERROR(MATCH(M177,$L$5:$L$43,0)), 0,1)Z6E6UROYAL LANCASTER INFIRMARY LABORATORYRL1THE ROBERT JONES

Found: TrustList[Name],MATCH(MaternityServiceList[[#This Row],[TrustCode]],TrustList[Code],0),1)RL1THE ROBERT JONES

Found: TrustList[Name],MATCH(MaternityServiceList[[#This Row],[TrustCode]],TrustList[Code],0),1)RL1THE ROBERT JONES

Found: Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn, NHS Foundation Trust The Robert Jones

Found: FOUNDATION TRUSTN07CFSpecialist Nursing, Arthritis Nursing/Liaison, Child, Face to faceRL1THE ROBERT JONES

Found: Integrated Care Board 1 Ramsey Healthcare, Ashtead Hospital reported by NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB 1 Robert Jones

Found: Hospital NHS Trust 1 The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn, NHS Foundation Trust 1 The Robert Jones

Found: mVar % of turnoverAllocation£m (ICB Only)Shropshire Community Health NHST0.20.1(0.0)(0.1%)–The Robert Jones

Found: Neuromuscular Diseases • NHS England • Queen Square Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases UCL • Robert Jones

Found: Neuromuscular Diseases • NHS England • Queen Square Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases UCL • Robert Jones

Found: B:B, Table_Demand_HD_frontsheet[[#This Row],[Name]])ShropshireTHE ROBERT JONES AND AGNES HUNT ORTHOPAEDIC

Found: Neuromuscular Diseases • NHS England • Queen Square Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases UCL • Robert Jones

Found: TRUSTN08AFSpecialist Nursing, Asthma and Respiratory Nursing/Liaison, Adult, Face to faceRL1THE ROBERT JONES

Found: Southampton General Hospital, Southampton • MD UK Oxford Neuromuscular Centre, Oxford • Robert Jones

Found: Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The Robert Jones

Found: Hospital NHS Trust 4 The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn, NHS Foundation Trust 2 The Robert Jones

Found: KING'S LYNN, NHS FOUNDATION TRUSTOrganisation Total583663717794461609925430467259856371RL1THE ROBERT JONES

Found: Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 5 The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 3 The Robert Jones

Found: ICS) R1D: Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICS) RL1: The Robert Jones

Found: Z102<0),Y102,0)=IF(AND($Q102<0,Z102>0),-$Q102,0)=IF(OR($Q102>=0,Z102>=0),Y102-AB102,0)AcuteRL1THE ROBERT JONES

Found: ELIZABETH HOSPITAL, KING'S LYNN, NHS FOUNDATION TRUSTAcute (non-specialist trust)Bed days168546RL1THE ROBERT JONES

Found: Injury Centre , Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital • Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries , Robert Jones

Found: Queen's Medical Centre Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Rarer Cancers Foundation Robert Jones

Found: Queen's Medical Centre Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Rarer Cancers Foundation Robert Jones

Found: Queen's Medical Centre Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Rarer Cancers Foundation Robert Jones

Found: Dr Robert Jones argued that Wales is a “policy taker rather than a policy maker”.

Found: In England, the main providers of planned care for Powys residents are Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt, Shrewsbury

Found: Dr Robert Jones from Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre has identified that, in September

Found: • David McNeill, Director of Public Affairs and Campaigns, Law Society • Democracy Box • Dr Robert Jones

Found: Mayor Cllr Owen James • Cllr Edward Thomas • Cllr Eifion Davies • Cllr Colin Jenkins • Cllr Robert Jones

Found: in Wales (as documented by the Thomas Commission in 2019 and by Prof Richard Wyn Jones and Dr Robert Jones

Found: Welsh language campaigner, musician, and former President of Plaid Cymru • Democracy Box • Dr Robert Jones

Found: Item 2: Dr Robert Jones, Cardiff University 2.

Found: Civil Design Engineer For Bridgend CBC: Phil Thomas - Principal Planning Officer Robert Jones

Found: Criminal Justice System - on the Jagged Edge (external presentation) 1.1 The Counsel General thanked Robert Jones

Found: Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council RSPCA Cymru Robert Jones

Found: Lovell-Newman Richard Deed Richard Gallafent Richard Mitchley Richard Paver Richard Sumray Robert Jones

Found: I would like to thank Dr Robert Jones and the Wales Governance Centre for their work and commitment to

Found: Richard Carpenter Richard Carr Richard Lewis Richard Lung Richard Mainon Richard Williams Robert Jones

Found: environmentally sustainable scallop fishery within the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation Robert Jones

Found: Yours faithfully Robert Jones Parry Conservation Manager Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales

Found: School, Cardiff Edwardsville Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil Gladstone Primary School, Cardiff Robert Jones

Found: Research Group 44 Charity Law Association 45 Conwy Legal Services 46 Skills for Justice 47 Robert Jones

Found: Partnership Development Officer [Type text] (Type text] Colette Wymer June 2012 Response 47 - Robert Jones

Found: Davies; Paul Sinnadurai; Rachel Price; Rebecca Sharp; Rhys Jones; Richard May; Richard Wistow ; Robert Jones

Found:  Jones, Robert & Jones, Richard Wyn (2022) The Welsh criminal justice system: on the jagged edge.

<p>Diolch yn fawr, Rhys ab Owen, and I'm very glad to have the opportunity to report on my meeting. I had a meeting the following day—on Wednesday—with Dr Robert Jones, but I'd already anticipated the need for a meeting with him when I saw the fact file again—his most recent fact file. I invited Ian Barrow, a senior official in HM Prison and Probation Service, responsible for prison and probation services in Wales. Indeed, I'd already spoken to Ian Barrow about this issue, and he was very keen to address it when we met together and recognised that this was—. Well, we discussed the fact that this was totally inappropriate, this 'vexatious'. We need to move forward, in terms of getting that disaggregation of justice data.</p>
<p>I was very pleased, then, to ask Robert Jones to share with me how this came about, in terms of this response from the Ministry of Justice, so I can take it up formally with the Lord Chancellor, if appropriate, but, I think also, obviously, with the Minister responsible, James Timpson, the Minister for prisons and probation, and also raising it with all of the officials whom I meet in terms of my responsibilities for social justice. So, I do think, now, that we'll see a way forward to get that disaggregated data. I said to Robert Jones that I was very concerned to hear this, because it came from you, here, and that we were addressing it with the new UK Government to ensure that he can do that academic piece of work in an appropriate way with that disaggregated data.</p>

<p>Trefnydd, you heard me ask the Prif Weinidog last week about the importance of disaggregated Welsh data and the Ministry of Justice designating Dr Robert Jones as being a vexatious applicant. In a short response to me, the Prif Weinidog said that Dr Robert Jones would be meeting you the following day and that I should be reassured by that. So, following the meeting, Trefnydd, could you provide the Senedd with a statement on when we will routinely have disaggregated Welsh data from the Ministry of Justice, including very important data on the Welsh prison population, the number of Welsh women in prison and ethnic minorities in prison? Also, is Dr Robert Jones still regarded by the Ministry of Justice as a vexatious applicant? Diolch yn fawr.</p>

<p>I agree with you, Cwnsler Cyffredinol, and the Ministry of Justice agrees with us. Back in 2017, a working group from the Ministry of Justice said that it is important to have disaggregated Welsh data, and that’s been echoed by politicians here, by committees here and in Westminster. In fact, the Equality and Social Justice Committee inquiry into women’s experience of the criminal justice said that they couldn’t have a full picture of how women from Wales experience the criminal justice system because of the lack of disaggregated data. Now, a perfect example of this is a recent freedom of information application by Dr Robert Jones for the number of Welsh women who are pregnant in prisons being refused because it was too complicated. Now, we are told we won’t have any FOI requests from Dr Robert Jones. So, how on earth we going to know (1) how many Welsh people are in prison, (2) how many women from Wales are in prison and where they are held, and (3) the breakdown of Welsh prisoners by ethnicity. My question is simple: if the Ministry of Justice sees the applications by Robert Jones as vexatious, when will we have routinely published Welsh disaggregated data? Diolch yn fawr.</p>

<p>Brif Weinidog, as you've heard from the previous questions, the availability of data is crucial to improve the justice system here in Wales, and due to the lack of published disaggregated Welsh data, we've been totally dependent on the tireless work and the freedom of information requests of Dr Robert Jones from the Wales Governance Centre. Now, however, at the end of November, the Ministry of Justice said that they will no longer respond to Dr Jones's requests, as they deem his applications to be vexatious. Now, he needs to do these applications, and he's been doing them since 2013, because the MOJ has failed to routinely publish these data. Now, this didn't happen under a hostile Conservative Government, it happened under a Labour Government, who's supposed to be committed to improve the justice system here in Wales.</p>
<p>Now, these aren't vexatious applications, it's helped the Welsh Government, it's helped the Trefnydd—the Trefnydd can attest to that—it's helped countless committees here, in Westminster, and in the Welsh Government. Will you speak to officials at the MOJ and make sure that his applications will be accepted, and to highlight to them that his applications are anything but vexatious, but are crucial to the development of the Welsh justice system here in Wales? Diolch yn fawr.</p>

<p>The violent, racist riots that we saw this summer in towns and cities in England and Northern Ireland must serve as a stark reminder to us in Wales that there is so much work to be done to eradicate the hate and discriminatory views that threaten the safety and well-being of our black, Asian and minority ethnic citizens and poison our society. Although we didn't see the same riots here, Wales is, sadly, not somehow immune to the racism of the groups behind the violence, and we have seen racially motivated hate crime in Wales increase significantly in the south Wales and Gwent policing areas especially, with instances of racism and Islamophobia and antisemitism in all parts of Wales in the headlines all too frequently. The persistence of these hateful views is partly the result of decades of allowing racism and hatred to develop openly online by some politicians, and within our institutions. The famous quote by the African-American political activist, professor and author, Angela Davis, is always worth repeating:</p>
<p>'In a racist society, it's not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist'.</p>
<p>It means that we must take every opportunity to dismantle and oppose the structures that allow racism to take hold, to remain, and to harm. Wales can and should take a different path, so I'm glad to see, reflected in this refreshed 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan', the call Plaid Cymru made on the Welsh Government to review and to strengthen it against the far-right threat. What I don't see, given the new political context following the UK general election, is the action that should be taken to address the effects of systemic racism within Wales’s criminal justice system, which is so clearly highlighted by Dr Robert Jones of the Wales Governance Centre's latest report on prison and sentencing in Wales. The evidence uncovered in Dr Jones's findings serves as a stark reminder of the pressing need for meaningful and radical action if the Welsh Government truly wants to achieve the aims set out in the 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan'. Those belonging to a black ethnic group in Wales are the most over-represented ethnic group in prison. There were 54 black people from Wales in prison for every 10,000 of the population in 2023. This rate compares to just 15 white people per 10,000 of the population. The average custodial sentence length in Wales, between 2010 and 2023, was higher for black defendants than defendants from a white ethnic group. And this isn't news, because previous research by the Wales Governance Centre since 2019 has repeatedly underlined the prevalence and extent of racial disproportionality within the Welsh criminal justice system. What the new report shows is that nothing is changing, so what specific steps in the refreshed plan will address this?</p>
<p>The work of academics like Dr Robert Jones is vitally important, because, to oppose and dismantle racist structures, you have to be able to uncover them in the first place. When scrutinising the&nbsp;'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan', the Equality and Social Justice Committee highlighted the extent of racial disproportionality across the Welsh criminal justice system and also the difficulties facing researchers like Dr Jones, who are forced to use freedom of information legislation to obtain basic data broken down by ethnic group in Wales. In his latest report, Dr Jones underlines the need for Wales-only data to be made routinely available by the Ministry of Justice, and highlights that, presently, access to that data is being denied.</p>
<p>The Equality and Social Justice Committee recommended also that the Welsh Government establish a Welsh criminal justice observatory to help improve access to vital data and knowledge in this area. Dr Jones notes, and I quote,</p>
<p>'despite concerted efforts being made to identify and highlight the challenges facing the Welsh system, there seemingly remains very little appetite for understanding how to address these problems in any serious way.'</p>
<p>So, what investment is being made by the Welsh Government to identify and address the challenges that are seriously undermining anti-racism in Wales through ensuring access to data?</p>
<p>It's five years since the conclusion of the Thomas commission, so what indications have you had, Cabinet Secretary, that the Labour UK Government are going to implement any of the commission’s key recommendations? And finally, do you agree with Dr Robert Jones’s conclusion to his new report that</p>
<p>'whether it be imprisonment rates, average custodial sentence lengths, the use of custodial remand, or the proportion of sentences served, individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds in Wales continue to experience disparate and disproportionate treatment.'</p>
<p>and that</p>
<p>'any decision to ignore or overlook Wales is no longer sustainable nor defensible'?</p>
<p>How is the Welsh Government making their case to their Labour ministerial colleagues in Westminster that they must support one of the plan’s core calls, exploring the devolution of justice and policing powers to Wales? This is a step that is essential for Wales to address racial injustices fully and autonomously. Diolch.</p>

<p>Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams. And thank you so much, I have to say—diolch yn fawr—for making that key point, that what we need is anti-racist, which is what we're now refreshing, an anti-racist Wales action plan, which actually drives that message: the zero tolerance of racism, zero tolerance of racial inequalities across every policy area that we're responsible for in Wales, and our partners. And we have to recognise—and we have plenty of examples of how we are addressing this, and I've given you some today in my oral statement—that we have a long way to go to actually deliver on that zero tolerance of racism, which of course, we understood over the summer months, in the many meetings that I had—. The First Minister and I met with many community groups, just after the horrendous events in Southport, and not taking for granted at all that this wasn't having an impact on our communities. During the school holidays, I was meeting people and communities in Butetown, meeting Muslim women, hearing the experiences that they were having. Because, of course, it's global, isn't it? With social media, it's global. And I think, also, the fact that we are now developing—. I've mentioned in my oral statement that we are appointing four regional convenors and developing regional community forums to enable everyone who wants to engage in terms of black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, enabling us to influence and them to influence all aspects of power and responsibility from the health service to local government, and indeed to business, employment and the private sector.</p>
<p>There is a whole chapter, as you will see, on crime and justice in the refreshed plan, and it is important as well, in Wales, that we actually ask our criminal justice partners and launched a criminal justice anti-racism action plan in September 2022. And that was something that—. This is the Welsh way. We work together. Yes, it's a jagged edge and I absolutely pay tribute to the work of Dr Robert Jones and Professor Richard Wyn Jones, as well. The jagged edge summed it up, didn't it, about the interface between devolved and non-devolved in all areas of work, but particularly the criminal justice system was something that we recognised. I'm hoping to meet Dr Robert Jones shortly, to look particularly at his prisons report, but also a key point, I think, is about data and evidence.</p>
<p>You will see that one of our key cross-cutting themes that we're addressing—and many come from the Equality and Social Justice Committee—is about data and research. This is where we have got an opportunity with the new UK Government. So, I want to assure you that that is something that we're now progressing. The Counsel General was answering questions about how we're progressing with the youth justice and probation work as a result of the manifesto commitments from the new UK Labour Government, but one of the things that I've—. I've met more UK Government Ministers in the last few weeks, and I think other Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries have, than I ever met from the previous Government. I'm talking to them about the sentencing review. I'm talking to them about the justice data landscape. And also we have made progress. Even before the election and before the new UK Government, we had been making progress with the Ministry of Justice, working on disaggregated data, emphasising the need for this data to be disaggregated to Wales, so that Robert Jones and academic colleagues do not have to go through the route that they have of freedom of information. And Rob has been involved in data mapping work. We're grateful for his support, and we're developing more capacity on data analytics, because we now have the race disparity evidence unit, which is also part of equality evidence and disability evidence as well. So, I'm taking forward the points that you make. We'll be meeting not just with Rob Jones, but with UK Government colleagues.</p>
<p>And can I say also that you can see change not just from the Ministers and Secretaries of State that we're meeting, at the highest level in terms of what we want to achieve, and this includes women's justice as well? There was a meeting last week, when we were calling for progress with the residential women's centre. There's a lot of interest in what we've done with the women's justice blueprint and the youth justice blueprint, but also we are looking at this in terms of what we can achieve with our long-term ambitions in terms of devolving justice, but starting with ensuring that we can get that justice data. So, I will be meeting not just with Dr Jones, but also bringing in His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service to help just to break down that ideological block, I have to say, that existed in terms of not sharing that disaggregated data, and moving forward with discussions with Robert Jones and the Wales Governance Centre.</p>

<p>We've got one paper to note, which is correspondence from Dr Robert Jones about prisons and sentencing in Wales. Can we agree to note that report?</p>

<p>As a committee, we saw in particular the need to focus firmly on and drive robust change in the areas of education, health and criminal justice. I would now like to focus for the rest of my time on the final recommendation, which is that the Welsh Government should establish a criminal justice observatory for Wales and seek further opportunities to collaborate with the academic world in the context of the action plan.</p>
<p>The reason behind this recommendation is one of the clearest signs of systemic inequality based on race and racism, namely the fact that people from ethnic minority backgrounds are over-represented at all levels of the criminal justice system in Wales. Based on the most recent statistics that we have, in 2021, 51 out of every 10,000 black people in Wales were in prison, compared to 14 white people, and more black people were also under the care of the probation services. The length of sentences is also longer for black people than white defendants. In the same way, the limited data available confirm high levels of disproportionality in the use of stop and search by Welsh police forces.</p>
<p>Thanks to the innovative and vital research of Dr Robert Jones from the Wales Governance Centre, a clearer picture of the disproportionality in terms of race in the criminal justice system has been highlighted, and this emphasises the need for the Welsh Government to pursue an anti-racism agenda in this area. Freedom of information requests had to be used to obtain much of this information, and there are difficulties that arise from the fact that the data are not available. Indeed, if you read the special publication <em>The Welsh Criminal Justice System: On the Jagged Edge</em>&nbsp;by Dr Robert Jones and Professor Richard Wyn Jones, you will understand why. It is entirely related to the fact that the criminal justice system is not under our control.</p>
<p>It's a disgrace that Yvette Cooper has today stated clearly that there won't be a change in that regard under a Labour Government in Westminster, running counter to a long list of reports, the stated opinion of the Government and the evidence that we heard as a committee about the injustice and harm that this causes to, for example, black, Asian and minority ethnic groups. I'd like to know whether the Cabinet Secretary condemns those comments.</p>
<p>We have to accept in principle the need to support and develop work in this area in terms of data gathering, and the Government accepts that in principle. But I'd like to ask, to finish, for a specific update on what the Government is doing to promote and support this essential research, and ask for a commitment from the new Cabinet Secretary, with a change in Government more than likely by July, as to the case that she will be making to Keir Starmer on ensuring that policing and justice powers are devolved. Do you agree that the current situation is unsustainable—</p>

<p>Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I just wanted to go back to the point, you mentioned the work and the efforts of the Welsh Government, and your officials, as well as your partners, within the justice blueprints, for example, to tackle what the report describes, but do you accept that the current constitutional arrangements, in the words of Dr Robert Jones, are a significant threat to the vision of the anti-racist action plan?</p>

<p>Welcome back to the Equality and Social Justice Committee meeting this afternoon. We are now going to have our fourth session on the 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan'. I'm very pleased to welcome Professor Uzo Iwobi from Race Council Cymru, who is joining us online, and Dr Robert Jones from Cardiff University, who is with us in the Senedd.</p>
<p>Dr Jones, I just wanted to ask you, picking up from your paper—. The Ministry of Justice paper, 'Ethnicity and the Criminal Justice System, 2020', and the Lammy review both identify that minority ethnic groups are over-represented in the criminal justice system, but then you're able to tell us that Home Office data shows there's a disproportionate use of stop-and-search on black and minority ethnic groups in Wales. So, we have some data that tells us what's happening in Wales as opposed to just putting together England and Wales. How come the Home Office is so much better at doing this than the Ministry of Justice?</p>

<p>Diolch, Llywydd. Clwb Rygbi Trebanos is celebrating its one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary. In the first half of its long history of being at the heart of its community in Cwm Tawe, the club played an active role in local competitions. One of its earliest cup finals was recorded in 1925 when they played Swansea Harbour at the famous St Helen's ground. The game went to extra time but, unfortunately, Trebanos would go on to lose. Apparently, the referee at the time had to go to work at 10 p.m. so the match was drawn to a quick conclusion.&nbsp;</p>
<p>During the days of the great depression, many locals left Trebanos in the Swansea valley in search of work, but the remaining team would train every day, and though these were difficult times they produced top-quality rugby players, which included William Bowen, John Lewis, Mel Lloyd, Elwyn Davies, Danny Hopkin and Aubrey Hyde—all who experienced hardship, but each of them went on to play for Swansea RFC. And Trebanos RFC has kept producing players who achieve success: Bleddyn Bowen, Robert Jones, Arwel Thomas, and arguably the most recognisable blue scrum-capped son, Justin Tipuric, who achieved 93 caps for Wales before retiring from international rugby recently.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The most recent club success has been winning the championship plate. But for a rugby club to stand the test of time, demonstrate its worth as a huge asset, both to the national game and to its community, this is a great achievement—to be still at the beating heart of the community—and I wish them all the success for the future. And I'm proud that my son, Dewi, plays for the youth team, and maybe one day, he will join the long and proud tradition of Trebanos stars who are heroes of their valleys and their nation.</p>

<p>I'll never forget visiting HMP Eastwood Park as a part of the inquiry that led to this report. I will never forget the Welsh women I met there—the Welsh women who live on the jagged edge of devolution,&nbsp;so disadvantaged, so discriminated against, so damaged by the fact that Wales doesn't have powers over our criminal justice system.</p>
<p>In our report, our committee cites and evidences the harm—the harm—to women arising from the current devolution settlement. The powerful testimony we heard, the devastating stories of these women, were reinforced by the expert opinion we heard as a committee. Dr Robert Jones of the Wales Governance Centre clearly illustrated for us how that jagged edge of intersecting unaligned but shared devolved and reserved powers and responsibilities over which the criminal justice system operates in Wales is such a sharp one for women.</p>
<p>Plaid Cymru is very glad to see the Welsh Government accept in full recommendation 2 of the report that it,</p>
<p>'should endeavour to obtain devolved responsibility for women’s involvement in the criminal justice system,'</p>
<p>agreeing in its response to our report that,</p>
<p>'outcomes for women in the criminal justice system in Wales could be significantly improved through devolution,'</p>
<p>and accepting Dr Robert Jones's description that,</p>
<p>'the ability of devolved government to act as an effective policy maker is constrained and, ultimately, undermined by the fact that the UK Government controls most of the key criminal justice policy levers.'</p>
<p>This is, surely, the key recommendation of this report and the key finding of this inquiry, foregrounding fundamental questions about the feasibility of doing joined-up policy in such a complex legislative landscape, with two Governments controlling different areas, levers and accountability, and clearly showing the effect of this on some of our most vulnerable citizens.</p>
<p>So, what progress is being made towards this, Minister? What conversations have you had with UK Labour leader, Keir Starmer, around this point, because we've had in the past mixed messages from Labour on the devolution of criminal justice to Wales? I would like to hear clarity from you and the party you represent on this point, especially considering Labour could come to power in the next year in Westminster.&nbsp;</p>
<p>So many of our recommendations as a committee, from access to and equity of rehabilitation services for women, tackling substance misuse and aiding recovery, to meeting physical and mental health needs, are dependent on this successful joining up of policy—that which is set out and embodied in the aims of the women's justice blueprint. Although broadly welcomed, time and again we found the approach of the blueprint being hampered or even undermined, and progress on its aims slow and patchy.</p>
<p>As the Government agrees that custodial sentences must be an absolute last resort, then the work to ensure that sentences have alternative options to imprisoning women by provision of community-based options throughout Wales, and, of course, raising awareness of these options, must be progressed at pace. Because without this, the situations we all heard about will continue—the pointless, punishing short sentences that can completely blow up women's lives and have such a profound and lasting effect on their children. It's shameful and also baffling. We heard from the governor at Eastwood Park about that average sentence given to women of 42 days. The instance Jenny Rathbone mentioned about a week-long sentence in Styal prison over Christmas—not just baffling and shameful, but harsh, severe and cruel. This can't be allowed to continue.</p>
<p>The report makes several detailed recommendations about the proposed residential women's centre in Wales. Key for Plaid Cymru is that while it can provide a much-needed alternative to the current residential custodial sentences that Welsh women are forced to serve miles away from their families, we must get that greater clarity on the nature of that alternative. It's imperative, in line with the aims of the blueprint, the Corston report, the expert evidence we heard and the testimony of the women who shared their experiences with us, that this does not replicate the harms of the current situation. Wales's voice must be heard on this, so while the planning process continues, I'd like to hear from the Minister what preparatory work has taken place around recommendations 8, 9 and 10.</p>
<p>I would also personally like to thank my fellow committee members, the Chair, the research and clerking team and everyone who gave evidence to our inquiry. I want to say to the women we met that we heard you, we will not forget you and, as a committee, we will not let your Government abandon you on that jagged edge of an inadequate devolution settlement.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The women's pathfinder whole-system approach concentrates on early intervention and prevention, taking a holistic and rehabilitative approach to divert women away from crime, and supporting women to access community-based services through one-to-one support. The practical help and guidance provided is essential, especially in light of the cost-of-living crisis. A recent evaluation underlined just how effectively this project is improving the lives of vulnerable women in Wales who may not otherwise have engaged at that point in their involvement with the justice system. Under the blueprint, diversion services are now in place for women across all of the four police force areas in Wales.</p>
<p>Another development is a new gender- and trauma-informed training package for those working with women in the justice system. Aimed at upskilling staff with the expertise and confidence to take a gender-informed approach, this training is currently being rolled out to all agencies working in the criminal justice landscape.</p>
<p>The Visiting Mums service, jointly funded by Welsh Government and HMPPS, helps Welsh mothers maintain a positive relationship with their children throughout their prison sentence, offering specialist support to preserve and strengthen vital family ties. Between June 2021 and August 2022, the programme has supported 68 families.</p>
<p>Previous visits I've undertaken to HMP Eastwood Park and HMP Styal have enabled me to see first-hand the encouraging work being delivered by the women's justice blueprint, including the Nelson Trust ONE Women's Centre at HMP Eastwood Park. This will provide a single, holistic service for all women at the site up to 12 months before their release into the community, linking a range of services together.</p>
<p>I can also confirm that discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Justice and other key stakeholders on the proposed residential women's centre. The centre will provide holistic, trauma-informed support for women in the criminal justice system, and an alternative to disruptive and unnecessary custodial sentences.</p>
<p>Dirprwy Lywydd, we know that 57 per cent of women currently coming into contact with the criminal justice system are victims of domestic abuse. Sixty-three per cent of girls and young women serving sentences in the community have also experienced rape or domestic abuse in an intimate partner relationship. There are also links between poverty and violence, with strong evidence highlighting that high levels of income inequality are a strong predictor of violent crime. The residential women's centre is a pilot for the UK to demonstrate that there can be an alternative to imprisonment.</p>
<p>I now turn to the youth justice blueprint, which is embedding a trauma-informed, child-first approach to justice. Under the blueprint, enhanced case management is now available to all youth offending teams in Wales for children in voluntary and statutory contact. This psychologically led, multi-agency approach recognises the trauma that young people have experienced, and identifies how to help them build the resilience they need to thrive and live crime-free lives. Additionally, the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee is now providing funding to support the forensic adolescent consultation and treatment service. This has embedded a psychological, trauma-informed model for youth offending teams across Wales, enhancing the support provided to vulnerable young people.</p>
<p>Work is progressing on a youth justice prevention framework to support children at risk of entering the criminal justice system. This builds on existing investment, such as promoting positive engagement, which is funded from the Welsh Government children and communities grant, and the grant funds projects on diversion, prevention and support for young people, to facilitate change in their behaviour.</p>
<p>In January 2021, we outlined our vision for children to be accommodated in small homes close to their communities, and having access to services and specialist wraparound support that meet their needs. A small homes programme board, led by the Welsh Government and involving the Ministry of Justice and the UK Government Department for Education, will drive this ambitious work.</p>
<p>This is only a brief snapshot of our achievements, which are set out in full in the implementation plans. On 26 October we also published an evaluation, which gives a powerful sense of the impact the blueprints are making in practice. On Thursday, I will be speaking at the women's justice blueprint conference, providing a further opportunity to share the outcomes of the programme. Delegates will also hear from women including Danielle John, who has received life-changing support from the blueprints and who has offered invaluable expertise to our work, including through sharing her own lived experience.</p>
<p>The blueprints are being held up as an exemplary model for delivering key, cross-cutting policies in partnership, which is now being replicated elsewhere. Our VAWDASV national strategy, published in May, is being delivered through the same blueprint approach, with a strong focus on survivor experience and influence.</p>
<p>I welcome the Equality and Social Justice Committee's inquiry on women in the criminal justice system. I look forward to receiving the committee's report, which I know will reflect the challenges women in the justice system still face. Women are still being sentenced to unnecessary and disruptive custodial sentences, which can have a profound impact on their children and create substantial knock-on issues in areas such as health and housing. I am pleased that the blueprints have helped to mitigate some of these issues, but only a radical change to how women are treated across the system will truly address the underlying causes of these challenges. That's why we continue to drive forward work on the residential women's centre, and on informing sentencers about the impact of imprisonment.</p>
<p>The support provided to women, children and young people through the blueprint is now more important than ever before. The cost-of-living crisis is putting pressure on families and communities across Wales, and at times like these it is crucial to ensure that women and young people are supported to access the services they need.</p>
<p>To close, Dirprwy Lywydd, I would like to mention briefly the important next steps on our vision for justice, which was set out in May in our publication 'Delivering Justice for Wales'. Our vision focuses on prevention, recognising that only in delivering social justice can we truly address the underlying reasons for pressures on the justice system. We want to talk about the shared vision we think exists for a distinctive Welsh approach to justice, and I will keep Members informed as these discussions evolve.</p>
<p>I would also like to acknowledge the recent publication of 'The Welsh Criminal Justice System: On the Jagged Edge' by authors at the Wales Governance Centre, Robert Jones and Richard Wyn Jones. This book will provide a useful contribution as we seek to progress this shared vision.</p>
<p>As justice remains at present a reserved matter, we will continue with our collaborative and productive approach to reducing crime and reoffending, to create a better Wales for all under the current system, alongside work to progress the case for the devolution of justice in Wales. Diolch yn fawr.</p>

<p>Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams. I do have to say that I really look forward to the outcome of your inquiry and the recommendations that will come forward to Welsh Government, but also because it will be a report that will be shared much more widely, not just with Welsh Government, but also with the UK Government, in terms of all of the partners within the UK Government, and the criminal justice system in terms of sentencers. This is also where my engagement with the Counsel General is so important, as we look at this jagged edge, which we absolutely recognise, and that's why 'Delivering Justice for Wales' was such an important paper to help lead us forward and, obviously, that's something that we're working with and raising with UK Government Ministers separately.&nbsp;</p>
<p>I just want to go to that point that you made—will this make a difference—because I know that you were going to HMP Eastwood Park and, indeed, HMP Styal, which I think your members of the committee went to. Went I went to both those prisons, you cannot forget what the women said to us. The shock of why they are in there in the first place—and I mentioned the statistics earlier on about the domestic violence and abuse; the trauma that they'd faced in their lives—and then the situation that they were in in terms of the provision in terms of rehabilitative provision and circumstances to move forward.</p>
<p>The important thing—and this is why the female offending blueprint—. Women's justice is what this is about. I just have to say that there are six guiding principles behind the women's justice blueprint, and the first one is the involvement of women with lived experience and a commitment to co-production. So, we must demonstrate that that is happening. My statement today is a part of that scrutiny, and I would want to be sharing this. I am visiting HMP Eastwood Park in January with the Counsel General, and so I will be able to speak directly to—some of the women that you met may have left prison now, but it is important that we have those discussions. But also that the other principles are evidence led, and the evidence that we're getting together and the access to data is critically important. This is a big issue for the Ministry of Justice. We want that data. We've actually got an agreement with them that we should set up parameters for the data that we need. It should not have to have been that Dr Robert Jones had to go through the FOI route to get that information. That data now, we've had a recognition that that needs to be provided.</p>
<p>Person centred, trauma informed and gender responsive are crucial—these are all guiding principles. But the crucial thing, really, in terms of delivery of justice, is better integration of devolved and non-devolved services. And if you look at it, yes, the provision of services for women in custody is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, but the legislative line of responsibility changes from English services to Welsh ones when they've left prison and when they're in the communities in Wales. And therefore, health, education and substance misuse are the responsibility of Welsh local health boards and local authorities.</p>
<p>There are many things that have been developed, and you will have heard of them from your visits and from your inquiry.&nbsp;The accommodation pathway co-ordinators at each probation delivery unit across Wales are really important in terms of the pathway to secure accommodation. I've mentioned the Visiting Mums service. I've mentioned domestic violence. The Safer Wales independent domestic and sexual violence adviser—that's a post in HMP Eastwood Park and Styal, and that's helping women resettle back in Wales. But also, the referrals coming through that route in terms of offender managers resettlement team and the ONE Women's Centre. Pobl, providing the prison link in Cymru south—you'll be aware of that work with Welsh women, to look at all aspects of accommodation needs. And I have mentioned the research that's been done with Llamau and Wrexham Glyndŵr University as well, to look at these wider accommodation needs. I hope we will get that response back&nbsp;in time for your inquiry outcome as well.</p>
<p>But I think that it is important that we have got the third sector very involved—Safer Wales, the Nelson Trust and, indeed, in terms of the women's pathfinder, many other organisations—Newport Women's Aid, at a local level—. The fact that, also, we are looking at the needs of ethnic minorities as well—. Specific work is being undertaken, with £2.5 million for female referrers into the pathfinder service. So, I hope that this gives you some confidence that we are moving forward with that jagged edge, with the devolved and non-devolved, with a key commitment to multi-agency working and investing. That investment comes from the Welsh Government as well as the UK Government. It also comes from our police and crime commissioners and the third sector.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Minister, it really brought home to me how that jagged edge of intersecting, unaligned, but shared devolved and reserved powers and responsibilities over which the criminal justice system operates in Wales is such a sharp one for women, which, of course, has been demonstrated so clearly by the book published recently by Professor Richard Wyn Jones and Dr Robert Jones of the Wales Governance Centre, which you acknowledged as a useful contribution. The questions that their book asks about the feasibility of doing joined-up policy in such a complex legislative landscape, with two Governments controlling different areas and levers and accountability, are, indeed, crucial to consider when evaluating and progressing strategies like the blueprint and, indeed, the devolution of justice to Wales.</p>
<p>The recent evaluation assessment to which you referred in your statement underlines the authors' point, I think, regarding the lack of disaggregated data. I was in a seminar over recess where they were telling me that they were having to use freedom of information requests in order to get some of the data they needed to do their analysis. This is specifically the case as regards the outcomes for Welsh women in the criminal justice system. So, what is being done to address this?</p>
<p>In his written evidence to our committee's inquiry, Dr Robert Jones stated that, since the female offending blueprint was published in 2019, for example, the UK Government, in pursuit of its own policy priorities, has unveiled a series of criminal justice initiatives and reforms that, according to its own projections, will undermine the pledges set out in the female offending blueprint. This includes the blueprint's commitment to reduce the number of women in the Welsh criminal justice system. So, Minister, do you agree with that analysis, and what conversations is the Welsh Government having with UK Government about the effect of its policy priorities on the aims of the shared blueprint as regards female offending specifically?</p>
<p>It was also extremely worrying yesterday, in the Equality and Social Justice Committee evidence session on this inquiry, to hear the chief executive of the Magistrates Association share with us that 50 per cent of his members, in a survey they'd carried out, were not familiar with the blueprint and its aims. We heard that magistrates, even at senior levels, who are, after all, as sentencers a key linchpin in this strategy, didn't feel they had been involved in the blueprint. Minister, could you explain this, and could you tell us how you intend to ensure that the voices of all the stakeholders are being heard and how the aims of the blueprint are being communicated to and incorporated in all aspects of the agencies involved in its implementation and evaluation?</p>
<p>And a key one for me, and I think I probably speak on behalf of some of my fellow members of that committee: following the conversations I had at HMP Eastwood Park, I was asked, 'Will what we've told you this afternoon make a difference? Will things change?' Can you please tell us how any progress is being communicated to and felt by the women who are living&nbsp;on that sharp, jagged edge? Diolch.</p>

<p>On the papers to note, we turn to item 9.1. We have, to note, the written statement from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution providing an update on the work of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales and the written statement there. So, we're happy to note that—we are.</p>
<p>And then we note the letter from the Finance Committee asking our committee to consider the financial implications arising from the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill and if any significant costs are likely to arise to draw them to its attention. Now, just to suggest to Members, we might want to consider responding to the invitation from the Finance Committee to draw its attention to our committee's evidence session with the Counsel General in July and the follow-up correspondence we had in which, indeed, costs related to the Bill were raised. We're not doing a substantive investigation into the costs that come from it, but we did flag these issues. So, if Members are content, we might want to take that course of action in responding to the Finance Committee. Okay, there we are. Good, thank you.</p>
<p>Item 9.3, we have correspondence from the Minister for Climate Change, which we will note, in response to our committee report on the legislative consent memoranda on the Online Safety Bill. I think we're happy to note that. Again, leap in, if there's something particular that you don't want to leave to the private session that you want to throw in now.</p>
<p>Item 9.4, I'd ask Members to note the letter from the Minister for Climate Change informing the Llywydd that any legislative consent memorandum required for the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will be laid outside the normal two-week deadline, and it sets out the reason for that delay. So, we note that.</p>
<p>And then, under item 9.5, I'd ask Members to note the letter from Dr Robert Jones, of the Wales Governance Centre, which asks the committee to consider undertaking an inquiry into racial disproportionality within the criminal justice system in Wales. As we note it, could I suggest to Members that we might want to defer discussion on that to the private session on a way forward in responding to Dr Robert Jones's correspondence?</p>
<p>Item 9.6, if we can note the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee's invitation for members of this committee to attend the ministerial evidence session on the legislative consent memorandum on the Procurement Bill, which was held last Wednesday, 21 September. We might want to just discuss that briefly in private, but if we're happy to note that for now. That takes us on, then, to item 9.7—and simply to note in passing there, of course, one of our members on this committee, before we move on to item 9.7, is also a member of the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee as well. I understand there was an interesting discussion, and, in private, Rhys, we'll probably ask for an update from that from your privileged perspective there of being on both committees.</p>
<p>Item 9.7, Members are invited to consider the response from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to the committee's request for clarification on the UK Government's potential repeal of the Trade Union (Wales) Act 2017. The response there—our original letter and the response—is in the pack, and we might want to return to that in private as well, unless Members have anything to note. No. All okay. There we are. Happy to note.</p>