Meeting of the Parliament 02 December 2025
I thank Annie Wells for that important question and for giving me the opportunity to reiterate my concern and agreement that we are talking about women and girls, not statistics.
I stress that the Government is resolute in its commitment to implementing the 2020 act. Successful implementation requires co-ordinated action from multiple stakeholders, including local authorities, health boards, justice agencies and specialist services. Those organisations need time to develop processes, train their staff and ensure that the resources are in place to meet their statutory duties. We are working closely with those partners to provide guidance and support, so that implementation is effective and sustainable.
Although I want the act to be implemented as soon as possible, we have to implement it in a way that is sustainable and that ensures that it can deliver protections for women and girls without placing unmanageable pressure on those who are responsible for delivering those protections.