Serving as both deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for social justice and equality, Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd MS Sioned Williams was questioned by opposition politicians on Wednesday, June 10, about the Welsh Government’s response to the Cass Review and the implementation of the Supreme Court’s ruling on single-sex spaces.
The session opened with questions from Reform UK MS Catherine Cullen, who asked how the Welsh Government would work with education ministers to prioritise “objective, evidence-based safeguarding standards” in Welsh schools.
She said: “We sit here today with one non-negotiable duty: the absolute safety of Welsh children in schools.
“When the Cass review explicitly warned that social transition – that is, changing a child’s name, pronouns or uniform at school – is not a neutral act and carries severe psychological risks, Plaid Cymru voted against these recommendations.”
She said: “[Plaid’s] manifesto demands a demedicalised self-declaration system that actively pushes gender identity theories through the school system.
Ms Williams said the Welsh Government remained committed to improving literacy and numeracy standards and stressed the importance of creating a supportive environment in which all children can fulfil their potential.
She told members that education officials had developed draft guidance for schools on supporting transgender, non-binary and gender-questioning learners and said the Cabinet Secretary for Education and the Welsh Language recognised the need to proceed with “leadership and sensitivity”.
Questions then turned to the implementation of single-sex spaces following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of sex under the Equality Act.
Reform UK MS Art Wright asked about the Welsh Government’s plans to implement single-sex spaces across Wales, while Conservative MS Natasha Asghar accused the previous Labour administration of “dragging its heels” in responding to the judgment.
