2. What plans does the Commission have to improve facilities for breastfeeding in the Senedd? OQ64016

Thank you, Julie, for that question, and for your continued pressure on us to do something about this, and from Jenny Rathbone, too. I welcome it, because the Commission is committed to ensuring the Senedd is welcoming and inclusive, and that of course includes breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is welcome anywhere on this estate and it's promoted on our website, but we have to recognise that the signage isn't clear, and that was brought up at our Commission meeting this week. So, there is a commitment that that signage will be changed.

There was also recognition that there is a breastfeeding room available—if you can find it, that is—and it is dedicated. The trouble is it's actually shared, and the only facility as far as I can see in it is a breastfeeding chair, which is wholly inadequate. What I would like to see as the Commissioner who's been responsible for this now for 10 years is a real commitment from the Commission to upgrade those facilities, to make them clearer, to put in, as my colleague who's talking over there, Janet Finch-Saunders, suggested, some washing facilities and toilet facilities as well for parents with their children that they're trying to breastfeed.

So whilst I can't change things now, I do strongly recommend that this issue is taken seriously. It's a recommendation in the family-friendly Parliament report that I chaired. We can't call ourselves truly inclusive if what we provide to mothers who are breastfeeding is wholly inadequate, and in my view it is wholly inadequate.

I thank Joyce Watson very much for that response. I think she's made some very important points. I recently walked around the Senedd building looking out for anything that would make us think, ‘Oh, this is a breastfeeding-friendly building’. I know Joyce has already mentioned that there is a room, a quiet room with a chair in, but there is no way of anyone knowing that that chair is there, as far as I can see. There is no signage to say that if you need somewhere quiet for breastfeeding—although you are welcome to do it anywhere on the Senedd estate—there is a private place that you can go. I wondered if she had thought of signage to enable women to find the particular place. There is a sign in the Senedd cafe to say that breastfeeding is welcome, but personally I think that sign, although it is a universal sign, could be clearer. I also wonder if there is such a sign in the Members’ canteen, for example. I'm not sure there is a sign there either. I think it's absolutely right that there should be a real effort made now to ensure that everybody knows that this is a breastfeeding establishment, and that we really welcome breastfeeding, because—

Thank you, Julie.

—it's so important for our children.

I couldn't agree more, especially since there is now going to be a dedicated crèche facility onsite. It would be a good thing if we married both things up together.

I'm very glad to hear that there is now a sign in the cafe that says that breastfeeding is welcome here. Clearly, it needs to be a bit larger, because I haven't yet spotted it. I think there are two things here. It's nearly 40 years since I had my first child. I was the shop steward in the television company where I worked and I was told that I wasn't to come back to negotiate with my daughter whilst I was discreetly breastfeeding under a shawl, which is completely ridiculous. This is a normal activity that all women who are having babies need to be doing. So, I do think there's a change of culture as well as a venue that should be available to those who wish to breastfeed privately. But it should be perfectly possible for people to be able to breastfeed either in the cafe or near the Lego, which is, if you've got an older child, obviously where you need to be. There are places where people should feel that it's a perfectly normal activity. And breasts are for feeding, not for selling newspapers.

Thank you for that, but that is the case on this estate. It is perfectly acceptable for people to breastfeed anywhere in the building. What is letting it down, in my view, is the signage, which isn't prominent, and also the facilities that are provided at the moment need improving—there is no getting away from that. And as I said, whilst I can't change those things now in this role, because I'm stepping down and away from it, I am supported by other colleagues who will be staying. And also, in terms of the 'Report of the Family-Friendly and Inclusive Parliament Review'—that highlights this as well.

And question 3, Hannah Blythyn.