I’m very pleased to speak in this debate to support the Government’s programme. I think the opposition parties have protested a bit too much this afternoon and protested a bit too much about the size of the document, which I don’t really see is the key issue—rather it is the long-term plans and I’m very pleased to speak in support of those plans today.

Obviously, we are in difficult circumstances. We have uncertainty about the EU situation and, of course, we have experienced the relentless budget cuts from Westminster. So, in this sort of time, I think it’s even more important that we have imaginative and ambitious programmes that have spin-offs that permeate different parts of society and help the people of Wales who come to us, to our surgeries, looking for help and opportunities, and to those people who come to my surgeries this offers a lot.

So, I’m going to address most of my remarks to the proposal to extend childcare for three and four-year-olds—extending the number of hours from 10 hours a week to 30 hours of free childcare a week for 48 weeks of the year. Shall I just say that those 10 hours that already exist are in the foundation phase, and can I also say that the foundation phase was a groundbreaking initiative that this Assembly—this Labour-led Government—delivered? So, I’d like to make the point that there have been great achievements from this Government and that that needs to be recognised.

So, we’ve already got the 10 hours in the foundation phase and that’s going to be increased to 30 hours for 48 weeks of the year. That is one of the absolutely key issues. It’s 48 weeks of the year, so it’s not just term-time cover, and I think it’s absolutely vital to parents as it takes into account that most people who work only have four weeks holiday per year. It is an ambitious pledge, but it will transform the lives of families. It will affect rates of employment, it will boost the economy, it will unleash the talents of many parents—many of them women—as well as providing first-class educational and care opportunities for the children. So, I think that this is an ambitious, challenging programme. I know that my constituents are absolutely thrilled that this opportunity is going to be offered, so I think the opposition parties should really consider that.

Also, in England the childcare offer is—[Interruption.] In a minute. In England, the childcare offer is for 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year, and in Scotland it’s 16 hours a week only for term time. So, I know we don’t want to go into too much comparison, but definitely this childcare offer is the best offer in the UK.