Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Could I begin by thanking Darren Miller and the Welsh Conservatives for bringing forward the debate this afternoon and the very thoughtful contributions that we’ve had from across the Chamber? I’m afraid, Deputy Presiding Officer, I have to admit that I am indeed old enough to remember what a ZX Spectrum was, although I have to admit I was more of a Commodore 64 person myself. Could I assure the Chamber that the Welsh Government is fully committed to keeping our children and young people safe online? There is nothing—nothing—more important than the safety of our young people and knowing how to stay safe online is fundamental in our world today. I say that as the Cabinet Secretary and I say that as a mother of three girls—two teenagers for whom the loss of the Wi-Fi connection at home is nothing short of a national tragedy.

Now, online safety has been, and will continue to be, a key priority for us. Although there are many benefits in embracing digital technology, there is also a range of potential risks that have been highlighted by Members here this afternoon. Paul Davies is right to remind us of the young people who have chosen to end their lives as a result of cyber bullying. If we’re honest, we all know that trolling from our opponents is one of the least satisfying aspects of this job, and, if it gets us down, imagine what that relentless cyber bullying must do to the young mind that Suzy Davies talked about.

When I was a child, at least when you went home you could escape from it, but it is now relentless and 24 hours a day. And then there is, of course, the access to sexually explicit material and the impact that that has on how both boys and girls view their body image and how they view what a healthy sexual relationship actually looks like. And, of course, there aren’t just consequences for those at the receiving end. Sometimes, those who perpetrate some of these issues have little concept of what it might mean for them. I’m aware of a young man who was caught up in a sexting incident. When asked by the police why he had done it, he said, ‘Well, everybody does it’. He didn’t realise that the caution that is now on his record will probably prevent him from ever travelling to Australia or the United States—because of something that he did without understanding the consequences, something that he did when he was just a 14-year-old boy.

So, it is our responsibility, as a society, to equip our young people with the skills to be able to think critically and navigate the digital world in a safe and responsible way. There is a significant amount of work that is going on in Wales to help young people stay safe online and I’m glad that that has been acknowledged here in the Chamber this afternoon. At the beginning of the school year, the digital competence framework, the DCF, was made available. This is the first element of the new curriculum to be introduced across Wales. The citizenship strand of the DCF focuses on developing and applying critical thinking skills and strategies. It will support our young people to become responsible and independent consumers, which is absolutely crucial now and inevitably more so into the future. It includes specific elements focused on online behaviour, cyber bullying, and health and well-being.

To promote safe and responsible use of digital technology, the Welsh Government, as we have heard on a number of occasions this afternoon, has been working with the South West Grid for Learning charitable trust since 2014. The online safety project has seen many successes to date. This includes the development of 360 Degree Safe Cymru, a bilingual online safety self-assessment tool, which, as we’ve heard, allows schools to benchmark their current online safety policies and provision against national standards. The tool also provides guidance and support, with practical suggestions to improve and enhance online safety. Over 85 per cent of schools in Wales have already registered and I am actively working with the regional consortia to ensure that all schools are aware of the benefits the tool can offer and our expectation that they should be engaging with it.

The Welsh Government has also developed and published the online safety resource for Wales. This is a collection of practical resources and lesson plans to support schools in the delivery of online safety in our classrooms. These resources are designed to empower learners to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly when they are online. At the beginning of this academic year, we published three safeguarding training modules on Hwb. These modules have already been accessed over 7,000 times and we will shortly publish two further modules specifically focusing on online safety.

Online safety training sessions have been delivered across all local authorities in Wales to upskill teachers and governors in preparing them to deal with issues that young people may encounter online. This year, the Welsh Government are building upon this by offering a range of additional training opportunities and these will focus on specific issues such as the safe use of social media and cyber bullying. I’m also aware that a number of schools have operated their own training sessions after school for parents, inviting parents into the school so that they can find out more on how better they can support their children.

On Safer Internet Day earlier this year, I launched the new online safety zone on the Hwb. This has been developed to support education stakeholders, including young people, in this critical area. The dedicated area hosts news, events, and a range of resources on online safety issues, and these resources include materials that have been developed with a range of third sector partners. The zone also signposts those dealing with the effects of cyber bullying towards appropriate support services, and I’m pleased to see that, since its launch, the zone has had over 40,000 page views. Of course, we need to do more, and I and the Cabinet Secretary for health are working collaboratively to see what more we can do to help schools and teachers build resilience around well-being and mental health issues, and we hope to make an announcement later on in this year.

I’m sure you will agree that the Welsh Government is already delivering an extensive programme of online safety activities. Additionally, I am pleased to announce today that I am indeed commissioning a national online safety action plan. This will provide a strategic overview of how we will continue to enhance online safety support in Wales, and further information will be provided as this work is developed.

Can I once again thank everybody for their contribution to this afternoon’s debate? The Government will support the amendments and the motion as amended. Thank you.