Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate today and to reaffirm the Welsh Government’s strength of commitment to delivering the improvements that people with autism, their parents and their carers tell us they want to see. Since we last debated autism in this Chamber, good progress has been made. The implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 has now reached its first anniversary and it is beginning to transform the way that people receive care and support. We published a new strategic action plan for autism, completely in response to what people with autism and their families told us that they wanted to see, and we’re already delivering the priorities in this plan, including investing £13 million in our new national integrated autism service, which is a real game changer in the way that we meet the needs of people with autism.

As I set out in my written statement on autism at the end of November, the Welsh Government has the powers and the policy levers we need to deliver the improvements in services and support that people with autism, and their parents and carers, tell us they want to see. I have said that we’ll keep an open mind to the need for more legislation once we can assess the evidence on the outcomes of the new autistic spectrum disorder strategic action plan and the national integrated autism service. Nonetheless, I am pleased to announce today that I will, in this Assembly term, introduce statutory guidance on autism under the social services and well-being Act to underpin delivery of the strategic action plan. This will ensure that statutory bodies understand their responsibilities towards people with autism and take action to meet those needs. As the First Minister has previously stated in this Chamber, I’m exploring how we can introduce legislation to put the autism spectrum strategic action plan on a statutory footing, and I know that this goes to the heart of what Paul Davies has been speaking about in his speech today, and that Members here and people affected by autism will welcome this.

I’ve already made a clear commitment in the strategic action plan to monitor the progress that we’re making. Since our last debate, I’ve established an ASD implementation advisory group, which met for the first time in March. Membership includes people with autism, their parents and carers, their representative organisations and statutory delivery organisations. This group will advise me on what’s working well and where improvements must be made. Since our last debate, I have committed to publishing an annual report that will focus on the improvements being directly experienced by people with autism and their families and carers. We want to know how their day-to-day lives are getting better and that they are receiving the support that they need.

Parents are rightly concerned about waiting times for assessment and diagnosis. I am pleased to report that, through our Together for Children and Young People programme, we are making £2 million available each year to improve neurodevelopmental assessment services. We have introduced a new 26-week waiting time target from referral to first appointment, and we have already put in place a new, nationally agreed children’s assessment pathway right across Wales, so that families know what to expect when their child is referred for assessment and that there’s consistency wherever they live.

The Cabinet Secretary for health and I have been very clear with health boards about the priority that the Welsh Government puts on meeting the needs of people with autism. We know that many people with autism may not be eligible for social care services, but they still have significant support needs, which, if not addressed early, can escalate. Through the new, all-age national integrated autism service, we will be supporting people living with autism and their families when they need it most. Support and advice will be available from a range of specialist professions, including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and psychology. There will also be community workers in every local authority to support and assist with day-to-day issues. The service will provide advice and support in relation to things such as managing anxiety, social skills, daily living skills and accessing other services such as healthcare, employment support and housing. So, this service is now becoming a reality. It’s already up and running in Powys, and, over the next few months, it will be rolled out in Cardiff and the Vale, Gwent and Cwm Taf. All of the remaining regions will start developing the service this year, and I look forward to Wales being the first nation to deliver a fully national integrated autism service by 2018, a year ahead of our own original schedule.

In recognition of the importance that I attach to this service, I’ve increased the funding available from £6 million to £13 million, meaning that all regions will receive funding for the rest of this Assembly term, creating a long-term and sustainable service across Wales. This is all very exciting, but I do understand the frustration felt by many families struggling to access the help that they need now. Our plans in Wales are ambitious, and, whilst many are still in the early stages of delivery, there is support available. What’s become clear to me when I’ve met with parents and carers and people with autism, is that families are not always aware of the new services being developed and the resources that they can already access. Our ASD Info Wales website is an essential source of information, and we do need all organisations supporting people with autism in Wales to play their part and work with us in raising awareness of what is on offer.

Many Members will raise the issue of education in this debate. For children and young people with autism to have a positive educational experience, educational settings should provide a learning environment where they feel safe, where they’re understood by their peers, by teaching staff and by non-teaching staff, and are able to learn. Our Learning with Autism programme has proved tremendously popular in school settings, and I can announce today that it is now being adapted for further education and work-based learning settings too. Members will know that the additional learning needs transformation programme is already under way, and is delivering improvements in practice now, which will benefit learners in the current system and in the future system, as proposed by the ALN Bill.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all people with autism and their families who are helping us deliver our new ‘Can you see me?’ campaign, to raise awareness of autism in the community. Fronted by Gethin Jones, it is being widely supported across local communities, including by businesses and local facilities such as leisure centres, showing what we can do when we work together and when we put the power in the hands of people with autism and their families.

I believe that we are taking the right action to improve the current system of support for people with autism, but I also recognise that it is early days in seeing the benefits of our new, significant investment. As a result, the Welsh Government will be abstaining on Paul Davies’s proposal today, which means that the draft legislation can move ahead and will be worked on over the next year. At the same time, Welsh Government will continue to move ahead with delivering our social services and well-being Act, our ASD strategic action plan and our national integrated autism service. Paul and I have had a number of very constructive meetings on this issue, and I look forward to meeting him again to work together to further refine those milestones that we will seek to deliver over the coming months to ensure that they’re focused on the outcomes and demonstrable improvements to the lives of people with autism and their families, which we can all agree is what we all want to see. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.