Before turning to the regulatory impact assessment and the financial implications, I want to reflect very briefly on why we’re doing this and why we’re taking this legislation forward. The Bill is a cornerstone of our additional learning needs transformation programme. It is a vital and long-overdue piece of reform with the potential to support tens of thousands of children and young people with additional learning needs to fully realise their potential.

Last week, the Cabinet Secretary for Education launched ‘Education in Wales: Our national mission’, the Government’s plans for continuing to raise standards, reducing the attainment gap and delivering an education system that is a source of national pride and public confidence. Our additional learning needs transformation programme is a key aspect of this mission, and I believe that there is broad support for the transformation programme, both within this place and outside amongst practitioners and amongst children and young people themselves.

The general principles of the Bill were agreed on 6 June. I decided not to move the financial resolution at that time to ensure that we were able to undertake a process to revise and review the RIA, and I wanted Members to have the opportunity to see and to question and scrutinise that revised version before being asked to vote on the motion.

Deputy Presiding Officer, since June, we’ve undertaken further thorough quality assurance processes and I’m confident that the RIA is accurate and sound. I said this when I attended the Finance Committee on 21 September and I repeat that assurance today. Allow me to outline the three parts of the process that we’ve undertaken since that time. We’ve undertaken extensive engagement with SNAP Cymru to fully understand the nature of their concerns with the original financial information and to ensure that they are comfortable with the revised RIA. We have received assurances that they’re now content with both the figures and the text. Representatives from SNAP Cymru have confirmed this to the Finance Committee. I’m grateful to them for the work they’ve undertaken with my officials to reach this point.

Secondly, a comprehensive internal review of the figures and calculations has been carried out, resulting in a clean bill of health. No inaccuracies in the calculations were found. A £20 discrepancy was identified and some changes have been made to the text to improve clarity and accessibility. These two elements by themselves are reassuring. But, Deputy Presiding Officer, I wanted to have the fullest confidence around the accuracy and robustness of the RIA, and, before bringing the motion to the Chamber, I wanted to ensure that we could, and I could, provide Members with the fullest assurance of accuracy, and therefore I commissioned an external review. This external review found the RIA to be comprehensive and detailed with reliable and cautious estimates that are based on the evidence available. We have taken on board all of the recommendations that are specific to this Bill’s RIA.

The review also looked more broadly at the way we produce RIAs, comparing this against another way and other ways of preparing a regulatory impact assessment. Deputy Presiding Officer, the way we prepare RIAs complies with the National Assembly’s Standing Orders and the guidance set out by Her Majesty’s Treasury. The external review has provided a set of wider recommendations for the National Assembly and Welsh Government to consider for the future. These have been shared with the Finance Committee and within Welsh Government for further consideration. Taken together, the three elements of the review process point towards a document that is accurate and robust, and a fair basis upon which to make decisions.

Turning to the financial implications outlined in this document, I want to say, upfront and in an entirely forthright way, the transformation programme is not and never has been about saving money. It is about shifting resource from the back office to the front line, ensuring children and young people with additional learning needs are supported to meet their potential and to enjoy their educational journey. We are operating in an extremely challenging economic climate as a consequence of the UK Government’s austerity agenda. We’ve already discussed the impact on services of this earlier this afternoon. I am acutely aware that public services are now having to make difficult financial decisions more and more frequently, but that should not prevent us from doing what is right and what this sector is waiting for.

The fact remains that the RIA is still projecting an overall saving once the new system is up and running. This is reassuring, and it is what we are experiencing on the ground. We want to see the money already in the system used more effectively, with less directed towards bureaucracy and more on front-line support for learners. We know there are gains to be made through efficiencies. Gwynedd, Ynys Môn, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Gwent are all operating aspects of the new system, and we’re all seeing the person-centred practice, individual development plans and dispute avoidance and earlier resolution realising back-office efficiencies, which are then reinvested in front-line services. And this is a key thing for me and for, I think, all of us together on all sides of the Chamber. The new system will ensure resources are used where they can have greatest impact.

There will, of course, be an upfront cost in terms of transition from the current to the new systems. We have been clear all along that an investment in this transition will be required. The £20 million funding package I’ve already announced will cover this in its entirety. We will not be asking delivery partners to fund implementation; the Government will cover all these costs. Our £20 million transformation funding package will go beyond the cost of moving from one statutory system to another. It will invest in cultural and practice changes, and upskilling the workforce. To deliver true reform, we must improve the expertise and confidence of our professionals. This is a priority for all of us. We will need to continue to work closely with delivery partners on the operation of the reforms, but also on the financial implications. I am fully committed to doing this and to putting in place the appropriate structures to facilitate it. I am confident that we are in a good place on all of this. I hope that I have been able to provide the necessary assurance to members of the Finance Committee already, and I’m grateful to the committee for its report. I hope that all Members will have confidence in the process and the current position, following this debate.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I’m keen now that we’re able to move forward with the debate. As I said earlier, subject to Members approving the financial resolution today, we move straight into Stage 2 proceedings tomorrow. I am looking forward to continuing the debate on this Bill and to develop the Bill to ensure that our parliamentary processes here produce the best possible Bill, the best possible legislation that will underpin the best possible transformation programme for our young people. Thank you.