May I also congratulate the Minister on his appointment and endorse the comments that he made about the contribution of his predecessor? I know that Carl Sargeant dealt with issues in relation to children's rights from the heart, and if the current Minister undertakes his role with the same committment and passion then I'm sure that the position of children in Wales will be strengthened and will continue to improve. 

May I also endorse the thanks to the commissioner for her work? I welcome the report. As with every year, perhaps, it’s an opportunity to remind ourselves of the priorities of children and young people, and an opportunity to enhance the Government’s thinking around children’s issues, and to focus on the priorities that need to be taken into account in accordance, of course, with the aspirations of the children and young people themselves through what’s included in the commissioner’s report.

The most disappointing factor for me in this report is that there are so many issues that were raised last year that still haven’t been sufficiently tackled, in the view of the commissioner. If you’ve read the report, you will know that the commissioner notes a traffic light system—red, amber and green. There are a number of items that are red, which shows that there has been no progress made. Now, one of those is home schooling. The recommendation in last year's report was that the Welsh Government should strengthen the requirements for parents to register as home schoolers and that all children taught at home should see a professional worker at least once a year, so that they can express a view about their educational experiences.

Now, the Government, of course, has been considering this area in various ways, over a number of years. Guidance has been reintroduced a short while ago, but introducing a register and statutory requirements that are more robust to ensure that children are seen and that someone does speak to them is still a priority for the commissioner, and, as the report notes, remains for the Government to take sufficient action on. Ideally, I’d like to hear today where the Government is moving on this. When will we see action, and what is your intention in this specific area? But, given what you said earlier about the First Minister’s intention to respond by the end of the month, I would very much hope that specific reference will be made to this area and that there will be a clear statement of intent in terms of what the Government intends to do on this particular issue.

Another issue that is noted as being red is child poverty. Now, we know that children are facing the impact of austerity on their parents’ income, as well as cuts at the other end in terms of the services available to mitigate the impacts of poverty, as those services are being cut at the moment. Now, we’ve previously raised the need to have a strategy to tackle child poverty. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK Government cuts to benefits are likely to lead to an increase of 4 per cent in child poverty across the UK, with Wales being impacted disproportionately in terms of problems, particularly in terms of universal credit, and that is one reason for that disproportionate impact. Now, some of the changes to tax credits and changes to benefits have already been implemented and have had a disproportionate impact on children, particularly children in single-parent families, or families where there are more than two children, so it’s more important than ever, I think, that a plan is in place in order to tackle this problem.

Also, one valid and interesting point that’s raised by the commissioner is that provision of 30 hours of high-quality childcare should be provided for all children at three or four years of age, rather than simply for families where the parents are in work. Now, that, of course, was the exact Plaid Cymru policy in the last election, with the rationale as outlined by the commissioner. The danger is that those whose parents don’t work, who are, perhaps, at greater risk of falling behind in terms of education—the risk is that they will fall even further behind if others are given that additional support. Now, I understand that there’s been a strong focus on parents in work and ensuring that parents can work more hours in light of that provision, but the main focus should, of course, be on the children themselves. That is, if there’s a positive outcome for the parents as a result of that, then great, but it’s the children who should be at the heart of this policy, and I would strongly argue in favour of what the commissioner has called for. I would like to hear, as a result of that, confirmation, perhaps, that the Government’s intention in the longer term is to ensure that that provision is available for all children.