Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to start my contribution this afternoon by paying tribute to the work of Carl Sargeant, who didn't just lead but drove much of the work on this area. Members on all sides of the Chamber have paid tribute to Carl and his work during this debate this afternoon and it is testament to the work that he did as a portfolio holder responsible for the work on the armed forces in Wales that we are where we are today. I think all of us owe a great debt of gratitude to Carl Sargeant for the work he did in this field.

At the same time, I'm also grateful to Darren Millar for the work he does as chair of the all-party group on the armed forces. I think, in fact, I was a founding member of that group some time ago. It demonstrates the value and importance of cross-party groups that we have a report in front of us this afternoon of the quality that we have seen. I will say that Darren has written to me as chair of the all-party group, inviting me to a future meeting. That's an invitation I'm very grateful of and will be glad to accept. I would be delighted to attend a meeting of the group to consider the report and the recommendations that they've made. I think all the recommendations are well founded in terms of the arguments made for them and reinforce the very real debt that we owe to our armed forces. 

We've heard this afternoon that November is a time of remembrance. It is a time to reflect on the contribution of the armed forces to our country and the debt that we owe all those who have served. I think we have a very real responsibility, as we remember the terrible events of a century ago, to also remember those who are living in our communities today who have served in more recent conflict. We have an absolute responsibility to all those who have served in the armed forces and I hope that the Government's work does set out to not just deliver on the words of that covenant but on the spirit of it as well.

Members will be aware that I made a written statement on this matter some weeks ago, and in that written statement I sought to set out the Welsh Government's support for the armed forces community. We are making good progress throughout Wales, as Members have acknowledged, and I'm confident that we can build on this success by continuing this approach, sharing resources and best practice. The motion is a motion that this Government will seek to amend and support. We will also support both of the Plaid Cymru amendments. 

I want to look positively at all the recommendations of the report of the cross-party group and look at how we can continue to build upon the foundations that we've made. I see the motion and the report as building upon the good work already completed by the Welsh Government and complementary to that work. I see this report as contributing to a positive vision of the future and enabling us as Welsh Government, with the armed forces community, to work to continue to deliver support and services for our armed forces community.

We know already that many positive steps have been taken to improve the support available to veterans and their families. This progress has been acknowledged and I hope that our amendment to this motion recognises that. It also seeks to recognise the important role played by the armed forces expert group. With its strong multi-agency membership, it will continue to help us to identify issues affecting the armed forces community and work to address all of those issues. I'm pleased that the group, for example, is considering the links between early service leavers and adverse childhood experiences. We recognise that more needs to be done to understand why members of the military choose to leave the services early, and I give an undertaking, Deputy Presiding Officer, that I will share the findings with Members as soon as we're able to do so.

The expert group has previously considered the idea of having an armed forces commissioner. Whilst I'm not yet convinced that a commissioner would add value to the structures we already have in place, I am open to that conversation. That is not a door I wish to close this afternoon; it is a conversation I wish to have and a conversation that I welcome. I also welcome the Office for National Statistics recent announcement that the 2021 census will include questions to identify the size and needs of the armed forces community in Wales. Members will be aware that part of the expert group has previously explored the idea of a veterans ID card, and concluded that it would be of limited value. It was agreed to publicise and promote the defence privilege card as a preferred option. This was a highly successful campaign, with an increase in the membership of 89 per cent compared with 39 per cent in the rest of the United Kingdom, enabling members to access discounts across a broad range of outlets.

There is a wealth of support available to our armed forces community in Wales. As set out in our amendment, we are working with key partners to raise awareness of the services in place for both serving and ex-service personnel and their families. I hope that our evolving policies will continue to reflect their changing needs, and I give an undertaking to the Chamber—. The Conservative leader asked us if we would continue to report back to the Chamber; I give that undertaking this afternoon that we will continue to report back to the Chamber on a regular basis on the progress that is being made.