8. Debate: Stage 4 of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:30 pm on 12 December 2017.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 6:30, 12 December 2017

Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. 

All I can say, Llyr, in response to the comments that you've made, is that sometimes the issue isn't about quantity, it's about quality, and I'm very grateful to the Plaid Cymru group and to the Conservative group for the quality of their work on this legislation as it goes forward. I think that should be acknowledged. As I said in my opening statement, I think that this is a better piece of legislation because of the contribution that has been put forward by both parties, and that is how it should be.

Llyr is absolutely right: there was cross-party support in the Assembly elections and a recognition that the status quo was not an option and that change was needed. I hope that, as we move forward with this process, we will deliver the change that so many children, their parents, their carers and, indeed, the professionals that work with those families need.

Darren, I'm very grateful for your support, and can I just take this opportunity to pay tribute also to Angela Burns, who took a huge interest in this issue in the previous Assembly and who, because of portfolio changes, hasn't been able to follow this piece of legislation through. But I know that she has been keeping a close watch on what you've been saying at the committee and what you've been doing as you've shadowed this piece of legislation through, because I know of her personal commitment to this agenda.

Darren is absolutely right: we are not sitting back and waiting for Royal Assent; change is already happening in schools. The Welsh Government is already funding regional multi-agency innovation projects to develop and test aspects of this new approach. So, there is change happening now.

Llyr, you will have heard in the Stage 3 debate the Government's commitments around the issue of transport and the issue of work-based learning. Perhaps there are opportunities, as we've said before, between contracts with work-based learning providers to address some of these issues, and, of course, we are embarked on a wider set of post-compulsory education and training reforms, so there are opportunities to look at these issues there.

It is right, Presiding Officer, that, sometimes, legislation isn't easy. Of course, there is that old hackneyed saying about legislation and sausages—you really don't want to be too familiar with the process of what happens; what's really important is the project that you get at the end. And I would like to commend this particular product to the Assembly. I hope that, with support from Members across the Chamber today, we can create another historic day, this time for Welsh education. It's my pleasure to present this Bill, but let us be under no illusions: this Bill is just the start of the process, because it will be the code and the subordinate legislation and changes in attitude and practice on the ground that will really make the difference, but we cannot move forward without this legislation. Therefore, I commend it to colleagues across the Chamber.