Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. I think every Member here is committed to seeing that children and young people in Wales receive an education that is inspiring, motivating and provides them with the skills they need to fulfil their potential, as you said in your statement. We have very different ideas about how that can be achieved, but I think everybody is approaching this from the same perspective—we want the best for all children and young people in Wales.

I should first give credit where credit's due to the Cabinet Secretary for admitting that Welsh Government is unable to provide reliable data on how many children are educated at home. To be fair, ascertaining those numbers of children who are being home-schooled is far from being a simple matter. You can't simply compare birth and death records, for instance, with school records, because families move around, obviously. I welcome the measures the Cabinet Secretary has announced today to try and address this lack of information.

With regard to the proposal that independent schools be required to give certain information to local authorities, I wouldn't normally welcome something that might be seen as an intrusion by the state, however, on this occasion, I think the Cabinet Secretary doesn't really have anything else that she can do, because I don't see how accurate data can be gathered by local authorities if they don't know which children are in independent education.

I support the objective to ensure that children and young people who are being home-schooled receive a good, rounded education. You've said that you want to ensure that children receive a suitable education. It's vital that the assessment of whether a child is receiving a suitable education is made fairly and that 'suitability' is not a euphemism for 'state approved'. The essence of home-schooling for many parents is that the parent has the ability to decide curriculum and pace for their child. Recognition therefore needs to be given to parents' right to decide the contents of their child's education. It's key that parents who home-school their children have a full voice in the development of the assessment criteria and a means of challenging a local authority's assessment of the education being provided to their child.

I welcome the Cabinet Secretary's intention to put statutory guidance out to consultation and I would encourage parents to contribute. Is the Cabinet Secretary able to confirm today when the consultation documents will be issued and how long the consultation period will be? I also welcome the intentions expressed by the Cabinet Secretary to consider how services are provided to home-schooled children and to provide assistance to parents, such as support with additional learning needs. I take the Cabinet Secretary at her word that her intention is to support parents who wish to home-school, rather than to sit in judgment of their decisions, which, I'm certain, is not her intention.

I believe that parents who home-school their children, whilst welcoming additional support and assistance, would be concerned that this represents the thin end of the wedge to state interference in the choices they have made for their child. So, would the Cabinet Secretary be prepared today to give parents her personal assurance that the measures you introduce will not have the effect of placing pressure on parents to stop home-schooling their children, or lead to local authorities effectively deciding the content of education provided at home? Thank you.