Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. As Members are aware, on Friday last week, I laid the Autism (Wales) Bill with the Table Office. Can I put on record my sincere thanks to Tom Jackson and his team for their tremendous support and guidance during the development of this Bill? Can I also thank NAS Cymru and the countless stakeholders who have helped make this Bill a reality? 

This is primary legislation to help improve the lives of people living with autism across Wales, and those people are all around us: colleagues, friends, family. We need to meet their needs, we need to protect their rights, we need to realise their potential. In two consultation exercises and numerous meetings, the autism community has overwhelmingly made it clear that they favour primary legislation, expressing goodwill and support for a Bill. In doing so, they shared their stories and experiences with me. I’d like to tell you one such story, although I’m going to change the names of the people involved.