Thank you for the briefer series of comments and questions from the spokesperson from Plaid Cymru. I recognise the broad challenge here about legislation or not legislation, and it's an honest one as well. I'm not saying that people are engaging in this debate in bad faith—far from it. I recognise there is genuine concern across all parties about whether we provide the right services with the right level of engagement to deliver better outcomes for autistic people, their families and carers, and I understand this perfectly well within my own family as well. So, I really am sensitive to how we properly meet the needs of people who are not getting a good enough deal at present. That's why we've put time, energy and effort into improving services with and for autistic people. That's why we've put additional money into doing this. It's the whole point and purpose of rolling out the integrated autism service. But I don't think that legislation in itself will guarantee that some of those social barriers are overcome. It's about how do we deploy the different tools available to us to do that.

I recognise the challenges that you set out, but I actually believe that, within the integrated autism service already being rolled out and our proposals to cover those, including the code, there is real action that should make a real difference to help people deliver against the objectives they have for themselves, and I think that has to be part of a genuine conversation about how their needs are met, to lead to an end point, so that they can see their needs being met more effectively, too. But I do recognise your point; if people fail to see improvements and don't believe they're being listened to, then I understand why the prospect of legislation is attractive—I really do. The challenge is: is it really the case that people feel let down, therefore legislation is the answer, or is it the legislation that's proposed?

Equally, I think that what we are doing on really looking to drive improvement on engaging people directly in the service—both people who deliver those services and autistic people themselves—that is genuinely what we are doing with the money available. I believe, if you look at the testimonials from people engaged in those services, where the integrated autism service has already been rolled out, you will see people being positive about it. The challenge comes in the testimonials that I know you hear directly, where people still have concerns about the level and the quality of the service as it is being rolled out on a newer basis in other parts of the country.

I still think that legislation is not the answer, and I hope that everyone engaged in examining the current Bill will look openly at not just whether there is an issue that people care about, but whether legislation is the right answer to help address that issue to make a real and practical difference, and weigh that up against what we are already doing in what I'm setting out today. I hope that—as people, I do believe, generally share the same objective about improving outcomes with and for autistic people—we will ultimately be able to reach a point of view that all of us can support.