Thank you, acting Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd very much like to thank Helen Mary Jones for bringing forward this proposal and also all the Members who've contributed to the debate. It's very clear that there's wide support for the strengthening of the rights of disabled people in Wales.

The Welsh Government continues to have a high regard for the international human rights treaties and UN conventions to which the UK state party is signatory. We seek to reflect both the spirit and the substance of each convention across our policies and programmes as appropriate. The actions of the Welsh Government must be compatible with international obligations, as set out in section 82 of the Government of Wales Act 2006, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

A commitment to human rights is built into the DNA of the Welsh Government. This commitment provides a solid platform in Wales to create strong and inclusive policies and legislation. For example, everyone today has quoted the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. Under that Act, as Helen Mary said, when exercising functions in relation to disabled people who need care and support, and disabled carers who need support, local authorities must also have due regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We were very pleased that the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities welcomed the introduction of the Act in its concluding observations, following the examination of the UK's compliance with the convention in 2017. There is also, of course, the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, a very important landmark piece of legislation to promote and protect people's rights.

We are taking steps to promote the convention rights in Wales. Our new action on disability, the right to independent living framework and its accompanying action plan, which will be published for consultation later this month, will set out how the Welsh Government is taking forward the principles of the convention, taking account of the UN committee's 2017 recommendations where appropriate. I believe we do already have the mechanisms in place to remain a champion of the rights of disabled people. As I previously mentioned, Welsh Ministers must already act in a manner that complies with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by virtue of section 82 of the Government of Wales Act.

There is also the public sector equality duty, which requires Welsh Ministers to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity between people who share protected characteristics and those who do not. This, of course, extends to disabled people, and I'm very pleased that we have embraced across party in this Chamber the social model of disability, which is very much what disabled people themselves want. I was very privileged to be the keynote speaker at the Leonard Cheshire Disability employability for people with disabilities forum in the Liberty Stadium, in my colleague Mike Hedges's constituency last week, where it was made very clear to me by the young disabled people there, in particular, but by a range of people, that they very much wanted to see the barriers removed and not to be enjoined to make themselves better, which, of course, is the absolutely epitome of embodying the social model of inclusion for people with disabilities and for everybody else with protected characteristics.

However, having said all that, we should always be open to opportunities to explore ways of strengthening the rights and protections here in Wales. I do very much support the principles behind the motion, and I'm keen to consider what more can be done to demonstrate our commitment to supporting disabled people in Wales. I'm very interested in meeting with the Member to discuss what further can be done to progress the rights of disabled people. I'm bound to add a note of caution: care will need to be taken to ensure that proposals do not conflict with existing duties or inadvertently undermine them. I absolutely appreciate that the Member has taken that on board. We have a web of existing legislation, and I'd be really keen to work with you to see how we can make sure that they incorporate into a seamless framework and don't inadvertently cross against each other.

We're also heading into an unprecedented and uncertain period for Wales as we leave the European Union, and there continue to be ongoing discussions on a 'no deal' or 'deal' scenario, and until we know exactly what that scenario looks like and what's incorporated, it's very difficult to fully evaluate the future of the human rights landscape in Wales and identify the most appropriate course of action in relation to the rights of disabled people more widely, until that process has come to its conclusion and we know what the situation is and we have some certainty. For that reason, whilst I welcome the motion, I do hope the Member will consider meeting me to discuss it further as we move forward. Diolch.