Wales has led the way in children's rights by enshrining them in law through the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011—the first UK nation to do so, and it's something that we in Wales should be very proud of. We are passionately committed to children's rights, and this is clearly demonstrated by us being the first UK nation to appoint a children's commissioner.

Children's rights are entitlements—they are not optional—and we as a country will work hard to ensure that children's rights are understood and are respected. Children's rights support our ambition for each and every child in Wales to have the very best possible start in life. They are the driving force behind key programmes and policies in Wales, programmes such as Flying Start, our work on tackling adverse childhood experiences, and, indeed, our parenting campaigns. In short, children's rights are part of our DNA—they're crucial to the way that we do things in Wales.

Of course, there are many areas of policy that impact on children's lives right across our programme for government, and I've written to my Cabinet and ministerial colleagues highlighting the importance of keeping children's rights at the very centre of the work that we do. And I know that children's rights are being taken seriously right across Welsh Government. Recent examples of good practice include the ministerial focus on children's mental health and well-being, and universal support for children through the Healthy Child Wales programme. And the children's commissioner plays a crucial role as an independent champion of children's rights in Wales. As part of this role the children's commissioner helps to hold the Government to account, and I can confirm to Assembly Members that she is certainly taking that part of her role very seriously indeed, and we welcome it.

Each year, the commissioner is required to publish an annual report setting out how her office has safeguarded and promoted the rights of children and young people in Wales. In this year's annual report the commissioner has made 15 recommendations to the Welsh Government across education and health, children's services and transport. Now, the First Minister will publish his full response on or before 30 November, which means that I won't be setting out the full detail of our response during today's debate, and I hope Members understand that.

But, returning to this year's report, I want to draw the attention of Members to some key themes that the commissioner makes. Now, in particular, I'm delighted to see that the report does recognise the progress that's been made on the proposed legislation to remove the defence of reasonable punishment and on advocacy for vulnerable children. The report also highlights the commissioner's achievements in the first and second year of her three-year strategic plan in terms of project and also core work. Some of that core work includes the commissioner assisting more than 550 individual children and young people through her investigation and advice service. This is hugely valuable work, supporting the needs of vulnerable children and young people.

The annual report also sets out how the commissioner has implemented the principles of her children's rights approach in her own work and that of other agencies. And I'm encouraged to see how her work has challenged and supported other public bodies in Wales to adopt a children's rights based approach. Examples within the report include the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust and the National Museum of Wales, amongst others.

The need to get services working more effectively together for our children and young people is a prominent theme in this year's report and I couldn't agree more that this needs to be done. This is also a major priority for the Welsh Government's reform programme. If we want to bring about real and sustainable change, we must work together to deliver services in a co-ordinated and integrated and a timely way. And we have to ensure that the rights of children and young people are embedded deeply in everything that we do. It's only when our programmes come together seamlessly that we will get the best value for parents and children from the limited resources that are available to us. So, we are committed to working across Welsh Government, with the public, with the third sector and with our own communities, including with children and young people.

The research, we know, is clear, childhood experiences are instrumental in shaping our lives, they impact our physical and mental health and they influence educational outcomes and economic prosperity lifelong. The research also makes clear that, with the right support, children can overcome and recover from childhood adversity. Our role is to help them build the resilience they need to be able to do so. To achieve this, we're committed to supporting that joined-up, responsive, early years system that puts the unique needs of each child and family right at its heart. This was a central commitment we made in 'Prosperity for All'.

It is important that we work together to maximize the opportunities to improve the outcomes for our children and our young people, to ensure that they all have the best possible start in life and go on to fulfil their potential. We do know that we only do that effectively when we listen and respond to the views and needs of children and young people themselves. Article 12 recognises they are right to have their voice heard and listened to and acted upon in decisions that affect them. We're committed to ensuring children and young people are full and active citizens in Wales, whose views are taken into account. They have clear views and a valuable contribution to make to the design of our services. I am clear, as Minister, that children's views will continue to be essential in the development and the delivery of our legislation, our policies and our programmes. We must ensure that they consistently have an active voice in the workings of Government.

For the only point today, I'll turn to Brexit. With Brexit currently dominating the news across the UK, it is imperative that we do not lose sight of those that it will impact the most. I've been taking the time to listen to the views of children on Brexit and other issues. They've talked to me with great passion about their concerns for future funding, their opportunities to study abroad, whether Brexit will lead to a reduction in environmental standards, and so on. We owe it to them to fight for the best outcome for Wales in the current negotiations. We will do everything in our power to ensure that their voices are heard and that our children's futures are not harmed. We want our children to grow up in a Wales they can be proud of. 

I note that the Member for Ynys Môn has put forward an amendment to the Government's motion. With regret, I say we won't be supporting the amendment. The rad, amber, green ratings referred to in the amendment are the commissioner's assessment of the Welsh Government's response to recommendations in her 2016-17 annual report, they do not form part of this year's annual report itself. So, I hope Members will understand why we won't be supporting those, useful as the RAG ratings are. 

As a Government, we have and will continue to work collaboratively with the commissioner and others for the benefit of children and young people. I will continue to focus on delivering for children and young people right across Wales, ensuring that their voices and their rights are at the forefront of everything that we as a nation hope to achieve.