This proposal to scrap the Welsh independent living grant was nothing more, as we've heard, of course, than the Welsh Government following the lead of the UK Government. And the pause announced yesterday is certainly a step in the right direction. And we can do things differently here in Wales. We can show that we value the most vulnerable in society and that we look after each other as a society. Let's hope that this pause leads to a positive overhaul whereby everybody with a disability is lifted up to a better funding and support regime rather than pulling everyone down to the lowest common denominator.

We have examples of good practice in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where they are forging their own path, having not only retained the independent living fund but enhanced it as well. And we know, as we've heard, what happened in England with the scrapping of the grant there: people being thrown into a postcode lottery, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities having to say that it's led to a human catastrophe. And, of course, the concern is that we will be heading down that very same route here in Wales with the most vulnerable suffering.

Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is dedicated to disabled people's right to live independently and be included in the community. People with disabilities shouldn't be infantilised, with their lives dictated by bureaucracy. We all value our independence, our ability to make our own choices, our ability, yes, sometimes, to make our own mistakes, but that right should not be taken from disabled people simply because of their disability.

Now, if you're genuinely concerned about inequalities facing disabled people, then the Government should be bold enough to admit it and face this issue head on. Let's see the depth of the real problems and challenges facing disabled people in our communities and let's act on that to improve the quality of life for those people instead of taking away their hard-fought funds and independence.

Yesterday's announcement gives us an opportunity to do that, so I ask the Government whether you'll take this opportunity to look at the whole picture of disabled people living in Wales. Will you set up a commission to look into the funding of disabled people here in Wales? What are the needs of disabled people in Wales today? What are the challenges that they face? And how can your Government and this Assembly make things better and improve the quality of life of disabled people here in Wales? This is what we should be looking at and not cutting the little funds that are provided to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.