So far, during my time as Deputy Minister, I've spoken to a range of people involved with the lives of children and families. I've spoken to senior local authority officers, local politicians, third sector organisations, and I've spoken directly to children and young people about their experiences of services too, and that, I think, has been one of the most important exercises I've undertaken—listening directly to children and young people. And while the experiences I've heard have been varied—what they've said to me has covered a range of responses—I do continue to be humbled and impressed by the sheer dedication and passion of those involved with helping children and families who are living through very unsettled times. I do have to speak up for the many social workers and workers in the childcare system who do work very hard and very genuinely to try to improve the lives of children, and there is much determination to do the right thing. I want us, the Government, to do all we can to facilitate and support those social workers and our stakeholders to make sure that we do try to deliver the best services possible. So, that is the profound wish of the Government, that we want to improve the lives of children who are in difficult circumstances, and we know that the children and young people who come into contact with public services will be going through the most difficult and challenging family circumstances, and I have really admired many of those children who have shown great resilience, often, and great coping mechanisms to deal with very difficult situations.

I think, as Neil McEvoy did acknowledge in his contribution, that the safety of our children is paramount, and whilst we do all we can to work with families to keep the family unit together, sometimes, it is in the best interest of the child to live in a different arrangement, and that is and should always be completely as a last resort. This, of course, could be with their extended family or friends, or often with grandparents or in more formal arrangements such as special guardianship or kinship foster placements. Children living in any of these arrangements should receive the support they and their carers need to promote their well-being, whether or not they are a looked-after child, and when children do go into a care setting, we all have a responsibility to ensure their lives and opportunities are as favourable as their peers'. We are committed to do all we can for those children, and I'm sure you will know that the Welsh Government has publicly committed to our vision for children's services in our programme for Government, 'Taking Wales Forward' and the national strategy, 'Prosperity for All'.

Deputy Presiding Officer, our First Minister strongly supports this vision, and has set out his priorities, which I believe will help local authorities focus their efforts where significant impact can be made. And in support of those priorities, I will be working with local authorities individually—with individual local authorities—to safely reduce the number of children in care, and, as appropriate, the number of out-of-county and out-of-country placements. The Member did say in his contribution about the rising numbers of children in care, and I think he's making a very important point there. The Government wants to reduce those numbers who are in care and we want to do that safely. So, during April and May this year, our officials will be meeting with all local authorities to talk with them about how we can work together to make progress on these priorities and to put in place appropriate plans for some of these children because, obviously, we've got to take into account the demography and the environment within which local authorities are delivering services so that we can understand the challenges and produce together a tailored solution. So, I hope I'll have the chance to update you further on how this work is progressing.