Diolch. Shadow Minister Janet Finch-Saunders opened this debate highlighting the need to recognise and support young adult carers in Wales, to recognise independent reports, to recognise progressive Welsh Conservative recommendations for delivering social justice to young carers in Wales. As she said, young adult carers should not be disadvantaged, stigmatised or subjected to bullying. She said that there are more than 21,000 young adult carers in Wales aged 14 to 25, providing assistance and support for families and friends. The Minister actually referred to a higher figure of 29,000 providing care of an hour or more.

The Carers Trust 'Time to be Heard Wales' research referred to found that young adult carers miss or cut short an average of 48 school days a year because of their caring role. They were four times more likely to drop out of college or university than students who were not caring. They rarely receive the assessment of their needs they're entitled to, and they experience higher rates of bullying.

Dai Lloyd moved an amendment highlighting the importance of respite care for young carers, which we will, of course, be supporting. Suzy Davies expressed her disappointment with the Labour Welsh Government amendment. As she said, they don't have to expect local authorities to introduce ID cards across Wales; they can insist. They can do something but choose not to. As Rhianon Passmore said, when things that should happen under the social services and well-being Act don't, they should. Mohammad Asghar referred to the contribution made by young carers, and that cannot be overstated. He talked about more caring being provided and caring longer. The life chances of young carers should not be reduced, and our moral duty is to care for our young carers. As David Melding said, one of the great barriers is how young carers access further and higher education. As Michelle Brown said, young carers deserve a life of their own. The Deputy Minister, Julie Morgan, stated that young adult carers should have every opportunity to reach their potential in life, and, as she said, no-one in our communities should be left behind.

Well, it's now seven years since Flintshire became the first county in Wales to launch an ID card scheme for young carers or children in care to help them explain their situation and ensure that they received proper recognition and quick access to the support services they needed. This was developed by young carers who were either part of Barnardo's Cymru young carers service in Flintshire or supported by children's social services there. As I then said at a meeting in the Senedd seven years ago, it's the first scheme in Wales to help these young people receive the recognition and prompt access to services that they need. The children's commissioner told us he hoped that other local authorities would pick this up and that he was working with the Welsh Government to deliver a national identity card on this basis. Seven years later, it is wrong that this has not happened. I hope you will take heed of our recommendation.