Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you for the opportunity to discuss the committee's report on the status of the Welsh baccalaureate. I was pleased that the evidence gathered by the committee showed clear merit in young people studying the Welsh bac. I was glad as the Minister for Education in Wales, and, like Lynne, I'm glad as a parent who has two children currently studying two different levels of the bac as we speak.

It is a wide-ranging framework qualification that embraces the teaching of fundamental skills, and it enables pupils to become more independent, more critical in their thinking and more flexible in the way they work. It also provides learners with the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of society, the community in which they live and an awareness of global issues, events and perspectives, helping them to become ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world. Indeed, the Welsh baccalaureate provides the foundations for our learners to develop the wider skills and knowledge that align perfectly with the four purposes of the new curriculum and gives them, actually, a certificate and an accreditation for those skills.

Let me be clear: my aim is for all learners to be able to benefit from the Welsh bac and to gain the skills challenge certificate. I am, of course, aware of the differing opinions here in the Chamber about the values and the benefits of the Welsh bac, and, in its relatively short lifetime, it has been the subject of numerous reviews and changes. Let's be clear: the current Welsh bac and skills challenge certificate are still young and will continue to develop over time. At this point, there have only been two sets of results since its implementation in September 2015, although I have to say those two sets of results have been hugely encouraging.

But I appreciate that there are still aspects of delivery that can be done better. The way in which we communicate the value and the benefits can be made clearer, the universities' understanding of the qualification can be improved, and we must learn lessons from implementing the Welsh bac as we move forward to deliver the curriculum for Wales 2022.

The committee's report reinforced my view of these challenges. Therefore, I was very happy to accept the recommendations either in full or in principle. Work is already being taken forward to improve the guidance available, which will outline my vision for the future of the Welsh bac as well as the Government's policy on universal adoption, and that will be ready in the autumn. Qualifications Wales, the WJEC and us as a Government are working together to improve awareness of the Welsh bac through a joint communications plan, ensuring that clear messages are sent out on both the purpose but also the benefits of learners undertaking the bac.

Now, one of the questions that I'm often asked is whether universities will accept the skills challenge certificate. The fact of the matter is that the skills challenge certificate carries the same UCAS tariff points and is equivalent to any other A-level. More and more universities across the United Kingdom are recognising the skills challenge certificate in their offers, including 15 of the Russell Group universities. And, what's more, universities tell me and our seven network co-ordinators that the advanced bac gives Welsh students a competitive advantage in being able to demonstrate clear, independent research and academic skills, which actually lead them to be excellent undergraduates.