Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to contribute to today’s debate as Chair of the Children, Young People and Education Committee. In our committee’s recent budget reports, we have highlighted our concerns about the level of attention paid to the rights of children and young people in important financial decisions. We have called repeatedly on the Welsh Government to undertake a children’s rights impact assessment, or CRIA, as it's called, on its draft budget as a matter of course. To date, these calls have been rejected on the grounds that a wider integrated impact assessment of the draft budget is undertaken.

In recent years, each of our respective committees has commented on the need to improve how the Welsh Government considers the impact of its budgetary decisions on different population groups. As such, and as Llyr has already explained, we wanted to work together as three committees to shine a spotlight on this recurring theme.

We recognise that assessing the impact of budget decisions on our population is no mean feat, but we also believe that it is essential to do all we can to consider how the decisions we make about money translate into the real life experiences of the people we all represent, and the youngest members of our society are no exception.

Children and young people were my focus during the joint scrutiny, and they will be my focus today. I recognise that the needs of children sit alongside a number of other considerations when budget decisions are made. But in my view, two things make them unique in their need for attention. First of all, the youngest members of our society cannot vote. In the absence of the franchise, it rests with us to ensure that their voices are heard and their interests considered. Secondly, the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011 took the groundbreaking step of enshrining in statute a duty on Welsh Ministers to consider children’s rights in everything they do. But a law is only groundbreaking if its aspirations are delivered. In the case of draft budgets, we believe there is still some considerable distance to travel before we can be confident that the decisions that are taken are fully in keeping with the spirit of that law.

I welcome the Welsh Government’s acceptance of four of our five recommendations, and the acceptance of one in principle. I further welcome the Government’s commitment under recommendation 1 to work with the relevant statutory commissioners to provide greater clarity on the purpose and expected outcomes of the strategic integrated impact assessment process. I would like to place on record my thanks to the commissioners for their contribution to our joint scrutiny, and the views they have shared to inform this debate. There are, nevertheless, a number of concerns I would like to raise in relation to children and young people specifically. Many of these I share with the children’s commissioner.

In response to recommendation 2, the Government has suggested that publishing individual impact assessments in a central location would cause confusion. I am unconvinced about this. As joint committees, we agreed that transparency is key. To date, there has been no systematic publication of individual impact assessments. Last year’s decision about the school uniform grant is a case in point, and one we highlight in our budget report. I would be grateful if the Minister could reflect further on this.

With respect to recommendations 3 and 4, as a committee, we are concerned that the quality of CRIAs remains variable. We stand by our assertion that impact assessments sometimes appear to be used to reflect or justify decisions that have already been taken. I would be particularly keen to hear the Minister’s view on the children’s commissioner’s comment—and I quote—

'We have seen examples of CRIAs which do not actually attempt to answer the broad question over whether and or how the policy will have an impact on children and young people, let alone attempting a fuller process.'

Finally, in relation to recommendation 5, while I welcome the commitment to commissioning research on the integration of duties, I note with concern that this work has not yet started. I urge the Government to progress this as soon as possible.

In closing, I would like to thank my fellow Chairs and committee members for their willingness to work jointly on this. This is the first time we have worked together on the draft budget, and I believe it provides a useful and innovative model for future scrutiny of shared areas of interest across committees.

Finally, I would like to thank the Welsh Government for its engagement in this work. Our overarching aim as committees is to provide a constructive and helpful contribution to an area that we acknowledge is both complex and challenging. I look forward to working with them, and with the relevant statutory commissioners, to continue our cross-cutting work in this area in future financial years. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.