rather than children’s rights being part of the analysis from the very outset, and that then leading to budgetary decisions. Now that the Government has committed to collaborating with the children’s commissioner, which is excellent as a starting point, that work of setting the budget for 2020-21 has to happen swiftly, and the commissioner has mentioned that she expects to see a children’s rights impact assessment being published along with the budget itself. Doing that, I think, would prove that better alignment between policy and funding was starting to take root.

Last year, I asked in this Chamber for the Welsh Parliament to show the way and to be the first Parliament in the world to embed children’s rights considerations deeply in out budgetary processes. And a start has been made, yes, but it does happen elsewhere, and, earlier this year, the New Zealand Government published the first well-being budget ever anywhere in the world, providing significant funding for mental health services, child poverty and investments in tackling domestic violence. New Zealand appears to be the first country to design its budget based on well-being considerations and then directing Ministers to plan their policies in order to improve well-being.

So, if we truly want to see funding following priorities—some of the points that Suzy Davies has just raised—then we can use children’s rights as an example. And that purpose has to be there from the very beginning of the budgetary process. It shouldn’t be a bolt-on as it has been in the past, because it is not a box-ticking exercise and seeing children’s rights as an add-on. That's not the way forward, and that's not what would represent the change of mindset that would emerge from this report. Thank you.