Item 4 are the 90-second statements, and the first of the three this afternoon is Huw Irranca-Davies. 

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. The state of nature report gives the clearest picture to date of the states of species across land and sea, and it sounds the alarm for the natural world. One in six species in Wales risk extinction. Butterfly numbers have fallen 52 per cent since 1976, and across the UK there are 40 million fewer birds compared to 50 years ago. Thirty per cent of land-dwelling mammals are at risk of disappearing altogether, and as the Assembly's lapwing champion, I'm devastated that breeding populations have fallen from 14,000 pairs in 1970 to just 700 today. And, across the world, biodiversity is under increasing threat. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report in May warned that 1 million species globally are at risk of extinction. 

But it's not all doom and gloom. When we invest in land, in nature, it can flourish. Conservation success stories are in the report. Species like bitterns and large blue butterflies have been saved through concerted action. But time is short. The chair of IPBES has warned that the window for action to restore ecosystems is expected to close over the next decade. So, we need to strengthen protection of our natural world, undertake species recovery projects, ensure our best sites are well managed, improve environmental standards, and ensure future land management payments drive ecological recovery and more. There's a growing movement demanding this change, and as policy makers, it falls to us to enable the recovery of species and tackle the climate emergency. And the time to act, as the report says, is now. 

Tomorrow is World Mental Health Day. Across our country, and across the world, people’s mental well-being is deteriorating. That includes those who, in theory, are amongst the more advantaged, namely our students. All Assembly Members bar one have signed the student mental health pledge, supported by Time to Change and Mind Cymru. It is our duty to ensure that those starting the most exciting, but the most stressful time of their lives have the mental health protection they need and are not deterred from seeking help because of the stigma attached to mental illness. 

The 500 per cent increase in the number of first-year students disclosing mental health conditions is alarming. Our universities and colleges have instituted a wide range of student support services, frequently delivered by their commendable peers. The loneliness of being away from home for the first time can be overwhelming, the expectation of making new friends too daunting. More seriously, if they are being bullied or blackmailed, there is specialist help available.

The revenge porn helpline highlights that criminals are targeting freshers, who spike their drinks and then use compromising photos to blackmail them. It is essential that people are not too embarrassed to seek help. Paying the ransom blackmailers demand is not a solution. At the most serious end of the problem, student suicide can only be combated by specialist health services working closely with universities and colleges.

Thank you very much. And, then, finally, Jack Sargeant. 

Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. As my colleague Jenny Rathbone said, tomorrow is World Mental Health Day, and I'd like to put on record my thanks for the superb work your office is doing around that. Last week, the charity Samaritans hosted a breakfast briefing and I thank my colleague from across the benches, Dai Lloyd, for supporting that. The theme is suicide prevention this year, and the findings from that briefing were very clear. There has been a significant increase in suicides across the UK. Suicide rates across the UK in young people have been increasing as well. The suicide rates for young females is now at its highest rate ever on record, and across the UK men still remain three times more likely to take their own lives than women.

I recently worked with Cardiff City FC, Swansea City AFC, Wrexham AFC, and Newport County AFC on this issue of suicide prevention, and to raise awareness of the 84 men who commit suicide every week. Now, since then, and based on the 5,185 men who commit suicide every year, as outlined in the report, that figure has now increased to almost 100 men a week. I know, from a personal experience, the impact of suicide, and I know what impact it has on family members and friends and communities. So that's why, tomorrow, I'll be thinking about everyone affected, and that's why I'll continue to work for better mental health support for all. After all, the levels of support we offer should never end. It's a matter of humanity; it's a responsibility for us all. Diolch.

Thank you very much. And that brings today's Plenary proceedings to a close.

So we'll now proceed to have a break, before the Committee of the Whole Assembly meets to consider Stage 2 of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill. The bell will be rung five minutes before we reconvene, but I would urge Members to be in the Chamber as I intend to start Stage 2 at 3.45 p.m. Thank you.

The meeting ended at 15:36.