I'm delighted to be able to participate in this debate today. Reference has already been made to the thirtieth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. I think, of course, we must also remember another important anniversary that we will be commemorating tomorrow, which is the twentieth anniversary of the Waterhouse report. It was this Assembly's response to that report that led to us being the first Government administration in Wales to establish a children's commissioner—creatively, since we didn't have the legislative powers to do it at the time. And I think it is absolutely right to say that we have come a very long way towards realising children's rights, particularly children's rights for some of our most vulnerable people. But, as the Minister has said, we have got a very long way to go. 

There is so much in the commissioner's report, and I'd associate myself with everything the Minister and Janet Finch-Saunders have said about our gratitude to the commissioner, to her team, to the way that they work so effectively to remove the barriers to children's rights being realised. It's impossible, in the time available for me today, to comment on everything that I'd like to raise, but I would like to comment on three specific areas of the commissioner's recommendations, and perhaps ask the Minister for a little more information about the Government's response. 

On the first set of recommendations around residential care for children with the most complex needs, I'm very glad that the Government is accepting the commissioner's recommendations, although I share Janet Finch-Saunders's worry about recommendations accepted in principle, which we know from experience are often more honoured in the breach than the observance. I would urge the Minister and the Government to put urgency into their actions in this regard.

I've been dealing just this week with the case of a very young man who has very various and very complex needs, both relating to the autism spectrum and to mental health. His family has discovered this week that he's likely to be placed in a remote institution a very, very long way away, in England. And we really need to move on this, because every day that those young people are away from home is a day too many, and every day that their relationships with their families are fractured is a day too many. 

I'd like to refer to the Government's response to the commissioner's recommendation 5, which is about ensuring that the new curriculum—that there's a duty, mentioned by Janet Finch-Saunders, on all relevant bodies to pay due regard to the convention. Now, I'm a bit confused by the Government's response, because the Government is saying that, given that the Ministers have to give due regard to the convention, it is unnecessary to place a duty on other bodies to give due regard to the convention. But, it is my understanding, Deputy Presiding Officer—I'm sure the Minister will correct me if I'm wrong—that the Government has already placed a duty of due regard on bodies through the additional learning needs legislation. So, I'd be interested to hear from the Minister why in principle you can do that in the additional learning needs legislation, but it isn't right to do this in the curriculum.

Janet Finch-Saunders is right, of course, to say that it is not enough for the curriculum itself to have rights-respecting content, it must be delivered through rights-respecting institutions. And while we have some of the most amazing schools here in Wales, and I'm sure we all visit them on a regular basis, particularly in secondary education, there is a long way to go for those institutions to become fully rights-respecting. I am therefore confused at the Government's reluctance to place a duty of due regard in the legislation. I'd be interested to hear more from the Minister about her reasoning for that. 

Of course, there are those of us who are arguing for a fuller incorporation of the convention. We have partial incorporation into our legislative framework, and it is time to move on that. Had that taken place, the Minister might be right, it might not be necessary to place a duty of due regard on other organisations. But, as things stand, I'm confused that they won't do so. 

I'd then like to refer briefly to recommendation No. 7, which the Welsh Government has also not agreed to accept. I really am confused by this, because the commissioner asks for a review and the Government rejects the recommendation and then says that they're going to hold a review. Now, I may be missing something here, but I think there is a need—and it's good to see the Government saying that they're looking at this across portfolios, because of course this affects a number of portfolios—and if the Government accepts the need for a review, why are they saying that they are rejecting the commissioner's recommendation? Is it that they don't want the same sort of review that the commissioner recommends? So, it would be helpful, fully accepting the Minister's, and in this case the Government's, good intentions in this regard, to understand why the review that they are going to undertake is different from the review that the commissioner has recommended. 

And, as a final comment with regard to these issues about transport, the Government's response says that the arrangements for school transport and safety are generally working well. Well, I'm sure from my constituency caseload that that isn't always the case, particularly with regard to students post 16. I would argue, as the commissioner does, that the legislative framework that we have with the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008 is outdated as we have more and more young people staying in education full-time from 16 to 18 and even beyond. And it's of course particularly important that those children with additional learning needs have appropriate transport.

I'll bring my remarks to a close, Deputy Presiding Officer. There is so much more, I'm sure, that we would all like to say. I know these issues will be explored further at length in the appropriate committee, but I do think there is much to be proud about with this institution's commitment to children's rights over the 20 years of our existence.