I thank the Welsh Conservatives for tabling this important debate. Sadly, the number of children taken into care has doubled in the past 20 years. And, while the needs and safety of the child must always be the only priority, we must do all that we can to reduce the number of children taken into care. Because, as the Welsh Conservatives' motion rightly points out, the life chances of looked-after children and care leavers are significantly poorer than those of children who are not in care.

I also agree with Plaid Cymru that setting superficial targets is not the answer. We have to take strong positive steps to prevent children being taken into care in the first place; take steps to ensure that we have a well-resourced and supported foster care network for short-term care needs; and make adoption much easier for adoptive parents. 

And I'd like to comment on the opening speech of Janet Finch-Saunders, where she said about the transition from a foster parent into adopting. I can relate to that through a constituent who told me of his experience. They had one biological child and wanted another. It wasn't possible, so they adopted another little child, for company as well as being much loved. The little child showed signs of mental health issues early on, but the support network wasn't there, and to this day, the family of this little girl have struggled, really, to cope. So, because help was not forthcoming in the very early stages, the whole family now has been traumatised because the deterioration of the mental health has impacted on the life of the family, and it is an ongoing—