Two and a half years ago, our committee made our commitment to this area clear. We called for the emotional and mental health and well-being of our children and young people to be a stated national priority for Welsh Government. We called for an urgent step-change in the support provided for our children and young people, arguing that provision had been too limited for too long. We called for drastic action at the preventative end of services, to stem the flow of mental health problems earlier, and to prevent the distressing—and in many cases, unnecessary—escalation of issues. We said that a whole-school approach was needed, as part of a whole-system approach, to support the mental health and well-being of our children and young people. We made it clear that we were unwilling to allow this significant issue to be handed on in a legacy report, yet again, for a successor committee in the sixth Senedd. Reaching the end of this Parliament with conclusions of 'more needs to be done' has not been an option for us. Our children and young people expect—and deserve—better than that.

So, how have we sought to deliver on our promise to this Chamber and to our children and young people that we wouldn't let this one lie? We have followed up our original 28 recommendations, regularly and forensically, over the last two and a half years. We have been supported in this work by dedicated professionals, parents and carers, children and young people, and the third sector. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them, and to place on record my admiration for them. Without them, our scrutiny would not be possible. Based on their views and experiences, we were able to produce our follow-up report. As part of this work, they assessed progress against each of our recommendations, and outlined where actions were needed before the end of this Senedd. I know other committee members intend to speak to specific areas, so I will largely focus on the headline issues they helped us to identify.

First of all, while change is starting to happen, and people are very committed to making things better, children and young people are still struggling to find the emotional and mental health support they need. We were told that change simply isn't happening quickly enough. People recognise it's difficult, and that the pandemic has placed significant pressure on our public services, but we believe the impact of COVID makes progress more vital than ever. The collateral damage to our children and young people caused by this pandemic makes pace and action in this area even more crucial.

Secondly, we need whole-system change to be our focus. We really commend the work that's been done to deliver a whole-school approach, and the significant work under way to deliver early help and enhanced support. Progress is visible and evidenced, and that is much to be welcomed. But we have made it clear that a whole-school approach alone will not deliver the step-change our children and young people need. From the beginning, we've said a whole-system approach is essential to realising our ambitions in this area. Schools cannot carry this alone. On that basis, we recommended that the Welsh Government expand the scope of the joint ministerial task and finish group, so that its remit covers a whole-system approach.

I'm pleased to see that the Ministers have put that recommendation into practice and that the group's remit has been expanded as a result of our call. But our work can't stop there. While we are reassured of progress in relation to education, we are far less confident that the pace of change in health and local government—including social services—is sufficient. It is clear to us that, on the health and social services side, progress hasn't been sufficient, and we are deeply concerned about this.

While we welcome the progress made in relation to early help and enhanced support, it's vital this is rolled out as quickly as possible. It's clear from the work we've done that many of the children and young people who find themselves in crisis care, or in specialist tier 4 settings, are, in fact, those we describe as the 'missing middle'. They are children and young people who would not have deteriorated if they had received early help and support. This is not good enough.

Furthermore, we are particularly concerned about what we consider to be a lack of progress in relation to supporting children and young people from CAMHS into adult mental health services. The Government’s response tells us that its transition guidance is being reviewed, but, from our work, it's apparent that this guidance has never been properly implemented. We think this is still too much of a work in progress, which is concerning two years after our report highlighted significant worries about this.

In addition, crisis care and tier 4 remain an area of real concern. Significant workforce capacity issues have been reported to us in the last two years, and we know that problems have continued during the pandemic in terms of accommodating children and young people in appropriate in-patient settings. Our report is clear that more work is needed to address the range of complex care and safe accommodation needs of our children and young people.

We remain to be convinced from the Welsh Government's response that the progress we want to see is being made, and that the join-up between policy and practice in tier 4 of the system is where it needs to be. On that basis, I call today on the Minister to put in place a formal mechanism to plan this work, and to bring all the relevant people together to deliver the outcomes we need across this specialist end of support.

We've also consistently flagged our concern that certain workstreams, including this vital area of specialist support, no longer sit under the remit of the Together for Children and Young People programme, and join-up with that programme is absolutely crucial. 

The final headline issue I'd like to raise relates to how we treat our most vulnerable children and young people, particularly those who are care experienced. David Melding has championed their cause for many years. Most recently, he has done so as chair of the outcomes for children ministerial advisory group. I cannot let this debate go by without marking his contribution to the cause of children and young people. There are many reasons we will miss David in this place, but, as Chair of the children’s committee, I can certainly see the large gap that he will leave behind in our area of interest.

With regard to implementation of 'Mind over matter', a significant role has been given to the outcomes for children MAG. Looking to the future, the interface between the joint ministerial group, the Together for Children and Young People programme, and the outcomes for children MAG will be crucial. We cannot afford to let any of our children and young people fall through the gaps between these groups. For our looked-after children, this is even more vital; it is incumbent on us not to fail them. On that basis, I would welcome an indication from the Minister of how she, as the new Minister for mental health, will ensure that the structures that have been created will continue to work together. As our follow-up report states, continued commitment and leadership from the Welsh Government and sector leads are essential to drive this agenda forward and facilitate the joint working that is so necessary.

In drawing my opening remarks to a close, I'd like to acknowledge the work of officials and Ministers in response to our 'Mind over matter' recommendations. While I don’t apologise for our persistence and determination, I do recognise the effort and work that it generates. Undertaking constructive scrutiny and working together with the Executive to deliver on its results is at the core of a good and effective committee system. The successful development of a whole-school approach to emotional and mental health demonstrates what can be achieved when we work together effectively. The promise that the Minister for Education made yesterday to include emotional and mental health on the face of the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill does the same.

I hope our work can continue to deliver concrete results for our children and young people between now and the election. As Chair, I commit to doing all I can to drive progress in this vital area in the remaining months of this Senedd.

I wanted to close by repeating what I said when I spoke to the Welsh Youth Parliament recently. I told them how, after a speech about 'Mind over matter', where I had emphasised how central young people's voices were to our report, a delegate had come up to me and asked me what the young people who had died by suicide would say if they were there that day. That has always stayed with me. Above all, it is the voices of the young people who are no longer with us that must drive our relentless focus on delivering the emotional and mental health support that our children and young people need and deserve. Thank you.