I thank the Member for raising this today and bringing up such important issues that do need to be raised and talked about in the Senedd. Ensuring high standards of care for our most vulnerable children should be something that we could all support in this Chamber.

When you look at the statistics on the impact of living in care on children and young adults, you understand why this is so important. Twenty-four per cent of the adult prison population have been in care, 11 per cent of homeless young people have been care leavers, 70 per cent of sex workers have been in care. You are approximately seven times more likely to die aged between 18 and 21 if you've been in care, compared to other young people of a similar age.

We owe it to these young people to help them break the cycle and make sure that the time they experience in care is positive, safe, in a nurturing environment, as the Member outlined. So, we do need better co-ordination of services to ensure young people are put at the centre of decision making, are close to home and have the right placement for their individual needs so their voices are heard. We should not let organisations, silos and arbitrary administration of boundaries harm the life chances of young people in Wales. I know that Monmouthshire County Council, for example, are doing some good work with their neighbours in Torfaen to ensure residential care is provided close to home. This sort of partnership working should be encouraged as best practice.

That sort of individual-centric approach is important, because no experience of care is the same as any other. For example, 40 per cent of children who come into care will do so for less than six months, but about half of the children in care have two or more episodes. So, Deputy Presiding Officer, it is important that we have the right sort of provision on hand to be able to manage this sort of individual need.

There are more than 7,000 young people being looked after by local authorities in Wales. We need more provision, not less, and that is why I am so confused about this proposal within the Bill to remove for-profit provision. This accounts for 80 per cent of the provision of residential care in Wales. If such a provider were providing a nurturing environment that cares for young people to the standards we have set out for them, and that is confirmed by the appropriate regulators, then why should we let their governance arrangements be a barrier to that? We seem to be punishing an industry because of failure by the regulations and the regulators to work effectively.

If private providers were to be removed, how will these services be replaced when we are short of such placements across Wales? Will there be discussions with partnerships, businesses and young people to make sure this is done in a sensitive and appropriate way? Will there be safeguards to ensure that vulnerable young people don't fall into the gaps? How will you guarantee that private providers will not be pulling out of their homes and investments early, further exacerbating the shortage of placements and perpetuating a crisis of your own making? These are all questions that are vital to be answered before big steps are taken.

It is a shame that this Bill does seem to be letting ideology getting in the way of what is doing best for young people, and it’s hugely disrespectful to the professionalism of those hard-working people in the sector who are doing a difficult and challenging job. The Member’s own briefing document highlights the lack of national framework to support a quality evaluation process. We should be focusing on that, ensuring consistency of approach.

I will wind up now. I can see you staring at me. The Welsh Conservatives have previously called for more focus on prevention rather than intervention, Deputy Presiding Officer. So, while you've raised a number of important issues here today, and I'm thankful to you for raising these, Jane Dodds, we sadly will not be able to agree with this motion and support this motion, because of your 2(c) in this proposal that you've put in here, which we do not agree with. Thank you.