Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'd like to start by making a declaration of interest on this item, as I'm still a registered social worker.

'They said I was going to be there until I was 18 but because it was so expensive…they had to move me back down...they waited until I got my GCSEs, I thought that was fair, but didn't like a decision about my future based on money given they had put me there in the first place.'

This is a quote from a young girl, who, by the age of 16, had already been moved to 10 different places that she was expected to call home. That not only gets to the heart of the motion here today, but draws into question the way in which we provide care for children and young people. And I bring forward this proposal because time is of the essence.

The interplay between motivators for providing care for some providers, and the budget and capacity challenges faced by local authorities, mean that too many children are going without the care that they need and deserve. Children and young people in care have said, quite clearly, that they can feel like commodities—a burden on others.

We refer to the care system, but the experience of staff, children and young people suggests something other than care; rather, it can describe a complex, bureaucratic system that has developed over years, which is distracted by its component parts rather than by the needs, voices and hopes of children and young people.

I have proposed legislation here because, as was recognised in Scotland, adding to the complex patchwork of systems and processes only serves to further remove the power of children and young people over their own lives. Legislation was also viewed in Scotland as an opportunity to go back to basics: that we must recognise children’s status as human beings with a distinct set of rights, not simply passive recipients of care.

In Scotland, that included removing the provision for profit making from the sector. In Scotland, all providers must be registered with regulators, and they are scrutinised to identify any presence of profit to ensure that funds are directed to the care and support the young people need, not to private shareholders. My proposal here would remove the ability of private providers to profit from the care of vulnerable children, ensuring that every penny is reinvested in care and staff and not back into the pockets of shareholders.

This is not a judgement about private providers; many, I know, in my experience, are there to establish focussed, dedicated care and support. But, we must recognise the way in which the profit motive of some does impact negatively on the ability to focus solely on care and not battling with a complex, bureaucratic system.

I don’t pose this simply for moral reasons, but because the enormous pressure on local authorities to find placements, coupled with growing pressures on budgets, leaves little room for the laser-sharp focus on the quality of care, and on the voices and needs of children and young people. The lack of an all-Wales approach to commissioning care has resulted in authorities competing with one another, shifting commissioning practices in the favour of private providers.

I caveat this proposal, and so too does the children’s commissioner and other organisations, with the need to ensure that change is not to the detriment of children and young people. The rights of the child must be at the heart of any reform; no big bang and no unnecessary disruption.

In preparing for today’s motion, I heard from a representative organisation, which said, 'We need to stress that when we discuss value, it should begin with the value of the individual child and young person, and not simply in relation to financial stability or the system's capacity. This narrative relates to the care being a product'.

So, any steps to remove profit as a driver in the provision of care need to be done carefully, over time, and must have the needs and wishes of every individual child and young person front and centre as we move forward. But, it must be a fundamental overhaul.

In finishing, I hope our Senedd can send a signal to children and young people in care in Wales, wherever we are, that we hear them and we’re listening. Thank you—diolch yn fawr iawn.