Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:36 pm on 14 July 2021.
Thank you very much to you all—those of you who spoke on this issue. Thank you to Laura Anne, to Gareth and to Siân as well. I'm very grateful to you. And I'd also like to thank those organisations that I spoke to who contributed towards my thinking here. Thank you also to the Deputy Minister as well for your response.
I think I just really need to make this one thing clear—two things, really, actually; I'm cheating here. The first is: this is not me saying this. This is children and young people who are asking for this. The second is that I think there may be some confusion, and maybe it's the way we've presented this. This is not about removing the private organisations. This is about saying that the profit that they make needs to go back into caring for the children and young people who I believe they passionately do care for. We don't want that money to go to shareholders. It's very simple. You do not make a profit from vulnerable children.
I've had a career in child protection—27 years of it—and I do recognise the breadth and complexity of the matter that we've discussed here this afternoon. This is a complex issue and time is of the essence, because these are the lives of children and young people. The Children's Commissioner for Wales has been calling for this since 2017, and in her 2020 annual report, stated to date that no significant leadership had been shown by the Welsh Government on this matter. But I'm pleased to hear that it's now being taken forward. Now is the time to take action quickly.
The independent care review—back to Scotland—was clear that children should not have to wait until the end of a traditional government review for change. And I would strongly encourage the Government to adopt that principle. I note that work will be ongoing throughout the summer and autumn, but we must see some short-term action and changes right now, whether that's commissioning, funding or support for local authorities to begin the process of increasing public and third sector provision until a point at which legislation could be brought forward that directs profits into care and not into the pockets of shareholders.
I also recognise concerns from Members about the current provision in the private sector, and the concerns about any substantial change. I wholeheartedly agree that we cannot just tear out that provision. It must be done carefully and sensitively as we move towards a system that puts every penny towards the care and needs of children and young people.
I finish with just this: many young people live in complex situations and have complex histories. And I just want to finish with the words of 13-year-old Phoebe, 'I want to stay until hopefully the sun comes out and gives me a nice life.' Thank you. Diolch yn fawr iawn.