Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:57 pm on 12 October 2021.
I thank Jane Dodds for that set of questions and join with her in paying tribute to my predecessor and for her commitment to both curriculum reform and to the agenda of mental health of children and young people, which was a very committed and very considerable priority for her. I hope you will have heard in both the contributions that Lynne Neagle and I have made in the Chamber today how joined up we are within the Government in relation to the interventions that can be made from a health perspective and from an education perspective to try and make sure that that joined-up approach that she identifies as being so important is, and becomes even more so, the reality on the ground. We jointly chair the task and finish group, as Lynne Neagle was outlining earlier, and a number of the interventions in this space are the product of very, very close working between the health department and education department, because we recognise that the very essence of this working is to ensure that children don't fall between the cracks, if you like, and there's a seamless service that supports children and young people in all their mental health and well-being needs. I'm confident that the work that we are putting in from a Government point of view is best designed to reach that outcome, but there are significant challenges in the system in delivering that in the way that I know that she is aware, and I hope that some of the things that we've outlined today in both the statements you've heard so far, and the ones that will follow, demonstrate how committed the Government is to making sure that everyone gets the support they need for their mental health.