The past two years since the Act was passed have been exceptionally challenging. Despite the pandemic, a phenomenal response from stakeholders has enabled us to achieve a huge amount since the first meeting of our strategic implementation group in May 2019. The Children, Young People and Education Committee were clear during scrutiny that, to ensure the Act benefits children and their families, we should make sure everyone is aware the law has changed and support parents to adopt positive parenting styles. An extensive multimedia communications and engagement campaign is ensuring maximum awareness of the law changes. Our campaign has included television and radio adverts, out-of-home print and digital advertising, and a national leafleting campaign. The campaign will continue post commencement to maintain levels of public awareness. Our dedicated website includes information for parents, other members of the public and professionals.

Children in Wales are working with us on an engagement plan, and resources to support awareness raising with children and information will be embedded within schools and existing initiatives, so it can be framed and discussed within a children's rights context, in an appropriate setting. As part of our engagement work, we've connected with groups and communities where there may be barriers to communication, and this has included producing resources in a range of languages and formats to suit a variety of needs. Alongside the campaign, we're providing a great deal of information, advice and support for parents, including through health visitors, our family support programmes and our 'Parenting. Give it Time' campaign.

Our parenting expert action group thoroughly reviewed the availability of parenting provision. Where gaps were identified, local authorities are working together and/or commissioning specialist support. Their comprehensive review of the 'Parenting. Give it Time' campaign has ensured it complements the Act, and parenting advice is available for parents with children from birth to 18 years.

We’ve worked with partners to consider the impact on professional processes. A practice guide, complementing existing safeguarding procedures, has been published, providing additional information for practitioners about safeguarding responses in relation to the Act. Ultimately, we want messages about the law to be embedded into existing services. We have therefore updated the Healthy Child Wales programme guidance so health visitors have information needed when talking with parents. And the law makes it clear: physical punishment of children is illegal. As acknowledged during scrutiny, a small number of individuals may be charged or prosecuted in circumstances where, prior to commencement, they might not have.

The Children, Young People and Education Committee's Stage 1 report recommended a scheme should divert cases away from the criminal justice system, where appropriate, with a focus on supporting parents rather than penalising them. So, working closely with police and local authorities, we've set up tailored parenting support, which can be offered as a condition of an out-of-court disposal and as a rehabilitative alternative to prosecution. Where police decide an out-of-court disposal is appropriate, parenting support can be offered to avoid re-offending. Welsh local authorities will receive up to £2.4 million over the next three years to fund this, in addition to almost £500,000 already received.

The support will encourage and help parents to adopt positive parenting techniques while making it absolutely clear that the physical punishment of children is unacceptable in all circumstances, and, from this point on, illegal. The Act places a duty on Welsh Government to publish a post-implementation report three and five years after commencement, or as soon as practicable after that. We've worked with police, social services, the Crown Prosecution Service and others to agree arrangements to monitor the impact of the Act on them, and we will continue to use representative surveys to track levels of public awareness and changes in attitudes.

So, I want to end by thanking those who've worked so hard to prepare for the commencement. This legislation represents a genuinely historic step in helping protect children's rights and their welfare. It sends a clear message about how, in Wales, we think about our children and young people, that we respect, we want the best for them and will do everything we can to make the experience of childhood as good as possible. Diolch yn fawr iawn.