I want to start by thanking you for bringing this debate to the Chamber today. Child and adolescent mental health is one of the key issues that young people raise with me across Bridgend and Porthcawl. In Bridgend last week, it was great to host our young person's fair on this very topic with Bridgend Youth Council, where schools, pupils and local support groups came together to discuss how we can make mental health provision better for young people in our community. Because, as with a lot of issues, or all issues related to young people, there are often very well-meaning adults who assume what is best, and this shouldn't be the case. Any decisions that impact young people should at least have the consultation and engagement to ensure that we provide support that will make a difference. I know that our Deputy Minister is absolutely committed to this. I also wanted to add in that one of our Youth Parliament Members from Bridgend, Ollie, who represents the Carers Trust Wales, did also want to say that people's voices and opinions sometimes are overlooked and undervalued in decision making, so we do want to make sure that that is always a priority.

I believe it is worth as well remembering the integral role that I think young people have played in bringing the conversation around depression and anxiety into our daily lives. We owe much of the work that has been done to break down barriers and the shame of talking about mental health to young people across our communities, and I know this is a priority for our Youth Parliament Member for Bridgend, Ewan Bodilly, who said that, since the pandemic, it has been easy for young people to feel alienated, and it is only through engaging with young people that things will improve. And at the mental health fair, our youth mayor, Xander, said young people have been calling for mental health to be a priority for too long, but the pandemic has shown how important it is that we make sure services are available and mental health is a priority, going forward.

I also want to say that I am thankful to the Welsh Government for their commitment to prioritise mental health for young people through schools with the whole-school approach. There are already schools across my constituency doing this work, with Porthcawl Comprehensive School working with local mental health support groups to destigmatise reaching out and ensuring that all young people know where to turn to if they need to. But this should be standardised, and every child and young person should know where to reach out to. Every child should be given the tools to have access to support when and if they need it, for whatever the circumstance is.

I want to end by saying I didn't actually plan to speak on this today, but, James, I want to say this in support of your call for an eating disorder unit in Wales, and preferably a residential eating disorder unit. I myself had anorexia nervosa when I was 14. It was absolutely terrifying for me and my family, and for my friends and my teachers, and I actually had a chat with my mum about it a couple of months ago—I think it was weeks ago, sorry—when we were doing the debate on eating disorders, because I wanted to speak on it. And my mum actually told me something that she'd never told me before, which was that my paediatric consultant at the time wrote to my counsellor, and didn't even tell my parents this—didn't give them the heads-up—that I was two days away from them admitting me to the adult psychiatric ward at east Glamorgan hospital, when I was 14. They would have locked me up in an adult psychiatric ward at east Glamorgan hospital. I would never have come out. I would never have come out. So, the only other option at the time was a residential unit, which was in Bristol, and it was full, and my parents were just so scared. I think, to be honest, I was so unwell I don't even think I was scared anymore; I didn't know what was going on.

I did recover, and I'm very rare. If you look at the statistics, it's very rare to recover from this, and I did. And I can't even really tell you how I did, even now. But I just wanted to say that that was 20 years ago, and we still don't have a unit in Wales. And in my community of Bridgend, we do have Mental Health Matters Wales, and it was only, actually, a couple of years ago I met Michaela at Mental Health Matters Wales, and she had an eating disorder group where people who are suffering with it, but also their families, can come together to get support. And I'd never really talked about this, and I went in and it all just came out, and we laughed, which I know sounds really strange, but there are just things that are sometimes bizarre, especially some of the things you do when you're going through this. And she just made me feel so—. I just thought to myself, 'God, I wish I'd had you when I was that age. I wish I'd had you, I wish my parents had had you at that age'.

So, I know, Minister, you're doing so much on this. I know that we've talked about it before as well, and I always really appreciate your support, but if there is any way that we can have a residential eating disorder unit in Wales so that people—just so that there's more space—don't have to move away from their home. Again, at 14, I don't know how I would have gone off to Bristol like that. So, yes—thank you.

I just want to end by saying to any and all young people out there, as I always say to you, you are not alone—there is nothing wrong with you, there is help available, and you can get through this. [Applause.]