Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. This is such an important debate, and I thank John Griffiths for bringing it forward and for the other contributions that we've heard. Challenging poverty and inequality is a central part of all our work as a Government and my work as a Minister, and education, as we've heard, is crucial to deliver that objective. We want to see high standards and high aspirations for everyone, wherever they come from or whatever their background.

We've taken significant steps forward already, leading to our current reform programme, our commitment to invest in early years education and care, as we heard from John Griffiths, the new Curriculum for Wales, our Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018, assistance for post-16 education and lifelong learning—we've heard about the power of that clearly today—our free school meals policy, our funding for the school day, initiatives related to music services, and giving books as gifts. All of these focus on overcoming barriers to success and equality. 

Although we have made progress, I think that progress has been too slow. Look at the 14 to 16 cohort, for example. We know from our own data that there hasn't been sufficient progress over the past decade in closing the attainment gap between learners from low-income backgrounds and others. And the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation. According to research in our universities, the well-being and attainment of pupils in poverty have fallen even further behind, as John Griffiths noted. We cannot accept a situation where personal success in the future relies on one's background, and I'm determined to take radical and consistent steps to ensure that that isn't the case. 

We need a whole-system approach that looks at the areas that will make a difference to people. This should be based on an approach to education that reflects and draws on the community, and is consistent with policy developments in areas such as health and the economy. In my statement on 22 March, I started to set out some of our work in delivering this, and I outlined further steps for the Bevan Foundation on 16 June. And soon, I will publish an action plan that will bring these publications together, and will set out the direction for partnership working in the future. 

Qualifications play a crucial part, but we also need to consider employability, well-being and achieving personal goals. I am commissioning a review in this area, and I've asked my colleague Hefin David, Senedd Member for Caerphilly, to look at the way education providers do provide experiences related to the workplace, and to make recommendations on focus, consistency and the efficiency and effectiveness of these experiences. 

We will have to use the pupil development grant in an effective way. We're already starting work with partners in this regard. The PDG access has made a huge difference to many disadvantaged families across Wales, assisting to alleviate concerns about buying school uniform or equipment, and enabling children to go to school and take part in activities at the same level as their peers. Last year, the grant was extended to children and young people in all school years, meaning that it is now possible for even more families to benefit from this support.

Whilst acknowledging the pressure on families, Dirprwy Lywydd, in March I announced a one-off payment of £100 to all children and young people who qualified for this grant. This means that the funding for that grant has increased to over £23 million for the next school year.