I want to use this opportunity to thank the Children's Commissioner for Wales for this report, and welcome the new commissioner, Rocio Cifuentes, to her role. I look forward to seeing the work that Rocio achieves through engaging with young people, making Wales the best place to grow up as a young person. It is great to see how the Children's Commissioner for Wales has engaged with youth-led groups in my own community of Bridgend. The report mentions being engaged with Bridgend inclusive youth club and Bridgend YMCA, and I've worked with young people in the clubs to develop resources and materials that are relevant to their needs, and the needs of children and young people with learning disabilities. 

The report also mentions Project Vote that saw 16-year-olds voting for the first time in our recent local government elections. Students at Cynffig Comprehensive School in my constituency were able to participate in a pilot scheme that allowed them to vote in school across three days. It was great to see them representing young voter voices in The Guardian, where they spoke about how important it was to them to be able to vote and about ways to make voting more accessible. 

The report also mentions the work that the commissioner is doing regarding the learner travel review. I have met with the previous commissioner regarding this issue, and pupils in Cornelly who are campaigning for improved access to school transport. The change in three-mile to two-mile criteria for access to a bus pass has really impacted the young people getting to and from school, including their mental health and uptake of musical instruments. This winter, there will be children as young as 11 walking to school in the rain and then sitting in soaking wet clothes all day. As the report states, this is an issue that is impacting on pupils across Wales, and I agree with the report that the Welsh Government must set out clearly and with urgency timescales to achieve positive change by the end of the Senedd's term, and young people's views must feed into the next stage of that work. 

The report explores the whole-school approach to mental health, and I have spoken with the commissioner about my own experiences of anorexia after sharing here in the Chamber. So, it's great to hear about TERMS, the technology-enabled remote monitoring in schools project by the Royal College of Psychiatrists that has been co-designed with pupils of Brynteg Comprehensive School in Bridgend, where the project is now being piloted. This project came after pupils were asked directly what area of mental health they wanted to explore. Eating disorders was raised as the key area that they wanted to have more research around.

And then, lastly, I'd like to highlight the recognition of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child—the tools that underpin all policies and legislation that impact young people. Since being elected, I have been working with school councils and Bridgend youth council, as well as Pippa King from Biometrics in schools and Jen Persson from Defend Digital Me, on the increasing use of biometric data being collected and used in schools. In 2021, I was made aware of local schools in Bridgend introducing technology to collect and use fingerprints of children for lunchtime meals. Technologies once used by state intelligence agencies are now being used on our children for monetary transactions. Consent letters sent to parents framed the use of fingerprint data collection as safer for children, and I am pleased that the Welsh Government has updated guidance, clarifying that it is always up to the child to make the decision on whether or not to hand over their data. However, when speaking to young people in my community, they are not aware of this, and they think it is up to their parents.

Fundamentally, when somebody has a password, it is something that you can change or reset; a fingerprint is something that you are—it is part of you. Once that data is compromised, it is compromised for life. And these technologies are also not immune to data leaks and exploitation, just as we saw in schools across Wales that youth apps—the US app, Seesaw—had been hacked into—the system—and sent explicit images to children. Article 16 of the UNCRC states that all young people have the right to privacy, and yet, what we are seeing is that intrusive technologies are being rolled out in schools and without the information for young people to understand who is collecting their personal data and how it is being used now and in the future. So, I would therefore welcome the opportunity to discuss these concerns raised with me by young people, with the commissioner, and the potential impact of digital technologies being used in educational settings across Wales. Diolch.