Indeed, recent Welsh Government-commissioned research, published via Hwb, has outlined that outdoor education has well-established benefits for children and young people in both their physical health and well-being, but also their mental health and well-being. In addition to this, Welsh Government-commissioned research found that outdoor education has exceptional benefits for personal and social learning, cognitive development and appreciation of our environment, and with our climate crisis, this is more important now than ever before.

Along with this, research from across the world has further outlined that if a child experiences these benefits at a young age, they will carry it through for the rest of their life, making a lasting difference. Furthermore, the Curriculum for Wales's health and well-being area of learning and experience contains statements of 'what matters', which place importance on responding to experiences, decision making and social influences. These are all fundamental within outdoor education, as fully realised through an outdoor education residential experience. 

I'd now like to move on to why the Bill is needed here in Wales, and what the published research and statistics are telling us. I'd firstly like to put on record my thanks to those schools and organisations through which we currently see outdoor education taking place, with fantastic work being carried out to enable this to happen. The main rationale behind my Bill is that all this good work that schools and organisations are currently doing simply doesn't go far enough, because it's seen as enrichment rather than an essential part of education, with many parts of our communities missing out due to financial constraints, where they live or their family background, and I'll go into that a little bit more shortly.

As Members will be aware, last week, with the help of the outdoor education sector and the Senedd's research team, I produced a statistical paper that briefly outlines what we currently see with those who participate in outdoor education, as, regretfully, there were no official statistics about the number of outdoor education residential visits or how many of our children and young people in Wales are gaining the clear range of benefits that they provide. This statistical paper has surveyed 350 schools across 18 of Wales's local authorities, and working with the Outdoor Education Advisers Panel Cymru, I collected data that shows four key findings. 

Firstly, in over a third of Welsh schools, of those children offered the opportunity to participate in outdoor education residential visits, fewer than 75 per cent of children take part. Secondly, 60 per cent of schools surveyed cited financial reasons as the main barrier to participation in outdoor education residential visits. Thirdly, over one in five Welsh schools do not offer a subsidy to those families who are financially constrained. And fourthly, initial research has also suggested that more affluent areas will see more children participate in outdoor education visits, while those in less affluent areas participate less.

Indeed, those survey results found that in Blaenau Gwent, 65 per cent of schools indicated financial constraints as an issue; in Caerphilly, 70 per cent of schools indicated financial constraints as an issue; and in Rhondda Cynon Taf, 75 per cent of schools showed that financial constraints are an issue, whilst in Monmouthshire, it was 45 per cent outlining this as an issue. In addition, during this process, a key thing that struck me is the fact that, regretfully, an outdoor education visit may, in fact, be the only time that some of your youngsters actually have the opportunity to see beyond the communities that they live in, and experience something new. 

So, along with my statistical paper, I'm sure avid followers of my Twitter and Facebook pages saw two key articles that I shared this summer in relation to outdoor education. Firstly, new research from Swansea University, published via BBC Wales, found that children in Wales were among the world's least fit, with researchers giving Wales's youngsters an F for fitness. A second BBC article, featuring research from Sport Wales, found that children are doing less sport than they were four years ago, with 36 per cent of children not doing any activities outside of their school physical education lessons, compared with 28 per cent just four years ago. I'm sure all Members from across the Chamber can agree that it's simply not right that a significant proportion of our young people across Wales don't have the chance to participate in something so beneficial, due to either where they're from or their family's financial situation. I believe that we cannot stand back and look at our children becoming unhealthier and our young people not engaging in outdoor activities, and for us to sit here and not to do anything about it is simply not acceptable.

Moving on to the financial costs, which I know Members are keen to understand further, and I think it's only fair that we address this issue as well. The initial research and understanding has shown that this would cost between £9.9 million and £13.6 million to fund, which is around 0.06 per cent of the Welsh Government's total budget. Nevertheless, following the Bill's implementation, I believe we would actually see cost benefits from this Bill, with savings to public services through improved health, well-being, mental health services and education outcomes, along with an enhanced appreciation of the environment. Furthermore, the introduction and support of this Bill would contribute to four key purposes of the Welsh Government's Curriculum for Wales: we would see even more ambitious and capable learners who are ready to learn throughout their lives; we would see enterprising and creative contributors who are ready to play a full part in life and work; we would see more ethical and informed citizens who are ready to be citizens of Wales and the world; and finally, we would see healthier and confident individuals who are ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.

I'd also like to just update Members as to how this is working in other parts of the United Kingdom. As some will be aware, there's an outdoor education Bill currently working its way through the Scottish Parliament, and it's been extremely useful to talk to colleagues there and understand that there is cross-party support there too for such a proposal. It's also important to outline the support coming from the outdoor education sector when it comes to this Bill, because despite working on this for the last three months, I can't claim at all that I'm an expert, unlike those who are in the outdoor education sector, who live, breathe and work outdoor education day in and day out. And Members will note, as I'm sure they've read the explanatory memorandum, in section 41, the sheer support from leading outdoor organisations across Wales, including Urdd Gobaith Cymru, the Institute for Outdoor Learning, the Wales Council for Outdoor Learning, the Outdoor Education Advisers Panel and Ramblers Cymru. Deputy Presiding Officer, there are a number of organisations that I could go on to list, but there's a huge amount of support out there for this Bill.

I'd also like to express my understanding and reality that a lot more work needs to be done with this Bill. Over the past few months, I and many others have found lots of significant work and data around why the Bill is needed, but there is of course more that needs to be done to understand this fully. And that's why I believe there's a crucial role for opposition and backbench Members of this Senedd to be able to work cross-party to bring forward positive and lasting changes that will complement the work being carried out by the Welsh Government. It's also crucial to note that, by supporting today's motion, it allows me to start the process of working tirelessly over the next year, hand in hand with the outdoor sector, to gain more evidence and data regarding the need for outdoor education residential stays, and consequently present this to the Senedd in a year's time. But it's important to reiterate that today's vote can be used as an opportunity for a backbench and opposition Member to seek to introduce important legislation that will deliver lasting changes and complement the work of the Welsh Government.

So, in closing, Deputy Presiding Officer, I'd like to thank all the organisations and staff who've worked tirelessly in helping me produce the Bill's explanatory memorandum, the statistical paper, along with a summary of the Bill. But I'd also like to thank Members from across the Senedd for taking the time out of their busy schedules to discuss this Bill with me, along with the Minister for education, who I look forward to hearing from later in this debate, and his positive discussions so far. I look forward to Members' contributions to today's motion and welcome discussions and questions regarding my proposals. Diolch yn fawr iawn.