I thank you very much for your statement this afternoon, Deputy Minister, and thank you for bringing it to the floor of the Senedd this afternoon. Just before I start the main thrust of my response to your statement, I just want to put on record this afternoon my sincere thoughts to Ben Mwangi, Logan's family and friends and all his social network, who've all been affected by this terrible and tragic murder. As a father of a young boy of a similar age, the thought of the pain and suffering that he would have gone through really goes through me. Whatever Government and local authority processes that we do put it place, it never deflects from the sheer evil and the disgusting people who carried out this sustained period of abuse, neglect and, indeed, murder as well. And I'm pleased to see that the right level of justice was applied to them and that they are, indeed, serving their time at Her Majesty's pleasure—His Majesty's pleasure, I should say.

We can all agree that what happened to Logan Mwangi was a tragedy that should never have happened and something that we should ensure never happens again. Logan's death was preventable had the council's failures been identified sooner and action was taken. The report into Logan shows Bridgend council's blaming of COVID for some of its shortcomings, alongside social workers not being able to follow the Government's guidance because it was not clear or responsive enough to ensure proper safeguarding for vulnerable children during the COVID pandemic. So, does the Deputy Minister accept that if the correct personal protective equipment had been accessible, then social care staff would have been able to assess Logan just 24 hours before his death? And does the Deputy Minister note a lack of leadership from social services in Bridgend to read between the lies being told by the evil perpetrator—that COVID was the reason that Logan couldn't be seen, to deflect from the reality of what was actually happening?

COVID did impact every service that Bridgend council and the Welsh Government provides, but the failure to escalate Logan's situation, despite significant evidence that he needed support, shows that under-staffed departments prove concerns that the council is too reliant on agency workers. So, does the Deputy Minister recognise the over-reliance on agency staff in Bridgend council, and what discussions have you had, or will you have in the future with the authority to recruit full-time workers into the social services department?

And, additionally, the lack of information sharing has brought to prominence a culture of authoritative management, which meant that junior staff were unable to challenge decisions made by their seniors, as in a lot of professions, which this case has proven. Staff must never feel afraid and feel that they are part of a team and all working together in that decision-making process. And in addition to Bridgend council having significant lessons to learn from the recommendation of the report, it's clear that the Welsh Government must enact a Wales-wide review of children's services to genuinely ensure that this never happens again. Leadership is needed and the buck stops with the Welsh Government and the First Minister, who must ensure that Wales is no longer the only nation in the UK without a nationwide children's review.

So, will you rethink your decision to not have a Wales-wide review of children's services, and give cast-iron guarantees to every child, parent and care provider across the 22 authorities that this Welsh Government is on their side and give us the best opportunity to safeguard all children across Wales, because it's unfortunate that the Welsh Government blocks such a review when Wales has the UK's highest rate of looked-after children? I'd just, finally, like to urge the Government to change its direction before we risk another tragedy like Logan Mwangi. Thank you.