I wanted to start by saying that, although I recognise providing for the complexity of disabilities that exist in Wales is challenging, I'm nonetheless still surprised, given all the information that we know about the positive impact of helping those with disabilities to gain independence and to live prosperous and fulfilling lives, and how it can bring positive contributions to a wider society, that people are still finding themselves having to fight for the support that they are fully entitled to, and have to work so hard to get those in power to take their needs seriously.

Indeed, I am astonished that, in Wales, we have a postcode lottery to habilitation services. It is simply not right that some local authorities do not provide this support, and it’s wholly unfair to those and their families who've been left to source these services on their own at one of the most difficult, stressful and uncertain times in their lives. It is also wrong, for those who are lucky enough to have a local authority support them, that they find themselves having to jump through so many hoops before they receive those services.

Whilst there is an agreement when access to habilitation is required, the experience of those who need the service is still very poor. They find that there is little to patchy understanding of what habilitation entails, why it is needed, and the length of time the support is required for. The process of receiving habilitation training is, and continues to be, a source of great worry.

We know that habilitation is best begun as early as possible when sight loss is diagnosed, and is particularly important for children in early years, because it helps not only to develop a child’s awareness of their own body and condition, but an awareness of the space around them, whilst still developing the use of their other senses. So, in many ways, it is time critical for these services to be available, and for people to receive them as quickly as possible. Having to spend several months or even years waiting to receive habilitation not only makes it more difficult for individuals, but is counterproductive, because it often means that these services are required for much longer.

Astonishingly, research shows that the older a person is, the less likely they are to receive habilitation support. So, it is not acceptable that, in a number of local authority areas, young people with vision impairment are not receiving mobility and independence training at a key time in their education. The difference that habilitation support can make is profound. It can unlock so much potential from children and young people with vision impairment. It will enable them to fully engage with their education and help them prepare for the world around them, such as moving to college or university, applying for apprenticeships or work, and to live as an independent young adult.

Furthermore, we know that there's a high social return on investment, and that, for every £1 spent on habilitation services, £7.13 is created in social value. While some of the value relates to parents, the majority of the value is based on the children and young people themselves. Indeed, a habilitation service creates £5.72 for every £1 spent, solely from service user outcomes alone.

Finally, I want to finish by highlighting the benefits of habilitation felt by people. The improvement in confidence and the ability to carry out tasks for themselves is life changing, and this in turn improves emotional well-being and mental and physical health, which they desperately need. With this in mind, I would urge everyone here to fully support this motion. The Welsh Government needs to act urgently to ensure that people are getting the services they require. They need to help remove the stress and worry for those affected by reducing red tape and the hurdles that people go through. And they also need to finally provide much-needed leadership on this, to get local authorities to provide the services they're duty bound to provide. Thank you.