Janet:

Will the First Minister make a statement on housing provision for vulnerable children?

First Minister:

We made clear our commitment, and we've demonstrated through our policy and funding decisions, our support to the most vulnerable in our society and, of course, to ensuring that everyone lives in a home that meets their needs and supports individuals and families to flourish.

Janet:

Thank you, First Minister. The Children's Commissioner for Wales, Professor Sally Holland, has said that the provision of secure homes for vulnerable children is inadequate in Wales. And this issue has been raised frequently with your Welsh Government. In the last year, 20 welfare placements were made for our Welsh children, yet half of these were placed in England. Indeed, BBC Wales reported on a teenager who was placed in a secure children's unit some 250 miles away from their own home. First Minister, this is not acceptable. So, why has your Government not acted upon these previous concerns, and what are you doing to ensure that vulnerable children can access the facilities they so badly need so much closer to their homes where they originate?

First Minister:

The problem is the lack of devolution, because, of course, secure welfare provision is currently managed on an England-and-Wales basis through a network of 15 secure children's homes. We do look to work with the UK Government's Department for Education and the Ministry of Justice as to how best to reconfigure youth justice provision, but this is another example of why justice needs to be devolved, to avoid a situation where we are entirely dependent on departments in London to provide services in Wales. And that is something, certainly, that I'm sure will be a matter for discussion over the next few years.