Meeting of the Parliament 14 January 2026
I commend the minister. The Promise is not hers alone, and it was not started by her. It was started by her predecessors in her position and higher up in the Government. She has been landed with a very difficult situation, because the Promise reaches right across Government, and it requires the commitment of so many Cabinet offices and ministers to make it work. Its implementation will require the full heft of Government.
The Promise was a personal obligation that was set out by a previous First Minister. I am not saying that it is not a commitment of the current First Minister, but we get the feeling that it is not as much of a priority as it used to be. That is why we are in some of the difficulties that we are facing today, particularly in relation to the UNCRC.
The fact that we did not seek to declutter the landscape at an earlier stage to avoid the current situation arising in the first place was a clear omission. Again, it is not the minister’s fault that that has not happened before now, but it has not, which is why we are in this difficult position.
While I compliment the minister on her clear passion in this area, I would caution her against saying that the bill is going to change lives. It will make improvements, but we should not overstate its impact beyond that. Those improvements will be good, but they are not going to change lives dramatically in the way that has been set out.
We should also be honest.