I actually want to speak against the proposals before the Senedd today, not because I don't support the need to facilitate both short- and long-term leave for parents, for those who are sick or injured or with caring responsibilities or because of a bereavement, but because we have a system that has served this Senedd for over two decades, which has worked exceptionally well in order to provide leave for those purposes. It's called the pairing system. It's worked in parliaments for many hundreds of years, including here in the United Kingdom, and indeed in Wales it has served us very, very well.

I think it's worth just recognising that we're not employees; as Members of the Senedd, we're elected representatives. We're elected into public office, and I don't think that trying to compare us to employees in the way that is proposed by these reforms, if you like, by giving certain rights to Members for proxy votes, is an appropriate thing to do. So, whilst fully supporting the need to facilitate leave for parents when they need it, for those with caring responsibilities, and for those who have suffered a bereavement, I do think that those things can be achieved and have been achieved successfully through the pairing system, and, for that reason, I urge Members today to vote against these unnecessary proposals.