Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. I would also like to put on record my thanks for the way you’re approaching the review into the IPFR process. On issues such as these, it is important that we rise above party politics and work constructively together to delivery life-saving treatments for Welsh patients. While there has been much criticism of the cancer treatment fund in England, we must also accept that, for some people, it did actually save their lives. We all know of people who moved to England just so that they could access treatment that was denied to them by our Welsh NHS because of the inflexibility of the IPFR process. We therefore welcome the Government’s decision to review the IPFR process and we will work with you to ensure that we have a more streamlined system that is more responsive to the needs of the patients.

The cancer treatment fund was too narrow. People with life-threatening illnesses other than cancer should not be denied access to new treatments, and we welcome the Welsh Government’s commitment to introduce a new treatment fund. As with all Government initiatives, the devil is in the detail and we look forward to seeing how this scheme will operate in practice.

Cabinet Secretary, the new treatment fund was one of your key pledges to the people of Wales, so it is important that you deliver upon your promise that the most advanced drugs for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses will be available in Wales first. How will the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group be strengthened in order to deliver faster appraisals of new medicines? Cabinet Secretary, are you working with groups such as the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in order to improve horizon scanning so that we are better equipped to deal with new treatments coming down the line? The discovery of new treatments requires massive research and development. What is the Welsh Government doing to ensure that Wales leads the way in medical research and development? And what role will the excellent life science centre at Swansea University, which is in my region, play in the discovery and delivery of new treatments?

I note that the new medicines fund will only fund the first 12 months of treatment. Will local health boards be required to continue treatments? With the move to three-year funding for LHBs, will they have the flexibility to continue to fund these treatments?

Finally, Cabinet Secretary, we in UKIP look forward to seeing your detailed plans for the new fund and working with you to deliver improvements to the IPFR process and patient access to new treatments. We will work with you to ensure the Welsh NHS delivers lifesaving treatments to all the people of Wales. Thank you very much. Diolch yn fawr.