That there has been an improvement in one-year survival rates is obviously to be welcomed, but the statistics on the five-year survival of lung cancer patients do rather detract from that achievement. It is shocking that lung cancer survival rates in Wales lag so far behind those of the rest of the UK. Early diagnosis is key. Waiting times to see consultants to have tests and receive assessment for treatment urgently need to be minimised. I acknowledge the increased funding of the NHS in Wales proposed in the draft budget. However, those funds will only bring real benefit to cancer patients if they are spent on additional front-line staff rather than fancy initiatives, talking shops and backroom non-medical staff.

Whilst end-of-life care is extremely important to any patient with a terminal illness, the goal is obviously to keep cancer patients alive in the first place so they don’t need that kind of end-of-life care. Government proposals in this regard, however compassionate, cannot address the poor survival rates of cancer patients.

We look forward to seeing the detail behind the Government’s refreshed cancer delivery plan and, in particular, to see whether that plan contains innovative thinking or whether the plan will be a rehash of things tried before. It is the responsibility of the Welsh Government to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to support medical professionals in their efforts to increase survival rates in Wales. I don’t for one moment think that these poor results are caused by a lack of compassion on the part of the Welsh Government or anyone in this Chamber or by neglect on the part of our medical staff. However, it is clear that the strategy tried up to now is not working. It is time for some fresh, imaginative and pragmatic thinking on the part of the Welsh Government, and I look forward to hearing its new proposals in due course.