Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary, and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Andrew Blakeman and his team for the open and transparent way in which they approached the review and for their excellent recommendations. We all accept that the NHS doesn’t have access to unlimited funds; however, we also all accept that there are times when a novel treatment that isn’t generally cost-effective is the best available treatment for an individual patient. These decisions should be taken on clinical evidence, rather than on an accountant’s spreadsheet. This is what the IPFR process was designed to do, but, unfortunately, the design was flawed.

As the review panel found during the course of their review, the exceptionality principle was confusing and unfair. I therefore wholeheartedly endorse the panel’s recommendation that exceptionality be replaced with a decision-making process based upon whether the patient will gain significant clinical benefit at reasonable value for money. I am pleased that the Cabinet Secretary has accepted this recommendation.

The other big design flaw of the existing IPFR process was the lack of a consistent approach. Individual IPFR panels would apply the decision-making criteria differently, which led to a postcode lottery. I accept the review panel’s conclusion that is not practical to have a single national IPFR panel and, therefore, welcome their recommendation that there will be a new body to monitor the individual IPFR panels for consistency. We have to end the perverse situation whereby you can get treatment, or not, based on where you live. Can you confirm, Cabinet Secretary, whether the new national IPFR quality function will be in place by September and whether it will be looking at historical applications or will only be considering new applications going forward?

Regarding the implementation, I am grateful that the Cabinet Secretary has indicated that he hopes to have all the recommendations implemented by September. This is great news, but can the Cabinet Secretary confirm that patients currently pursuing IPFRs will be judged against the new criteria, rather than the old exceptionality criteria?

Finally, Cabinet Secretary, I welcome your assurances that you have a good relationship with the pharmaceutical industry and ABPI Cymru. Wales has traditionally been less effective at working with the industry on horizon scanning. In order to support new medicines in the future, we have to plan for them. Cabinet Secretary, will you outline how you are working with the ABPI and the pharmaceutical sector so that the NHS can prepare for future treatments and drugs? And thank you, once again, for your statement, Cabinet Secretary, and for the truly inclusive and transparent way you have approached this review. I look forward to seeing the panel’s recommendations being implemented to benefit patients in Wales. Diolch yn fawr.