Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. First of all, can I thank Janet for bringing this debate in front of us today, and also the other Members who have contributed, and those who have stayed here to listen to this important debate as well, on a very important topic? I also begin by paying tribute to the commissioner for older people, Sarah Rochira, who I met with early on in my appointment as Minister, and will continue to meet with regularly. The important thing about the role of the commissioner for older people is its independence, and the fact that she feels able to, and frequently does, speak out powerfully for the right of older people, will feel free to criticise Government policy, where appropriate—will also, I have to say, feel free to recognise where this Assembly and this Government have made great strides. I know that didn't feature greatly in the opening contribution there, but she has actually—and I can see the Member nodding—she has actually recognised that Wales has done some great things in this field and has actually led the way. I think, in the spirit of the debate and the way that it has been moved, that's where we need to keep out focus—in Wales leading the way. So, I do welcome this debate today.

I think we all realise that the real tangible difference to older people's lives can only be made through working together. It is a shared commitment right across the statutory sector, but also the private—and we often forget the third sectors as well—to shape and deliver services that are sensitive to the individual needs of older people in Wales. And all of those services must be working to assist people to live independently for as long as possible and for as long as they choose to do that, and to do so, as has been remarked on, with dignity and respect. We are not all going to get to the age of Methuselah, which I think was 969, begetting children when you move into the 100s and 200s and 300s, but we will have longer lives, and to be able to do that healthily and well and to live with dignity and security is an important part of the way we take this agenda forward in Wales. That, by the way, is why the recently published population needs assessments are so important in signposting the scale of the challenge and how we need to rise to it. The first population assessment reports were published last year. They provide a clear and specific evidence base to form a range of planning and operational decisions, and I'll turn to a couple of those challenges and the scale of them right now.