Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. I've given a minute to Angela Burns AM, Suzy Davies AM and David Rowlands AM, but he's not here. Right.

Growing older or maturing in years is something that should be enjoyed; it is also something to be celebrated. In today's society with the use of sci-fi technology, the progress of modern medicine, a more affluent society, it cannot be beyond the realms of any nation or its Government to champion, to empower and to stand up and recognise the true value to society of these incredible people—800,000, in fact, currently living in Wales. Out of a population size of around 3 million, this is a sizeable number, who deserve respect, are entitled to their independence, and deserve the freedom to make decisions about their own lives.

Wales has previously been a pioneering nation for the interests of our older people in many ways, with the creation of the world's first older people's commissioner role in 2006. I have to pay tribute to Sarah Rochira, our commissioner now, for her outstanding work on behalf of our older citizens. However, the time has come to acknowledge these basic rights, to empower and enshrine these rights in a charter, and, as we have called for in our manifesto, some legislation that will place firmly on record what they are entitled to, that they will be protected, and they will be valued as they deserve.

In order to empower older people to feel ownership of their rights and entrench positive attitudes in society and the workplace, a dedicated set of rights within the particular Welsh context is essential. In extending and promoting the rights of older people, we can support those across Wales to remain active members of the family, our community, and, indeed, our society.

The overarching aim of this debate is to call for the introduction of measures, codified in law, to tackle ageism, promote ageing well and embed older people's well-being within public service delivery. Developing further from the current declaration of rights for older people in Wales, such a charter or Bill for older people would enshrine the rights of older people within Welsh law, placing a direct duty of due regard on public bodies, including the duty to consult older people when making decisions about services and issues that affect their lives. It would also place an obligation on the Welsh Government to promote knowledge of and understanding of the rights of older people across Wales.

The Older People's Commissioner for Wales, Sarah Rochira, has been a real champion, and I say that twice to just endorse the work she's done. I have been mightily impressed—no fear or favour, she's stood up for the people whom she's there to represent. And she's certainly not shied away from standing up to the Government and standing up for this amazing generation when their health, their quality of life and their dignity has been compromised. The importance of such dedicated rights is clear when we look at instances where policies relating to older people have been sidelined by the Welsh Government.

Just recently, we learnt that the ministerial strategy to tackle loneliness and isolation amongst older people will now not be published until next year, 2019—too late for many of our older people. We know that loneliness is a significant public health risk. In comparison, it's actually compared to being as damaging as smoking and affects 0.5 million people in Wales. Amongst older people in particular, Age Cymru have found that 300,000 individuals feel that their days can be repetitive and 75,000 were not looking forward to our last Christmas.