Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I'm grateful to the committee for undertaking this inquiry into primary care clusters. The Welsh Government set out, yet again, in 'Prosperity for All' that we continue to see primary care clusters as key catalysts for reform and change in local healthcare. I want clusters to continue to develop their role as local collaborative mechanisms for assessing the needs of communities, and then making the best use of available resources. That means using funding, people, skills and other assets within the national health service, but also in local authorities, the third sector and communities themselves, to meet that need. 

We are already seeing the benefits of collaboration at cluster level, with evidence of increased collaboration resulting in a better use of resources. We also see GP practice mergers, federations and social enterprises as some of the solutions to sustainability. To improve access, as well as sustainability, clusters continue to develop and make use of a wide range of health professionals. We increasingly see pharmacists, physiotherapists and paramedics working alongside GPs within the local healthcare team—more people having more timely access to the right professionals for their needs closer to home.