Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm delighted to move the motion tabled today by the Welsh Conservatives on the subject of mental health. This issue is one that will affect many of us during our lifetime, either directly or through close family and friends, and I'd like to start my contribution by saying thank you to those Members who have raised their personal experiences surrounding mental health in this Chamber on previous occasions. It's been open and courageous of you. By sharing those experiences, I believe it has helped others to understand that there is no shame in being unwell.

We have tabled this debate today because we want to draw attention to mental health. We want to draw attention to the fact that, if run in a more proactive and holistic manner, mental health services in Wales could be world leading. We want to send out the message to all those people currently living with mental health issues that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that people do understand.

Mental health is very much a catch-all term for a range of conditions. People suffering from mental health problems can have conditions ranging from mild anxiety, depression, eating disorders, through to bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Whilst healthcare professionals are much more aware and adept at treating the more common mental health conditions, it is far harder to access or speak to experts quickly who deal with the more severe and complex conditions. This lack of adequate support for the more complex conditions can have dire consequences on a patient's health and may lead them to seeking other forms of support, by turning to drugs or alcohol.

Good mental health can have a positive impact, not only on the individual, but also on the whole community. It allows us to be more resilient and cope with what life has to throw at us. It is estimated that one in four of us—that's 25 per cent; that's a quarter of everybody in this Chamber—will suffer from a common mental disorder at some point in our lifetime. This is a concerning statistic, made all the more difficult by the fact that an unfounded stigma still surrounds mental illness, stopping many people, especially men, from facing their feelings or seeking advice because they can no longer cope.

According to Samaritans Wales, somewhere between 300 and 350 people die by suicide each year—almost one per day; 30 a month. About three quarters of these are men. A further 150,000 people have suicidal thoughts, according to the 2017 Welsh confederation report into mental health. This is around 5 per cent of the whole population, which is a truly sobering statistic. And it's not just the male/female split that's become apparent in recent years. Samaritans Wales also reports a growing difference between those living in poverty and those from more affluent areas. The charity's research found that, as deprivation increases, so does suicidal behaviour. Hospital admissions from self-harm are twice as high in deprived areas compared with the most affluent, while suicide risk increased with unemployment. Other research has estimated that the cost of poor mental health in the workplace amounts to £12 billion a year, nearly £860 for every employee in Wales. Cabinet Secretary, this begs the question as to what can be done to educate all of us on how we can spot the signs of poor mental health much earlier.