Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary, as well as your earlier written statement. Although I was not a Member of this Assembly when the Ockenden report was published, I remember the shock and outrage I felt when I learnt of what these poor people endured on the Tawel Fan ward. Listening, even last week, on the radio to families reliving their experiences and how they feel when they even have to pass the area concerned—which was more reminiscent of how people in mental ill health were treated in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, not the twenty-first. 

Three years later, we now have the findings of the Health and Social Care Advisory Service investigation. No-one can dispute the independence or expertise of HASCAS, with Dr Johnstone and her team carrying out the investigation and publishing the report. HASCAS found chaotic and poor governance and problems across all mental health services in north Wales. They found nine key factors that compromised patient care. However, there is a disconnect between the HASCAS findings and the earlier investigation conducted by Donna Ockenden, and it is this disconnect that has led families to reject the findings of the HASCAS report, branding it a whitewash and a cover-up. 

I agree with you, Cabinet Secretary, that we should avoid jumping to conclusions, but until we can fully address the concerns of the families involved in the Tawel Fan scandal, or those treated in the Ablett Unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, we cannot move on from this. Cabinet Secretary, have you considered asking Donna Ockenden to work with HASCAS in order to address the concerns of the families? While I am pleased that Dr Johnstone and her team found no evidence of systemic abuse, they did find institutional failings in both the governance and care pathways at Betsi Cadwaladr. Cabinet Secretary, this is not the first report to highlight failings in clinical governance, not just in north Wales but across the NHS. Do you believe that the current governance model is fit for purpose in a modern healthcare system? 

I welcome the announcement that you will publish a special measures improvement framework for Betsi, and I look forward to seeing the first progress report in October. Cabinet Secretary, as Betsi are already in special measures, what recourse is open to you should they fail to make progress against the improvement framework?

Finally, Cabinet Secretary, you have indicated that there are lessons for the wider NHS and that you expect NHS organisations to consider the report. With regard to social care implications, what discussions have you had with Social Care Wales, and do you expect local government to also consider the recommendations of the HASCAS report?

I look forward to working with you to ensure that the events that occurred in the Ablett Unit can never happen again. Diolch yn fawr. Thank you.