I welcome this debate, and I thank Hefin David for opening the debate and placing bowel cancer under the microscope. Also, as this cancer is so common, I too have some family experience, as my father and grandfather suffered this condition over the years. As we have heard, there is a significant challenge in undertaking a proper diagnosis. The symptoms, such as stomach pains, diarrhoea, sometimes constipation, passing blood—all of those symptoms are very common symptoms. If GPs were to refer everyone who had those symptoms to our hospitals, then there would be no room to do any other work whatsoever.

Therefore, the patient history is crucially important. You need something in that history, the individual's story, to point the GP towards this dangerous diagnosis of bowel cancer. That's the art of the GP, of course, recognising as well, of course, that some bowel cancers have no symptoms at all. That’s the importance of a screening programme. Despite its imperfections at the moment—and I do support the innovative steps, as we've heard outlined by Mark Isherwood, that are being taken in this area to have a far more reliable test, and a far more detailed test in place. So, there is work to be done, and it needs to be done as a matter of urgency. That's why I am supporting this debate and supporting the motion this afternoon.

As we are also in coeliac awareness week, as I mentioned earlier, I will also say a few words about that. Coeliac disease is that condition where the body reacts unfavourably to protein in wheat, some sorts of oats, barley and rye. That protein is gluten, of course. People think that coeliac disease is slightly innocuous and insignificant, and in remaining on that gluten-free diet, then it can be innocuous, apart from all the difficulties involved with ensuring that individuals avoid gluten—gluten in bread, pasta, flour, pizza, cakes, biscuits, gravy, fish fingers even, sausages—the list can be endless—and anything where flour including gluten has been used.

But in not diagnosing coeliac disease, which is also a difficult diagnosis: again, the symptoms are common, such as tiredness, pains in the stomach, diarrhoea, particularly after eating bread, but not necessarily so—not necessarily at all—. We read about these symptoms in books, but everyone is different in the way they present to the GP, and that’s the art of the GP. But in not being on a gluten-free diet when you do have coeliac disease, there is a risk of developing anaemia, osteoporosis, neurological impacts such as ataxia, and also cancer of the small intestine, and a kind of lymphoma in the bowel. It is a risk factor in developing bowel cancer—that’s what coeliac disease is, and that’s why it’s important in this context. As I say, we all tend to look at it as something that's quite innocuous, but in neglecting the condition, coeliac disease can be very serious indeed, and it's a cause for concern that very often it can take many years to have that proper diagnosis. So, support the motion. Thank you.