Diolch, Llywydd. Next month marks the seventieth anniversary of the NHS. Nye Bevan’s radical vision, based on the model of the Tredegar Medical Aid Society, transformed health services for millions of people. Today, the NHS and the social care sector are critical to the well-being of our nation. Yet everyone in this Chamber knows that the context for these services has changed markedly. More people are living longer. This, of course, is one of society’s greatest achievements, and a cause for celebration, but it brings with it additional demand for public services at a time when more than eight years of austerity significantly restricts our capacity to respond. We also see the way that modern society puts pressures on families and, in particular, children. These are some of the important reasons why the boundaries between health and social care make less sense as time moves on.

The vision of a seamless, more accessible, and better quality health and social care service is one that is shared across the Senedd. It is the reason why all parties here agreed to the establishment of a parliamentary review of health and social care back in 2016. And the terms of reference for that review, and the membership of the panel, benefited from cross-party support. And that expert, independent panel, ably led by Dr Ruth Hussey, published its final report in January this year. We have discussed that report here, in some detail. The panel very clearly articulated the urgent need to bolster the response to the significant pressure on our services now, which is only set to grow over the coming years. The panel’s final report was well received by the many stakeholders in health and social care, including here in the Senedd and, indeed, in the Health, Well-being and Sport Committee.

Yesterday, I published 'A Healthier Wales: our Plan for Health and Social Care'. That plan responds to the final report of the parliamentary review, taking forward its key recommendations. The plan sets out a long-term future vision of a whole-system approach to health and social care, focused on health and well-being and on preventing illness. The plan is different, not just in its bold ambition to truly integrate health and social care, but because it has been designed in partnership with those who will be driving and delivering the change that it articulates. These stakeholders have shared our frustration with the pace of change thus far, despite a near-universal acknowledgment that urgent change is needed. An important theme running through the plan is stronger national leadership and direction to make the whole system align with our national priorities, with regular progress updates available to hold those responsible for delivery to account.

To achieve this future vision, we will develop new models of seamless local health and social care, which will scale from local to regional to national. A national transformation programme will help to deliver change at a greater pace. And there will be a transformation board to oversee and be accountable nationally for the commitments in the plan. It will advise on and commit targeted funding support to health and social care providers particularly focused on selected new models of seamless local health and social care. And the new models must be identified as delivering significant and enhanced value and be strongly aligned to national priorities.

We will strengthen national leadership and direction, including the development of a national executive for the NHS. The national executive will support and challenge health boards and NHS trusts and ensure the development of capacity and capability across our system. We will ensure that the whole system is fit for the future by focusing on quality and value and harnessing digital opportunities and supporting our workforce. All of this work, and our future system, will be underpinned by a strong shared philosophy and continuous engagement.

But we haven't just taken the panel’s recommendations at face value. I recognise that the key to any effective public policy is to understand the barriers that have frustrated change in the past and to put in place what needs to be done differently to overcome them. We have therefore taken great care in this plan to give strong national direction in realigning our policy levers so that they fully support the vision—in particular, financial strategy, planning, performance management, and inspection and regulation. These structures help to shape decision making on a day-to-day basis in our delivery organisations.

Finally, this plan has been developed through a major engagement exercise with our key strategic delivery partners. I have met with local government and health board leaders in each of the regional partnership board areas of Wales, together with the Minister for Children, Older People and Social Care. We've also discussed the plan with local government cabinet members for social care and the Welsh Local Government Association council. And we will maintain this engagement now that the plan is published, with a further round of regional footprint meetings planned for the weeks running up to our summer recess.

At executive level, the WLGA, the NHS Confederation, the Association of Directors of Social Services and the Wales Council for Voluntary Action have led or been involved in working groups that have helped to shape the plan. The most senior staff from these organisations were members of an external reference group that was chaired by the Welsh Government director general for health and social services. We've also received feedback from citizen panels during April, which has helped to shape the vision and the design principles in the plan. All of this builds on the high level of public and professional engagement already undertaken by the parliamentary review team.

A significant and previously unseen level of engagement with people, professionals and indeed political parties has characterised the work of the parliamentary review right up to the publication now of 'A Healthier Wales'. I hope this is now a plan that the whole nation can get behind. It is a plan with a clear set of actions for the first three years. The work starts now and will move quickly to build momentum. The plan contains all the components needed to take health and social care forward, but it will count for nothing without effective execution. As I have said regularly to our external partners, the radical thing to do now is to implement this plan.