I think I can speak on behalf of all Assembly Members by saying that we often learn a great deal in dealing with various consultations and reports, and I will start my contribution with an admission: I hadn’t realised the scale of the issue that we were covering. I hadn’t understood the scale of the problem. But once we’d started gathering evidence as a committee, it became very clear to me and my fellow Members that the evidence that we were hearing and reading was extremely powerful and heart-rending, and it was like watching a scandal unfolding before us—or that’s how I felt—with witness upon witness reporting to us a story that was very consistent and extremely heart-rending.

I don’t think that what’s happening in our care homes and hospitals is happening because of negligence or malice, generally speaking, but I am convinced, following our research and report, that what is happening is abuse. That is the result and what is happening is that we have allowed the use of unnecessary medicines, which, to me, is akin to serious abuse, to become the norm, and we must put an end to it. The truth is that giving unnecessary drugs to vulnerable people is a very serious issue, and as we as a committee state very clearly in this report, it was a huge concern to hear just how often this was chosen as the first option, rather than the last resort. And that's why—because of the gravity of the situation—we are considering this. And that’s why we have made these recommendations to ensure that there is compliance with NICE guidance, that we need a checklist for care staff, that staff in care homes need to be able to deal with challenging behaviour, and so on and so forth.

I am so disappointed in the Government’s response. Although they have only rejected one recommendation, in looking at the ones they have accepted in principle, well, they may as well have rejected them. In practical terms, the Government’s response means that they are going to transfer responsibility for implementation to others. For example, in recommendation 2, the Government states that health professionals are responsible for compliance with NICE guidelines. In other recommendations, the Government simply say that they will ask stakeholders or advisory groups to consider this report when holding their reviews and updating their guidance. They don’t seem to believe that the Government has any role in publishing guidance and giving leadership in this area.