Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:55 pm on 17 October 2018.
And that's why we're committed to rolling out the 111 service. We are committed to improving out-of-hours care, just as every Government across the United Kingdom is. We're actually doing something about it. And you will see the 111 service arriving in Aneurin Bevan in the near-ish future.
Now, on staff numbers—[Interruption.] Well, on staff numbers, it's worth reflecting, as I said, that we've continued to invest during a time of Tory austerity, but it isn't just the numbers of staff; it's how they do their job. That's why integrating health and social care services with seamless models of care is a priority for the Welsh Government. Despite significant cuts to the Welsh Government's budget, after eight hard years of Tory austerity—which, Dawn Bowden reminds us, are continuing—we have continued to invest in social services. This is a significant difference to what is happening across the border, where Conservative choices—deliberate choices—have been made to cut and cut again social care in England. Yet, here in Wales, we have had £50 million this year in the integrated care fund, £100 million over two years into the transformation fund, and £30 million next year for regional partnership boards.
There is a radically different story being told here in Wales about our choices in a time of austerity and what is happening when the Conservatives are actually in power. And there is a contradiction in a number of the comments that have been made by Conservative speakers today—on the one hand calling for more money to go into primary care, but, on the other hand, calling for more money to go into secondary care. It simply isn't possible to do both of the things you are suggesting and, at the same time, demand you get more money to put even more money into local government. These are the unavoidable consequences of Tory austerity, and I should remind you of that undeniable fact. The Conservative Party has campaigned for austerity in three successive general elections. You cannot champion austerity at the ballot box and then run away from its undeniable, indivisible consequences. We will continue to prioritise social care as a sector of national importance. It is front and centre in 'A Healthier Wales', our joint plan for health and social care, designed and owned, for the first time, by health, local government and the third sector.
We know the NHS needs to transform to meet the needs and demands of today and the future, but one thing will remain as it always has: the NHS will continue to deliver to meet the needs of the people who need it most, and those people will never trust the Tories with our NHS.