Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Last week, my constituency office hosted a Friends Against Scams training session. Organised by Centrica British Gas, it highlighted the scale of the problem. Fifty-three per cent of people aged 65 and over have been targeted by scams, which altogether cost the UK economy somewhere between £5 billion and £10 billion a year. The human consequences are considerable. Victims of scams lose large sums of money, but they can also lose something even worse: their dignity. Scams can lead to stress, depression and isolation. Some victims consider, attempt or commit suicide, and people defrauded in their own homes are two and a half times more likely to either die or go into residential care. The average age of a scam victim is 75, although anyone can be a victim. Scams can be postal, telephone, doorstep or online. Whatever the mechanism used, they are criminal, fraudulent, and what makes it worse is that scams generate a sense of shame. Their victims suffer in silence as it's estimated that just one in 20 scams are reported to the authorities.

My thanks to Matt and Rachel for coming to Aberdare to explain how Centrica British Gas is taking action to raise awareness of scams. I proudly wear my Friends Against Scams badge, and I'd encourage other Members to sign up to this valuable training. We all have a role to play in raising awareness of the damage that scams cause to help make Wales a nation of friends against scams.