Having been absent from this place for some time, I sometimes find myself reflecting on my return about what has changed and what has not. I remember having to deal with a constituency situation where information could not be transferred effectively between two hospitals in Carmarthenshire. The upshot of that was, in fact, that the patient, who was a young adult—his parents were given his records to drive from Llanelli to Carmarthen. Not a very safe use of anybody's data, but absolutely the only way that they could get the information through in time. I did not expect to find myself, Deputy Presiding Officer, returning to this place after such a length of time to see that we still have, as this report highlights, outdated IT systems. The fact that we still have anybody using a fax machine—I don't think I would remember how to use a fax machine if I was called upon to do so—has been quite a shock to me, and as the Deputy Presiding Officer knows, I am not easily shocked.

I won't repeat the points that have been made already in Nick Ramsay's admirable contribution to this debate. There is no need to rehearse the issues; the issues are there clear enough in the report for everyone to read. But it is worth reflecting that we're not talking here about a theoretical debate or about something that's purely technical; this affects people's lives. The Velindre Cancer Centre reported that one patient did not receive chemotherapy treatment as blood results were unavailable and that there was a delay in radiotherapy treatment for eight patients. These are real patients; these are real people's lives.

What I want to concentrate on in my contribution today, Deputy Presiding Officer, are the issues of culture, the issues of the apparent inability to admit that there are serious issues, the tendency to move the goalposts instead of admitting that projects are running behind time, and simply not to acknowledge that there is a problem. And I will repeat this that Nick Ramsay said. The report says:

'Our inquiry has raised serious question marks about the competence, capability and capacity across the health system to deliver a digital transformation in Welsh healthcare. And yet we discovered a culture of self-censorship and denial amongst those charged with taking the agenda forward—in NWIS itself as well as its partners in the health boards and the Welsh Government.'

Now, I think that's a very, very serious charge. I was, therefore, pleased to see that the Welsh Government was accepting the committee's recommendations. But when I read the detail of that acceptance, it seemed to me that we were once again being told that everything was all right because the Welsh Government was already doing what the committee had said that it needed to do and that everything would be absolutely fine. Well, we only have to listen again to Nick Ramsay's contribution today to know that that isn't the case. And it isn't just me commenting on this culture. I would quote to the Minister his Labour—and now ministerial—colleague Lee Waters, saying,

'Digital change isn’t just about technology, it’s about a change of culture. It’s about being open. It’s about using data to solve problems. Instead of designing services from the viewpoint of what a health board or a local authority thinks a citizen needs, a digital approach involves designing services that meet the needs of the end user.'

And I think that's absolutely—absolutely—correct. I am not reassured by the Government's response yet, and I hope that the Minister may be able to provide myself and, more importantly, the committee members who have done this very valuable work with reassurance that things from now on will really change, because they certainly have not yet.

Now, I think the six-monthly reporting to the committee—and I am particularly glad to see that the Government has committed to do that—. It is unusual for a committee to ask for that on an ongoing basis, and I think that does show how seriously they take these issues, and therefore so should we all. I think that would be important and that's very welcome. More important will be to see whether or not the Minister is prepared to abandon his apparent complacency and be ready to take a robust lead in delivering change and creating a culture that can accept challenge. Whether he can, or whether he will choose to do so, remains to be seen.