Diolch, Llywydd. In 2016, the four party groups in this Assembly agreed to establish a parliamentary review of health and social care in Wales. The report of the parliamentary review was published in January 2018. That report acknowledged our world-leading legislative framework, the organisational structures that underpin it, and the dedication of our health and care workforce. But it also contained some tough messages for us, setting for us the challenge to transform health and social care in Wales. The simple message at the heart of the parliamentary review was that our current system of health and social care is not fit for the future. Change is not simply desirable. Change is essential.

The Welsh Government has embraced the review recommendations. Throughout spring of last year, we worked with stakeholders and partners in health, local government, the voluntary sector and housing to develop our response. And I published 'A Healthier Wales', our first plan for health and social care, in June last year. Summarised in 40 actions, it sets out the steps that we will take as a Government and those that our partners need to take with us and, crucially, the steps that our partners agree need to be taken to deliver a whole-system approach to reform and transform health and social care in Wales.

Within weeks of publishing 'A Healthier Wales', I announced the establishment of a transformation programme—a key recommendation from the review. That programme is supported by the £100 million transformation fund, and the fund is intended to act as a catalyst to speed up the scaling up of new models of care that have the potential to fundamentally change how we deliver healthcare and social care in Wales. And that change is not simply a financial equation. We have to deliver greater value in how each partner uses their resources to improve the quality of care. Better outcomes and better experiences with and for our people are what drive this programme for change.

We know that the demand for health and social care will continue to increase. That is driven partly by changes in how we live our lives, in life expectancy, in technology, in the socioeconomic context and changing expectations of what modern health and care should be able to deliver. I am regularly reminded that, despite nearly a decade of austerity, the public and indeed politicians have not reduced their expectations of our national health service. New models must not only take into account new healthcare procedures, new medicines, new technology-enabled social care, but also what matters to people—the people who seek social care or healthcare and the people who deliver it. At some point in our lives, this is everyone. 

It is essential that new models for care are cohesive and affordable. We want to connect and streamline services at regional level, so regional partnership boards are essential in making this happen. I welcome the way that partners have worked together through regional partnership boards in developing proposals for the transformation fund at pace. The models supported through the fund are designed to shift the delivery of care closer to home, joining up health and social care services, with more emphasis on prevention. 

We all recognise that transforming an entire system is not a quick or easy task but that we are facing big challenges. The fund cannot resolve all of these concerns, but it can help to demonstrate how we can do things differently and how we can do things better. To date, I have approved seven proposals from regional partnership boards across Wales. These will be supported by up to £41.2 million over the next two years for those plans currently approved. I expect to receive further proposals for my consideration imminently. This is a significant investment. I expect to see real progress in how services work together to deliver more efficient and effective services that make it easier for people to access and, of course, to deliver better outcomes.

I am encouraged by the proposals that we have received so far. Every regional partnership has brought forward ideas and commitment to transformation. We have portfolio proposals from Cardiff and Vale, west Wales, and north Wales, spanning a range of services from preventative to non-scheduled, to post-hospital care. We have proposals from Gwent and Western Bay, north Wales and Cardiff and Vale, with a focus on moving care out of hospitals and closer to home, and from west Wales, looking to utilise assistive technology, community assets and intergenerational support across communities.

The first round of proposals shows a vigorous and confident response from our regional partnerships. They draw together partners from across health and social care and start to shape the transformation that 'A Healthier Wales' describes. We are seeing efforts to share good practice beyond regional boundaries and encouragingly, there are common themes in what change looks like. There is a strong emphasis on bridging gaps and reshaping how people access healthcare and social services. Workforce development is a strong theme in the proposals, reflecting the focus on people that runs through 'A Healthier Wales', including the quadruple aim. Without the dedication of people working in front-line health and social care services and in the third sector, we cannot achieve the essential transformation that is required.

To ensure that we stay on course, we are evaluating and challenging ourselves as the transformation programme develops. A recent rapid review that we commissioned into the scale and spread of the proposals that we have funded through the transformation fund has been encouraging. It is important that emerging new models are evaluated as they develop so that the most promising approaches can be scaled up for wider adoption across Wales. We are working with partners to develop a set of national indicators that will support this aim. I'm confident that with the continued support and goodwill of our partners, we can deliver the change that we all recognise is needed, and needed now. Our challenge is to ensure that there is real transformation and that we avoid the temptation to focus only on the most pressing needs. 

Looking beyond immediate and pressing needs requires extra effort, and it can only be achieved if we work in partnership. So, the role of regional partnerships will continue to be crucial, as they provide the vehicle for leaders in health and social care to work together with others to plan and deliver services that meet the needs of local populations.

Just over a year after the parliamentary review was published, our transformation fund is already making a difference. Each new model that is supported could help to shape and transform health and social care in Wales. What is even more important is that we have begun to see change and improved relationships across health and social care, with a greater sense of shared ambition. That goes well beyond the transformation fund and it will require both goodwill and leadership to maintain that approach and deliver the change that is needed. We still have much to do.