Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I consider it to be a privilege to open this very important debate today on the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s report on suicide prevention in Wales, 'Everybody's Business'. The number of deaths by suicide in Wales is staggering. There were 360 registered deaths from suicide in Wales in 2017, 278 of those in men. This is an increase from the 2016 figure, when there were 322 registered suicides, and there has been no apparent downward trend over time. It is also likely that official suicide statistics may under-represent the true scale of suicide due to the need to establish beyond reasonable doubt that suicide was the cause of death in a coroner’s inquest.

We undertook this inquiry to understand what is currently being done and where action is needed to drive the change and improvements that are required to reverse this worrying trend. As part of this inquiry, we took a wide range of evidence. In addition to the usual formal evidence gathering carried out in committee meetings, Members met with representatives of Tir Dewi, formed to help the farmers of west Wales in difficult times, and the Jacob Abraham Foundation in Cardiff, which provides support around mental health issues and supports people bereaved by suicide. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this work.

We have made 31 recommendations in this report, which, if implemented, would be a big step forward in making Wales a zero-suicide country. I will address some of these in the time that I have today.