Thank you, Minister. I am deeply concerned that restrictions continue to be necessary at both CAMHS in-patient units in Wales, meaning that they are unable to care for young people who are at risk of suicide or self-harm. You will be aware that Healthcare Inspectorate Wales has again called for action on this in their report on services for children and young people, published just last week, and in doing so have emphasised that they’ve been raising these concerns since as long ago as 2013. My committee has been raising this with Welsh Government as far back as our ‘Mind over matter’ report last year.

I do understand that many more young people are now treated by teams in the community, but there are nevertheless those who do need admission to an in-patient unit. And it cannot be right that some of our most vulnerable young people have to be placed out of Wales, far more their families and support. It also raises serious questions about how we effectively ensure the quality and safety of such placements, which can be hundreds of miles away.

Minister, when can we expect our in-patient units to be in a position to admit young people at risk of suicide or self-harm? What assurances can you give in the meantime that there are robust and comprehensive processes in place for ensuring any out-of-Wales placements are safe and high quality? And, finally, given that predicting the risk of suicide is not an exact science, especially in a young person, what assurances can you give that a young patient who has not been identified as high risk will receive safe care in our CAMHS in-patient units?