Diolch, Llywydd. Next week is Dementia Awareness Week. In February last year, I launched the dementia action plan for Wales. The plan sets out our vision for Wales to be a dementia-friendly nation that recognises the rights of people with dementia to feel valued and to live as independently as possible in their communities. The plan drew heavily upon the experience of people living with dementia and those caring for people with a dementia diagnosis. I'm determined that the lived experience of people living with dementia will continue to guide the delivery of our plan as we take it forward with key stakeholders in health, local government and the third sector.

At the outset, I recognise the pressure on front-line services and the need to make the ambition set out in the action plan a reality. That’s why I announced £10 million a year from the last financial year to support the delivery of the key actions in our plan. I’m clear that the investment of additional resources must lead to a step change in dementia services. That must mean that people most affected feel that improvement as part of their everyday lives. I’m also clear that, in line with our commitment in the Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015, the additional resources will be focused upon prevention.

To ensure the improvements are driven locally and in a joined-up way, £9 million of the additional funding was distributed to regional partnership boards through the integrated care fund. As a result of this funding and our integrated approach, we're now seeing positive and tangible change. For example, there is now additional support available for GP-led clinics to increase diagnosis rates, which, as Members will know, was a key priority and concern within the plan. We’ve also seen an increase in the number of dedicated support workers who play a key role in ensuring person-centred care is delivered.

Since publication of the plan, the number of dementia friends and dementia-friendly communities has also increased. We now have an extra 19 dementia-friendly communities, making up 72 dementia-friendly communities here in Wales, and an additional 38,000 dementia friends trained over the last year as part of the Alzheimer’s Society initiative. And the Welsh Government, of course, continues to provide funding to help support that Dementia Friends initiative. That plays a key role in tackling stigma, improving support in the community and raising awareness and our understanding of dementia.

During the last year, we've seen our first acute hospital in Wales receive dementia-friendly status from the Alzheimer’s Society. Ysbyty Gwynedd is only the second hospital in the UK to receive this status. It recognises the positive action taken by our staff to respond to the needs of the local community.

Another key action in the plan was to develop teams around the individual who provide integrated, person-centred care and support. The plan makes it clear that a one-size-fits-all will not work, and areas need to consider what change is necessary to be able to create services that adapt to what is required as a person’s needs change. Each area is now demonstrating how this is becoming a reality, for instance, through the development of multi-disciplinary teams, with an emphasis on the involvement of allied health professionals to provide a re-ablement approach. Crucially, these teams are able to provide more integrated care through activity that is driven by both the statutory and the voluntary sectors.