Again, a very important point, and the additional money that we've given, obviously, we've been able to track that. This year, we agreed to £1 million of funding to support carers, but also £1.7 million has been awarded in total across Carers Wales and Carers Trust Wales as part of the third sector sustainable social services grant. So, we do give money to fund the third sector in order to support carers. I think that's very important, because I think the third sector plays a crucial role in working with carers.

I'm pleased that a new three-year third sector sustainable social services grant scheme was announced earlier this year, and it's currently open for applications. Carers are one of the priorities that the grant can support. We also provided £1 million of funding last year and in 2019-20 to local health boards and partnerships to improve awareness of the issues and needs of carers. And this funding can be used within GP surgeries and health centres, as well as improving the engagement of carers when the person they care for is discharged from hospital. So, I think the more that we can make this all available and raise awareness, it's very important—.

An example of how carers themselves can be engaged in driving this agenda forward is—and I think Jayne Bryant already mentioned this—the volunteers from Newport Carers Forum, who have been working to update carers notice boards in GP surgeries throughout Newport and to encourage GP practices to appoint carers champions. 

Regions also need to continue working on and developing integrated seamless care to meet the needs of their population and to support this, and regional partnership boards are using the integrated care fund to support carers, which is intended to strengthen integrated working. And an extra £15 million of funding into the ICF was announced on Carers' Rights Day in November last year, to specifically develop preventative services for adults in need of care and support for carers. 

But, as Bethan said in her intervention, how do we know we're moving forward? The Welsh Government is committed to monitoring the impact of the social services and well-being Act and publishing data, and I'm pleased to say there is a wide range of work under way to drive forward the evidence base used by the Welsh Government in relation to carers and carers data, including an external evaluation of the 2014 Act. I will also make sure that we look at the research that Jayne Bryant referred to in her contribution. 

To end, I just want to say this: I absolutely understand that all Assembly Members, stakeholders and, most important of all, carers want to see support for carers improve. I believe that support today is much stronger than before the introduction of the social services and well-being Act. The requirements and rights that we introduced with the 2014 Act about support for carers is stronger than that contained in the previous Carers Strategies (Wales) Measure 2010. That required officials to write plans, but our Act gives real and tangible benefits. But I absolutely acknowledge there is still a long way to go and the current situation isn't perfect, but that doesn't mean that we haven't already achieved a great deal in the three years since the implementation of the Act. My clear objective is to continue our upward trend to ensure that Wales really is caring for all carers and making them know that we value so much the work that they are doing and certainly we could not manage without them.