I'd like to begin by thanking Vikki Howells for convening this debate today on this very important subject. I think the short debates are very useful in order to highlight particular subject areas, and I think she's done that very well today. 

Social care is an area of public services that is getting much more attention, and I think the reason for that is that we can all see the demands on social care that are getting much greater, and certainly it has been an issue in the general election campaign. Need is increasing and the resources that can be raised by local government and national Government to meet the need are struggling to keep up. I don't want to dwell on this point in my own contribution to this debate, which I hope will be positive and optimistic, but I think it is important to recognise, as we look forward, that our starting point is much more difficult than it could have been if different decisions had been made at a UK level. 

The first point I want to make about meeting the care challenges of the twenty-first century is that our policy and legislative framework serves us well in that regard. The legal base for social care, taking it forward, is forward looking. Vikki Howells mentioned the social services and well-being Act, and this fundamentally puts the individual at the centre of planning their care and support needs. This is a leap forward and strongly reflects our own values of supporting the most vulnerable people in society. Everyone in Wales deserves to have their care and support needs met, and in a way that their voice has been heard and acted on. So, we have the social services and well-being Act as a fundamental legality here in the Assembly, which is very important for social care. The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 is also very important, because it has locked in the idea that we need to consider the long-term future in all the decisions we make, and I think that this is a huge step forward for Government and public bodies in Wales. 

Then, in terms of the policy direction, 'A Healthier Wales', our long-term plan for health and social care, is the basis for our action. And I think Wales is, in fact, the only UK nation that has a forward-focused strategic plan for health and social care. As a plan, it certainly grapples with the major long-term trends that will impact on Wales. And in the spirit of this debate, I'd like to make some reference, briefly, to some of those future trends. 

Demographic change, as Vikki Howells mentioned, is already with us and its effects will accelerate, with the projected doubling of the number of people over the age of 85 over the next 20 years. And this demographic shift is really, perhaps, our greatest achievement as a society. It's a triumph of the NHS and certainly something to be celebrated, but we have to be realistic about its impact on our public services, and Vikki Howells has referred to that. Social Care Wales estimate we will need an extra 20,000 social care workers to respond to the increasing care needs that will come with this growing elderly population. And our ageing society is a challenge not just for social care, but for the whole of Government and that's why, next year, I will consult on a strategy for an ageing society. It will set out the actions we need to take in response to demographic change, and also set a vision that challenges Welsh Government and all our partners to step up still further in the time ahead. 

In saying this, we need to be mindful that the area that has seen the increase in spending in local authority social services departments over the last few years, in fact, isn't older people, it is children. There's been far more expense generated in order to look after children, particularly children with complex needs, than for older people. And I think this is because children are living from birth with more complex conditions and their care is becoming much more resource intensive. And we're also seeing more children in Wales being looked after, and Members will know that this Government is working with our partners in local government to try to turn the curve of the number of looked-after children in Wales. I think this debate offers an interesting perspective on this.