Thank you, Deputy Minister, I do appreciate your efforts in this regard, but we have to face facts: more than any other nation in the UK, Wales is very dependent on its carers. The percentage of adults who have been carers during their adult life was found to be 63 per cent in England, 65 per cent in Scotland, 66 per cent in Northern Ireland, yet 70 per cent in Wales.

Part 3 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014—and I sat through the scrutiny of this—placed a duty on a local authority to offer an assessment to any carer. When considering the data for the number of assessments undertaken, it would seem that there is a positive trend, with the numbers going up from 6,178 in 2016-17 to 7,261 in 2018-19. This isn't good enough. Looking at the situation in some detail, I have found that the number of assessments in Wales has actually fallen in seven local authorities. 

When considering Carers Trust findings that the number of carers will increase in the UK by around 60 per cent by 2030, we should actually be seeing an increase in these assessments, not a decrease. So, will you, as Deputy Minister with responsibility for this, investigate why this is not the case in almost 40 per cent of our local authorities, and ascertain whether some carers are missing out on what is, in fact, a statutory right for their assessment?