Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm really pleased to open this debate on suicide bereavement. I'd like to thank Dai Lloyd AM and David Melding AM for co-submitting the motion with me today, and Dai Lloyd for closing the debate. I'd also like to thank all the Members who have supported the motion.

Today, I want to start by recognising that losing someone to suicide is a uniquely devastating loss. It leaves people in a deeply dark place. Now, I know that grief is a very personal thing, and that everyone experiences it in their own way and copes differently. I do not mean in any way to minimise the impact of other bereavements, but in order to ensure the right support for those bereaved by suicide, we have to recognise the ways in which it is different to other losses and just how uniquely devastating it is. Indeed, it is hard to even put into words. In addition to the heartbreaking loss of someone you love, there's often stigma and isolation, destructive feelings of guilt, and a lifetime of asking, 'What if?', 'If only', and, above all, 'Why?'—a question that some people will never be able to find the answer to. 

The loss of someone to suicide can also have a major impact on those well beyond the deceased's immediate family and friends. I have previously described suicide as like a large rock falling in a pond. The waves ripple outwards and are wide and far-reaching.

Each year in Wales, around 300 to 350 lives are lost through suicide. It used to be claimed that six people are impacted by every suicide, but more recent research has found that, in fact, 135 people are affected. The loss of someone to suicide devastates families, friends and whole communities. We know too that losing someone to suicide is a major risk factor for dying by suicide, especially for young people who are in a high-risk group. So, support for those bereaved by suicide is one of the most effective things we can do to prevent people dying by suicide.