Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. I want to thank Mark Isherwood for bringing the cross-party group's report to the Chamber. I have listened carefully to what he has to say, and there are a range of valid points that I would agree with and I hope that I manage to touch on in the response. I am grateful to the cross-party group and to all those who took the time to share their professional and personal experience, as well as the expertise of people with neurological conditions, carers, the royal colleges, the NHS and the third sector. The report and the recommendations will be considered at the neurological conditions implementation group, due to meet on 7 October. I will write to Members following that meeting, with the Welsh Government and the implementation group's joint response to the report. 

I firmly believe that providing good-quality services for people living with neurological conditions is vital, and that of course needs to be balanced with keeping people safe and well. As with many other major health conditions, some services were temporarily suspended or reduced as resources were diverted and as the first stage of the pandemic took hold. Health boards, as part of their quarterly planning, were required to redesign the care environment to ensure that those patients with or suspected of having COVID were and are kept separate from other patients. Where services stopped or reduced, consultants have been asked to go through their waiting lists to risk stratify and prioritise each patient. The aim and objective is that, when it was possible to safely reintroduce relevant services, those with the most urgent need were seen first. Health boards continue to hold virtual and telephone consultations with patients and, where it is necessary and in the best interests of the patient, they are also seen face to face. 

Last week, I published the winter protection plan. That plan sets out what is needed next to provide safe and effective health and social care services and support patients and our workforce over the months ahead. It's important to recognise that the challenges of this winter will be even greater than any normal winter, given the need to respond to the COVID outbreak and the resurgence of the virus that we have seen over the recent weeks. As such, the recommendations within the cross-party group report must be considered alongside the significant pressure that health and social care services continue to face. However, the Welsh Government remains committed to ensuring that anyone with a neurological condition should have access to the best possible care. I'm pleased the cross-party group report highlights the good work that has been taken forward in Wales by both health boards and the implementation group. 

The neurological conditions delivery plan, which sets out the Welsh Government's vision for people living with neurological conditions in Wales, is one that I chose to extend to March 2022, while successful approaches to implementation groups and delivery plans are developed. This will allow for a period of reflection on the lessons learned and new models of care used during the pandemic, whilst also allowing for alignment with the development of the national clinical framework that we set out in 'A Healthier Wales'. Any successor approach will consider the recommendations of the cross-party group report. In the meantime, we continue to invest £1.2 million annually to improve access for all patients needing neurorehab services in Wales. We continue to implement our commitment to improve access to psychological therapies, and have provided an additional £4 million to health boards to support this area. We've also committed to further invest in psychological therapies next year, as part of our budget proposals.

The implementation group will continue to work closely with Michelle Price, our national clinical lead for neurological conditions, to take forward the group's priorities. We will do so with a co-productive approach, as Mark Isherwood indicated, to increase awareness of neurological conditions, service development and developing clear pathways and models of care, based on best practice and research evidence and, of course, lived experience. 

The implementation group currently has three sub-groups for the areas identified: adult neurological, paediatric and seizures. The seizures group is a multiprofessional group whose primary focus is to develop an all-Wales seamless patient pathway across primary, secondary and tertiary care. The pediatric group is also multiprofessional, and looks at pediatric rehabilitation in particular. The neurorehab group is focusing on self-management, community neurorehab, technology and rehabilitation, and in-patient rehabilitation. These groups will be kept under review and refocused as priorities change and develop. 

As I indicated, the patient voice is fundamental if we're to improve the quality of our services across health and care, and, of course, that includes the neurological conditions implementation group. They have always had service user representation from its inception. The implementation group has also extended funding to the Wales Neurological Alliance, so that their project manager can develop a network of service users across Wales to inform awareness raising and raising support for future service improvements. The Wales Neurological Alliance plays a crucial role in raising awareness and signposting information for each condition where appropriate. I'm grateful to the alliance, and other healthcare third sector organisations, for providing regular patient feedback on essential services during the pandemic. 

In conclusion, I believe we have made good progress to improve neurological services in Wales throughout the last three years. However, we recognise that there is more that we should and must do. The recommendations of the cross-party group report will help to provide additional focus, as we continue to strive for excellence in this area of healthcare. Thank you.