Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I want to thank the Welsh Conservatives for bringing this important issue to the Chamber today and to all Members who have contributed. I've listened carefully to what speakers had to say. I won't be able to answer all the questions, but I'll come to those at the end. And I should say at the outset that, overall, I'm supportive of the motion and the amendment.

The pandemic has highlighted more than ever that good palliative care can make a huge difference to the quality of life for people who have reached the end of their lives, helping them to live as well as possible, and, when the time comes, to die with dignity. It can also make a significant difference to those left behind and how they cope with the grief of losing a loved one. It has also emphasised the emotional impact that working in the end-of-life care sector and/or caring for someone at the end of their life can have.

We continue to invest over £8.4 million annually to support specialist palliative care services across Wales. Much of this funding goes to support hospices, which are central to our approach for end-of-life care. The support that they provide to patients, families and carers cannot be underestimated. We're committed to working with the end-of-life care board and health boards over the coming months to review the funding allocated to adult and children's hospices, and it is important to recognise the bespoke role of children's hospices within this review. In the meantime, the Welsh Government has already allocated £6.3 million of emergency funding to support hospices throughout the pandemic. I'm pleased to announce that we will be making an additional £3 million available to support hospices to the end of this financial year, bringing the total additional investment to hospices during the pandemic to £9.3 million.

I recognise the impact that the death of a loved one can have on individuals, families and communities, particularly in light of the constraints placed upon us by COVID-19. Grief is a natural part of our response to death. However, without the ability to visit loved ones at the end of life or to undertake our usual rituals and practices, that grief experience can become even more complex. With this in mind, we've issued guidance to ensure that patients at the end of life, whether in hospital, hospice or a care home, are allowed a visit from their loved ones, not just in the last moments, but, indeed, in the last days of their life. Balancing people's rights and supporting their well-being with a desire to protect people from the risk of infection remains very challenging. Collectively, we have to rise to that challenge and do all that we can to support people to see their loved ones as safely as possible.

Work to develop a national bereavement framework is progressing well. The framework will set out core principles, minimal standards and a range of actions to support regional and local planning. Consultation will continue this spring and is supported by £1 million of additional funding from April 2021. We've also provided £900,000 of additional support to hospices and bereavement providers throughout the pandemic to specifically enhance their bereavement care and support.

I also want to recognise the vital role that district nurses undertake in delivering palliative and end-of-life care at home and in care homes, and to applaud them for maintaining home-visiting services throughout the pandemic. However, as with other Members, we must recognise that they and all of our health and social care professionals and third sector partners need our support too. We've provided additional funding to enhance the Health for Health Professionals Wales service, which is confidential and free, a tiered model of mental health support that is available to everyone working, studying and volunteering for NHS Wales. There is also a range of resources available to support all those working in the health and social care field on the Health Education and Improvement Wales website.

In finishing, Deputy Presiding Officer, I want to recommit the Welsh Government to ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality end-of-life care and bereavement support, as and when they need it. I will be issuing a written statement in the coming weeks to respond to the many points made by Members in today's debate, and to provide an update on our wider end-of-life care progress. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.