It's inevitable that the draft budget and our scrutiny of it have been shaped by the pandemic, as others have already mentioned, and this is a pandemic that changes very rapidly. We need to realise the magnitude of the public health emergency facing Wales, either in terms of responding to the immediate challenges or the need to do what we can do to maintain and restore those vital services that people depend on. And in that respect, I'm talking about non-COVID services. We believe that the true scale of the implications for the health, social care and sport sectors will not become fully clear for some years. In addition to this, the crisis has also exacerbated some underlying issues, including health inequalities.

We recognise in particular the pressure that local health boards have faced over the last year, and we understand that this is likely to continue. Nevertheless, the ongoing inability of some health boards to meet their statutory financial duties continues to be a concern. In addition to this, we are not yet persuaded that there is sufficient capacity within the system to drive health and social care integration and transformation at the pace and scale required, or that the strategic vision for such transformation is sufficient to achieve and maintain the focus on a shift towards primary care and prevention. 

We also remain concerned about the ongoing fragility of social care services. Such services are not only vital to those in receipt of them, but they're also essential in the way that they complement and partner health services. We are convinced that there is grave need to reform the system and to develop sustainable and long-term funding settlements for social care. 

I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the hard work and commitment of staff across the health and social care sectors. It's important to realise how much pressure they have faced and continue to face, and the trauma that they've experienced over the past few months. We welcome the plans for ongoing mental health support for 60,000 healthcare workers in Wales, and the planned expansion to include social care staff. The impact of the pandemic on individuals and services will need to be taken into account in workforce planning and resource planning as we move towards recovery in Wales.

In addition to the paid health and social care workforce, hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers across Wales have played, and continue to play, a crucial role in providing much needed care and support to their families and friends. We value the support that the third sector provides to carers, but we believe that they must be adequately supported via sustainable core local authority services and funding. Throughout this year, the Welsh Government has rightly invested significant sums in responding to the public health emergency. The course of the pandemic in Wales remains uncertain, but it is clear that health, social care and sports are likely to need additional funding in the next financial year.

To conclude, there will be difficult choices to be made as to how we prioritise limited resources. We expect the Welsh Government to be proactive in its planning and in engaging with its partners to identify any potential additional needs, and to consider how resources may be allocated and prioritised to respond to the pandemic to support the longer term recovery of the health, social care and sports sectors, and to invest in the health and well-being of the people of Wales.