Thanks for the opportunity to speak in this debate. It's an unusual one in that it brings together two conflicting petitions, two contrasting opinions about the same issue. And it's a really important issue, the future of cancer services in the south-east of Wales, and whatever the particular issues at play here, however strong the opinions are about a number of different aspects of this, it's the quality of those cancer services that is of utmost importance.

I did serve on the Petitions Committee for a while, but that's some time ago, so I've had no dealings directly with these petitions as such, but over recent months, I have in my role as Plaid Cymru shadow health and care Minister been lobbied by both sides of the debate, spoken to people, listened to arguments by both supporters and opponents of the proposal currently on the table, and I've met clinical leaders and senior management at Velindre. I'd say I've tried to learn as much as I can about the issues at stake here.

So what have I concluded? I've already set out my views, actually, in correspondence with a number of people who've contacted me in the run-up to this debate, but firstly, I'll say what I'm not commenting on: I note the campaign locally on the proposal to develop on that piece of land called the northern meadows, but I think in my health and care role, I don't believe it's for me to comment on the planning issue, if you like, and the impact on local amenity and that kind of thing; those are issues for the local population. I've also taken note of various associated environmental arguments that have been put forward. Again, I understand that those are very important to many people, but not ones for me to comment upon really.

So, my interest here is in the future of cancer services and in making sure that the best possible services are developed, the best possible outcomes are sought, and balanced with the speed at which improvements can be delivered, and I certainly hope that everyone can agree that that is the most important issue here.

Services provided at Velindre and the work of the staff, their dedication and their skills, they're hugely valued, and I certainly don't doubt at all the belief of clinical leaders at Velindre that the plan that they do have on the table is robust, that it forms part of what could transform cancer services in the region. I've spoken with them about the plans; they wouldn't back plans that they didn't think would work, and they're people who've dedicated their professional lives to fighting cancer, and they're people I respect hugely.

At the same time, I've also heard and read enough concerns and received enough correspondence from people—including clinicians and health workers, past and present—to understand that there are real worries about the choice of clinical model, that passionate cases are being made in relation to that debate that we've heard outlined about stand-alone provision versus co-location with acute services. Doubts have been raised about various parts of the process that's been followed, about transparency at a number of junctures in the process, about elements of how the proposal has been financed, and taken together, I think these fundamental disagreements on strategy on one level and mistrust on another are damaging to the overall aspiration that, as I say, I want everybody to get behind, if at all possible. It's in that context that I really think that Government should step in to ensure that these issues are really quickly, rapidly investigated, in a way that is truly seen as independent, and that crucially, as I say, should be done without delay.

We're all touched by cancer at some point in our lives. It's in everybody's interests, wherever we are in Wales, to seek to make sure that our cancer services are the best that they can be. What I want to see here is for a project to put Velindre services on a firmer footing for the future to be accelerated, and certainly not slowed down.