Thank you very much, Deputy Llywydd. May I first of all thank the Petitions Committee for the time they've given in considering this important issue? May I apologise that neither the committee or Laura have received a formal response? I will ensure that that formal response is provided within the next week.

Improving mental health services continues to be a priority for us as a Government, and we have been working across Government since we introduced our strategy, 'Together for Mental Health', in 2012. And, of course, the impact of COVID-19, as David Rees has outlined, and the restrictions imposed has highlighted this issue, and we are determined to improve our services to respond to demand. And, of course, the First Minister has shown his commitment to this issue by appointing a Minister to lead, from the Cabinet, in this area.

Now, it's important to note that Laura Williams's petition was led by service users, and let me start by staying that I have made a real effort to try and understand the experiences of service users in mental health services. I've met regularly with the families of children and young people who use our services. My aim is to get a full picture of the service user experience, and not just to keep focus on performance and waiting times, because I believe that improving the quality of the service user's experience is also key. So, it's not just a matter of meeting targets and waiting lists that's important to us—although I understand that we need to reach those targets—but we also need to focus on the kind of treatment that they receive when they do get to the top of that waiting list.

Although there is uncertainty still about the true impact of the pandemic on mental health, what's clear is that we need to deal with the situation in a multi-agency manner, and in a way that understands that we need to respond sensitively to the needs of individuals.