In terms of understanding the impacts of COVID-19 on mental health, we're continuing to strengthen the arrangements that we put in place at the start of the pandemic. These include analytical support to draw out the latest evidence of outcomes from population surveys, both in Wales and in the wider UK. Caroline was absolutely right to draw attention to the fact that people in Britain seem to have coped with this not as well as in some other countries. I've also recently convened a ministerial oversight and delivery board group, which is providing me with a greater assurance of the progress that's being made in delivering our mental health programme of work, including our continued response to COVID-19.

Public Health Wales are represented on the board and will help to strengthen that analytical support. They're taking forward important work to examine the existing and ongoing impact of COVID-19, in particular on children and young people. Caroline was absolutely right to draw attention to this, because we know that the children's commissioner in her survey 'Coronavirus and Me' found that 67 per cent of children between the age of 12 and 18 said that they were sad some or most of the time. Just think about that figure; it's a huge figure, and we really have got to put measures in place. I'm really pleased that the education Minister has being doing that with her whole-school approach; we've now expanded that to the whole-system approach, and all of that was partly a result of responding to the really terrific report written by the children's committee, 'Mind over matter'. We're currently working on a framework for the renewal of mental health services with the NHS, which will sit within the context of the NHS-wide recovery strategy, which will be published very shortly.

We're continuing to support the Talking is a Lifeline campaign to encourage men to talk about mental health. Some of you may have seen that programme last night; very traumatic watching how men have such difficulty talking about mental health issues. And we are also supporting groups that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, including black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, and people who are on low income, as we look to extend that support. Caroline, you mentioned the responsibility of employers, and of course, they will play a key role in supporting economic recovery and improving the health of the working-age population. Our Healthy Working Wales programme will focus on mental health and well-being, and we will work with employers to understand the current needs, including potential shifts in working patterns, which will inform the future of work. I know that Public Health Wales are currently undertaking a range of interviews with private and public sector employees to just inform our approach on this. 

We continue to recognise the potential impact of the pandemic on future employment and health. The chief medical officer chairs a group to consider these issues, and we know that there is a significant impact upon mental health and well-being, particularly due to reduced employment opportunities, and a need to support action across a range of partners and stakeholders. I've spoken previously about the work we've done to strengthen our universal offer for low-level mental health issues, and you referred to that SilverCloud offering, that cognitive behavioural therapy support, which has been used now by about 6,000 in six months. I've committed a further £4 million next year to expand this type of support, and other support—it's not just online, of course. This is part of additional funding of £42 million next year to support mental health services. We know this will strengthen service improvements within health boards, and in particular the out-of-hours response, which is really important when it comes to mental health support. 

We've got to remember that this additional funding is against the backdrop of a much larger pot of money that we allocate to local health boards each year. I've been clear that, whilst I understand the need to protect specialist support, I'd really like to see a shift in resources towards prevention and earlier mental health support, and in particular towards the needs of children and young people, because we know 80 per cent of problems relating to mental health generally start when people are children and young people.

In conclusion, I'm clear that, whilst mental health support has been available throughout the pandemic, as we emerge, we need to renew and rebuild that provision in a way that's far more preventative in nature, and which reflects the needs in our population. By working closely with the NHS and other partners, I think that the significant additional funding we've secured will help to do this in a way that will make it sustainable for the future. So, thank you, Caroline, again, for bringing this really important issue to the attention of the Chamber, and certainly I hope that people will try and reach out for the support that is there for them. Diolch yn fawr.