I'd like to thank Mabon ap Gwynfor for bringing this debate forward today. I think it's an extremely important issue that I believe all parties care about in this Chamber, and I'm sorry I wasn't quick enough, actually, to put my name in support of the debate before it was tabled. But I'd like to put it on record that I will be supporting the motion today, and I agree with the points in the motion that Mabon has tabled. 

Cancer patients have been, I think, left behind in Wales, sadly. I think for too long we have delayed screening, delayed treatment, and the pandemic has placed significant strain on an already overburdened workforce, and a significant number of healthcare professionals are now suffering stress and burnout. If Wales wants to meet the growing demand and achieve world-leading outcomes for cancer patients, then it must invest in the NHS workforce as a matter of urgency. So, I strongly support the call on the Welsh Government to address shortages in the cancer workforce.

And I note that Wales is soon to be the only UK nation without a cancer strategy. And, as I think two Members have already pointed out, the World Health Organization recommends all countries should have a strategy. So, I hope the Minister, given that three Members have now mentioned that in this debate today, can address that point specifically. But I think the Welsh Government needs to act with some urgency in that regard, and Wales needs a vision that sets out how the Welsh Government is going to be working with the Welsh NHS and how it will support services to recover from the impact of the pandemic and improve cancer survival through innovation and transformation in the long term. 

Mabon pointed out at the beginning of this debate his own experience in terms of his own family situation, and it made me think that I suspect every Member of this Chamber has been affected by cancer in some way, and that will be the same for people across Wales. So, I think it's of great concern to us all, isn't it, when we have longer waiting lists, and I think that will impact on every person across Wales in terms of being concerned about longer waiting lists in terms of cancer. I know that colleagues will no doubt agree with that.

But, through the pandemic, we have seen, of course, record waiting times. NHS cancer waiting times for September showed 59 per cent of patients received their first treatment within 62 days of being suspected of having cancer, and this is well below the cancer pathway of 75 per cent. So, we won't improve cancer outcomes unless we reduce waiting times in Wales. And the Welsh Government, I think, has got to act urgently in investment in the staff and infrastructure needed to help more people get a timely diagnosis and treatment, as Mabon pointed out in his opening comments. So, I'll certainly be supporting the motion today, as tabled, and I hope that the Government will respond accordingly to this debate this afternoon.