Well, as we've already heard, health inequalities are as a rule symptomatic of other inequalities, with income usually the main factor. According to Public Health Wales, as Mike Hedges and others have referred to, people in the poorest areas of Wales live healthy lives for 18 years less than people in more prosperous areas, and people in those poorest areas are 23 per cent more likely to experience cancer, and 48 per cent more likely to die as a result of illness. And with mental health too, Rhun ap Iorwerth has referred to the fact that the charity Platfform has demonstrated that depression is twice as prevalent among low-income groups, and that those who are short of money and food are more likely to suffer mental health problems. The same pattern can be seen in relation to serious mental health problems, with those on the lowest wrung of the socioeconomic ladder eight times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia.

So, material inequalities lead to a vicious circle of other inequalities. It's also true of race inequalities in Wales. We know that people from ethnic minorities receive 7.5 per cent less income on average than white people, and that income inequality leaves them more exposed to illness, including COVID. The same is true of housing in Wales, as we've already heard. The Welsh Government, when they commence the work of rebuilding society post COVID, must prioritise breaking this vicious circle, so that opportunities are shared more equally. The best way of improving the general standard of living is to start from the bottom up, because that's where the need is greatest.

So, I urge Members to support the Plaid Cymru motion today, which calls for a specific strategy to tackle health inequalities, and to reject the Government amendment that supports retaining the status quo. It's crucial that this happens as soon as possible as we face an energy-price crisis that will have an appalling impact on people already struggling to make ends meet. According to the Marmot report, around 10 per cent of excess winter deaths are the result of fuel poverty, and therefore it's crucial that there is real action on the problem between now and next winter, if not sooner.

I'd like to conclude by talking about another factor that drives inequality, namely geographical inequality. The Marmot report on health inequalities in England looked at this too, noting that geography plays a huge part in health outcomes. The truth is that the south Wales Valleys communities are still suffering the impact of mine closures in the 1980s. It's staggering to think that people in Valleys communities continue to face low incomes, and the poor health outcomes that come as a result of that, 33 years after the last pits, Cwm and Oakdale, were closed. It's almost as many years as I've been on this earth. What a political failure we see there. The people living in these post-industrial areas still suffer industrial illnesses, and the rates of other health problems remain high because of their economic conditions, and unemployment remains a serious problem.

The Sheffield Hallam report on the economic and social situation of the impact of pit closures in England and Wales reported in 2019 that health problems were a curse in these areas, with almost 10 per cent receiving health-related welfare payments and the number of jobs available so low. It's about time to have a Welsh Government that's serious about bringing back economic rejuvenation in the Valleys. Unless there are no signs of this by the end of this term, the question this Labour Government will need to ask itself is whether it's their failings that's responsible for the lack of progress, because if that's not the case, then the only other explanation is that all of this stems from being part of a United Kingdom that has inequality at its very core, and that that is what is preventing these communities from delivering their potential.