Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. It's really pleasing to update Members on the work being undertaken under our substance misuse delivery plan 2019-22, as we continue to tackle the harms associated with substance misuse. The overall aim of the delivery plan is to ensure that people in Wales are aware of the dangers and the impact of substance misuse and know where they can seek information, help and support. Our delivery plan was revised in response to COVID-19 and published in January 2021. Substance misuse services responded rapidly to COVID-19. During the pandemic, huge efforts have been made to ensure that vital help and support is delivered to some of the most vulnerable individuals and families in Wales. I want to take this time to thank everyone involved in this for their continued hard work and dedication. 

The Welsh Government has a strong track record of commitment to this area. We currently invest almost £55 million in our substance misuse agenda per annum. Our draft budget for 2022-23 further recognises the importance of this work and will see our investment increase to almost £64 million. Over £25 million goes to substance misuse area planning boards, and as part of the 2022-23 draft budget, these allocations will increase by £6 million from £25 million to £31 million. This includes an increase of £1 million to both the children and young people and residential rehabilitation ring-fenced allocations to support the rise in demand for these services since the onset of the pandemic. The remaining £4 million will help address waiting times and support service improvements, including developing trauma-informed services. In 2020-21, we also made almost a further £4.8 million available to support our response to COVID-19. Our European funded out-of-work service ends in August 2022. Even though we have not received replacement funding from the UK Government, we will continue to invest in employability support for people recovering from substance misuse and mental health into work, as we know how vital it is to people's recovery.

In August 2020, Office for National Statistics data showed the lowest rate of drug misuse deaths recorded in Wales since 2014. In 2020, there were 149 drug misuse deaths involving illegal drugs, 16 deaths lower than in 2019. However, we will not be complacent with this. In contrast, there were 438 alcohol-specific deaths registered for Wales in 2020, an increase of 70, 19 per cent since 2019. While numbers can fluctuate from year to year, the increase is a concern. Throughout the pandemic, we've continued to work on all of the themes within the delivery plan, to improve the support we provide to those who most need it. One area I'm particularly proud of is how our substance misuse and mental health services have worked tirelessly to support the most vulnerable as part of our commitment to end homelessness. We are now engaged in developing the future approach to rapid rehousing. We already invest an additional £1 million per annum in funding to tackle complex needs, both substance misuse and mental health, for those individuals within homelessness services, and our draft budget doubles this to £2 million to expand support to the remaining areas in Wales, to help them address complex needs in their areas.

A key strand of work that was introduced during the pandemic was the introduction of injectable buprenorphine. This work has significantly reduced the need for service users to attend community pharmacies and clinics, thereby protecting their health and that of key workers. Approximately 1,000 service users are now benefiting from this treatment, and there's significant anecdotal evidence that many are experiencing significantly improved outcomes, including returning to families, work and wider health improvements. I am pleased to update you that, as part of the draft budget, £3 million has been earmarked to continue this treatment alongside a longer term full evaluation. I am proud to say that Wales is leading the UK in this new treatment. Naloxone is a key initiative where we have made excellent progress. An important development with naloxone is the work we're undertaking with the police to enable officers to carry nasal naloxone on duty. We've also funded a pilot project of the peer-to-peer distribution of naloxone, which enables those with lived experience to go out in communities and provide naloxone to those who may or may not be in touch with agencies. This has been highly successful to date and has resulted in all areas of Wales looking at replicating this model.

Our implementation of minimum unit pricing for alcohol is a key focus in reducing the harms of alcohol, the legislation for which came into force on 2 March 2020. Trading standards officers are enforcing the legislation and providing advice to retailers on compliance. To date, no fixed penalty notices have been issued. Our recently published alcohol-related brain damage treatment framework is a key development as we aim to tackle alcohol misuse. The framework is designed for health and social care providers to give guidance on how they should respond to those affected by alcohol-related damage. We currently allocate £1 million ring-fenced annual funding for the provision of tier 4 residential rehabilitation and detoxification services. As part of the draft budget for 2022-23, a further £1 million has been allocated, recognising the rise in demand for support.

In April 2020, we launched our new residential treatment framework, Rehab Cymru, which offers over 30 settings, including three in Wales. There have been 139 placements made to 17 different treatment providers in 2020-2021, and in the current year so far, 95 placements have been made to 21 different treatment providers. I welcome this opportunity to provide this statement on the progress we are making. We will continue to take forward the commitments in our delivery plan, along with our partners, and look at what else can be done as we continue to learn from the impact of the pandemic. I know that the first meeting of the cross-party group on substance misuse, abuse and addiction, sponsored by Peredur Owen Griffiths, was held yesterday. I'm keen to hear the key issues that are highlighted there and look at how these could be fed into future policy development. Diolch yn fawr.