Diolch, Deputy Llywydd, and I move the motion tabled in the name of my colleague, Darren Millar. For some people in Wales, they worry that they will die without ever getting the cancer treatment they need, and that's the view of the board of community health councils and Andy Glyde from Cancer Research UK. Today's debate, of course, is extremely important for many people across Wales, and our motion calls for a number of measures, such as support for cancer patients through their treatment, by, for example, introducing free dental care during radiotherapy or chemotherapy. We're also asking the Welsh Government to urgently publish a workforce recruitment and retention plan for cancer specialists, and to publish a full cancer strategy that will set out how Wales will tackle cancer over the next five years.

Current cancer treatment times suggest that Welsh cancer services are not catching up with diagnosis and treatment. Last November, just 58 per cent of patients newly diagnosed with cancer started their first definitive treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer, far below the target of 75 per cent. Meanwhile, the cancer waiting lists in Wales continue to rise, with nearly one in three patient pathways taking over a year to treat, while the national cancer clinical director for Wales has said that services will have to work at 120 per cent to 130 per cent of previous capacity to deal with the increased numbers of patients.

Welsh cancer survival rates have been stalling for many years. Prior to the pandemic, the Welsh cancer intelligence unit data showed that Wales had the lowest survival rates for six cancers, and the second lowest for three, across the UK. So, although the pandemic has, of course, caused more strain on the system—that's understandable, of course—the system was already broken, I would suggest, before the pandemic.

Every other part of the UK has committed to implementing a robust cancer strategy, and it is sad to see that, soon, Wales will be the only UK nation without a definitive cancer strategy. Welsh cancer services are struggling to cope with a tsunami of missed cancer diagnosis and the appearance of later stage cancers as the direct result, of course, of pausing NHS services during lockdowns. And added to this, we've got five years—or many years—of chronic understaffing.

Now, the Government seem to think that their cancer quality statement is a strategy. Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but the Minister will no doubt confirm at the end if I've analysed that correctly, but cancer charities say themselves that the cancer quality statement lacks both detail and ambition and is not a national strategy. Wales needs a cancer strategy. Unfortunately, cancer workforce is also an issue in Wales. A specialist cancer workforce that is able to cope with demand and an increasing backlog should be a priority for the Welsh Government in order to prevent cancer survival rates from slipping further back. Wales already has a severe shortfall of cancer specialists—we know that, sadly—with some areas of Wales experiencing significant gaps across, and that's according to many, including the Royal College of Radiologists. Shockingly, despite these grave concerns, the latest 10-year NHS workforce plan fails to include a specific workforce plan for cancer specialists. In fact, the joint Health Education and Improvement Wales and social care strategy from October 2020 fails to mention cancer at all. Instead, the strategy has broad aims, including—I'm quoting here—to

'have a workforce in sufficient numbers to be able to deliver responsive health and social care that meets the needs of the people of Wales'.

Well, that's why we're holding this debate today, and I would urge the Welsh Government to publish a workforce recruitment and retention plan and a full cancer strategy that includes specific targets, as well as support for cancer patients through their treatment to make easier the difficult side effects that cancer treatment often causes.

Given the prevalence of cancer, the people of Wales, I think, demand and deserve treatments that meet their needs and bring them into line, most importantly, with the performance of services elsewhere in the UK. So, I would urge the Welsh Government today to urgently publish a workforce recruitment and retention plan for cancer specialists, to publish a full cancer strategy that sets out how Wales will tackle cancer over the next five years, and to support cancer patients through treatment, for example, by introducing free dental care during radiotherapy and chemotherapy. 

I would hope this afternoon our debate is a sensible debate. It's a debate that I think is very worthy to have this afternoon, and I very much hope that we'll have positive contributions from other Members, and I very much hope we'll have a positive contribution from the Minister as she concludes at the end of the debate. I would urge Members, of course, to support our calls and our motion this afternoon. Diolch, Deputy Llywydd.