I move amendment 2. Diolch, Llywydd, and I move the amendment in the name of my colleague Darren Millar. I'd like to thank Plaid Cymru and Rhun for bringing this important debate forward today on eating disorders. This is an issue that affects so many people right across our society. It does not discriminate, and it can affect anyone. This week is Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and it's right that we highlight this problem and do all that we can to help those who are affected by an eating disorder. I just want to pay tribute to my colleague Mark Isherwood, who will be talking later on in this debate, and the work he has done around raising the importance of this topic.

Eating disorders are a serious mental illness and can lead to devastating consequences for those affected. They don't just affect the person, but they have a wider impact on families, health services and the wider society. Around 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder, and we in this place can do what we can today to support them. As Rhun has said, there are many types of eating disorder, including binge eating, bulimia, anorexia and others. Eating disorders are killers, with anorexia having the highest death rate of any mental illness, and one in six people with binge eating disorders trying to take their own life. People suffering with eating disorders more often than not develop serious physical health problems like heart disease, osteoporosis, and their overall quality of life is diminished. However, treatment and recovery is possible and early access to the right care and support can change someone's life. Early intervention provides the best chance for that person to start on the road to recovery. Any delays in receiving treatment and support prolongs the suffering for individuals, their friends and their families. It also increases long-term costs on the NHS. As I've said, early intervention and prevention is better than curing any problem at crisis point. I've set up my own mental health working group since I've been here, and I'm hearing first-hand from young people right across Wales just how many younger people are suffering with eating disorders and that there are far more external influences that are negatively affecting their mental state than many politicians in this Chamber realise.

COVID-19—that has had a huge impact on people affected by eating disorders. A university survey of people with eating disorders conducted in 2020 stated nine out of 10 respondents said their symptoms had gotten worse as a result of the pandemic, and support services, the great work that Beat do, experienced a 300 per cent rise in the number of people reaching out for help. So, we must put more support into those services to help people who require care. 

So, what needs to change and what can we do here to help those affected? In the Conservative group, we agree with this motion proposed by Plaid Cymru and we look forward to supporting your motion with our amendment later on, as we need to establish targets, publish monthly statistics on waiting times for mental health treatment, including eating disorders, and we need to provide specialist care in people's communities and not make people travel across the border for the help and support they need, losing their family, friends and support networks. 

Llywydd, the Welsh Government amendment, I believe, is not good enough, and it's a shame that they have sought to water down this debate. I think the motion put forward by Plaid Cymru is a very good motion, and it's a shame the Government have done this again. But, wider than this motion, I hope that the Minister, in responding to this debate, can outline what the Government is doing to improve medical training on eating disorders, to ensure that our GPs and medical professionals know how to spot and treat eating disorders, and what wider work the Welsh Government is doing on research to understand more about eating disorders and what causes them. 

Today, Members, we have the opportunity to stand with those who are suffering with eating disorders, to say that, 'We support you, and we will do all we can to ensure you get the quality of care you deserve.' I encourage all Members to support the motion later on tonight. Diolch, Llywydd.