Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I attach myself to the Minister's comments in regard to the NHS workforce and what tremendous work they've done? We can't reiterate that enough, can we, our thanks for all their work over the past two years.

Can I thank the Minister for her statement today, alongside publishing the plan to reduce waiting times, and also thank the Minister, of course, for the technical briefings that she's provided as well? That's very much appreciated. I'll start by very much welcoming this plan. I do really welcome the fact that this plan has got targets. That's absolutely crucial, and that's a positive element to what I've read through today. I am deeply concerned about setting a target that no-one waits more than a year as far away as 2025. That is, of course, going to be of little comfort to those who are waiting, often in pain and discomfort. We're in 2022 now, and they look and see the year 2025—that's going to be difficult for them to accept. I'm also concerned that the target of 80 per cent for cancer diagnosis and treatment within 62 days by 2026 is just not ambitious enough. There are already people, of course, as it stands now, that are turning to private care.

How and when, Minister, will you ensure that Wales's health boards are effectively communicating with the hundreds and thousands of those waiting for support on waiting lists—those whose, perhaps, physical and mental health is deteriorating in that time as well? How are you going to ensure that health boards are communicating effectively with these people who are waiting for information? Because they're being told they have to wait several years before they are treated. How will these targets be monitored? Will there be an annual report? I know, Minister, that you are going to be holding your officials to account on many of these targets that you've brought forward; how are we in this Senedd going to hold you to account? How can we do that? Are you going to have an annual report? Tell us a little bit more about how we can monitor progress. 

I do welcome the use of technology to address some of the pressures on the NHS workforce, but it's been four years since the former health Minister proposed similar plans, and since then we've only just seen the outline plans for e-prescriptions, which could really have lifted much of the bureaucratic burden from doctors and pharmacists. Technology is useful, of course it is, but it's not going to address how an already stretched and strained NHS workforce will be coping, nor will it provide a complete vision for a more flexible and engaged NHS. How will your plan be focusing on retention? What targets are you putting in place for recruitment? How do you think virtual appointments will help someone who needs a hip operation who has been waiting for several years in pain, or somebody who has been losing their sight? How will your online services help those who are unable to access the internet? How will you ensure that face-to-face appointments with doctors are an option?

Being fair, Minister, there are some very positive, high ambitions within your plan. I don't doubt that for a moment. There are some challenging targets that you have put in your plan, in some aspects. But, on first reading, for me, I would like some reassurance that this plan is more than just a sticking plaster. It doesn't address some of the long-term outstanding problems that we've faced within the Welsh NHS. I'm sure you would agree that we want to build back better, don't we, in Wales, after the pandemic. We don't want to just get back to where we were before the pandemic started, we want to be in a better position. So, how is your plan going to do that? Just give us some reassurance that it's not just a sticking plaster on current problems.

Yes, COVID, of course, has impacted on our services. I know you started your statement today, Minister, by saying that you've published your plan to help reduce the long waiting times that have unfortunately built up during the pandemic. That is factually correct. But, what it is also important to say is that we were in a very difficult position before the pandemic started. The number of people on the waiting lists had doubled even before the pandemic hit Wales. We had double the number of people waiting for over a year than in the whole of England in March 2020. That's a pretty staggering statistic considering the size of Wales compared to England's population.