The increasing incidence of alcohol abuse is very concerning, and it's something that each and every one of us should be concerned about. It's believed that high-risk drinkers have been driving the recent increase in alcohol consumption, and that has led to the highest level of alcohol abuse in 20 years. We know of the damaging impacts of alcohol abuse on our physical health, as well as our mental health. As we've heard already, we know that lockdown in particular had an impact on how much people drink, and that in turn has had a detrimental impact on health. The British Liver Trust told me at a Love Your Liver event outside the Senedd recently—and I know that many Members had visited them there—that there had been an increase of 20 per cent in liver-related deaths that were alcohol-related during the pandemic. So, the damage has been highlighted in the number of deaths in such a brief period of time, in just two years.

Drinking heavily in the long term can also cause changes to the brain, causing cognitive problems. It can also lead to very real damage to the brain—alcohol-related brain damage, ARBD. And it is a condition that can be prevented from deteriorating if the patient can stop drinking alcohol, and with the appropriate support at the right time, then most people can make a partial recovery. But despite that, the Royal College of Psychiatrists tells us that only around 16 per cent of those who are suffering are diagnosed, because of a lack of understanding, a lack of awareness of the condition, and an inconsistent approach to treatment, because of the absence of the kind of treatment model that would be sufficient to meet demand. They are very eager to see the Welsh Government investing in and introducing an ABRD awareness package—which has been developed by the University of South Wales—and they want to see that done urgently.

Now, the relationship between alcohol and mental health is one that's well known but it's also very complex. Alcohol, of course, is sometimes used by people to try and help the symptoms of anxiety—as they see it—or the symptoms of depression. But the reality is that drinking too much will probably exacerbate those symptoms, and depression and heavy drinking are closely related, and it's a self-fulfilling relationship, which means that if one shows signs of either depression or heavy drinking, then it's likely to increase the likelihood that the individual will experience the other side of the coin too. It's a worrying correlation, and managing drinking and getting the right support is crucial for good mental health.

Now, the clear link between the lockdown and the increase in alcohol abuse figures does demonstrate how isolation and loneliness and changes in daily routine can have a detrimental impact on individuals and their state of mind. And having learnt from that experience, I do think that we do have to seek to provide support for people. And we are talking here of providing support to people to prevent self-harm. That's why we wanted, as the minimum alcohol price Bill went through the Assembly, as it was at that time, to see something in legislation that would ensure that there is funding provided as a result of that legislation and that efforts are made through that legislation to tackle alcohol abuse too. This wasn't just setting a price for the sake of setting a price; we wanted legislation in place with the intention of changing people's relationship with alcohol, and it's extremely important that those steps are taken as a result of that legislation, in order to ensure that people do understand that support is available and that they experience that support that they haven't had from Welsh Governments in the past.