Can I start also by thanking the Health and Social Care Committee, along with Russell George's chairmanship, for bringing forward today's debate and report, 'Waiting well? The impact of the waiting times backlog on people in Wales'. As someone who isn't a member of the committee, I found this report extremely important, as the current waiting times across Wales impact everyone, and sadly impact my region of North Wales probably the most. In contributing to today's committee report debate, I'd like to highlight just three particular areas that the committee have looked into, which I think are key.

Firstly, as stated in the report, are the statistics regarding the waiting times and the data that should be made available. And as already outlined, around one in five people in Wales are on a waiting list—certainly not good enough, as I'm sure the Minister accepts. And behind these numbers, as Rhun ap Iorwerth has already said, are real people suffering day in and day out. And certainly, when looking at my region of North Wales, earlier this year in January 2022, which, of course, is going to be a peak time for a health board, but, nonetheless, there were around 148,000 patient pathways, people waiting to start treatment—148,000 people in a population of around 700,000 is quite a stark number. Of course, these numbers are repeated in other health boards, but I have a parochial interest as a North Wales regional Member, and want to see this number reduced as quickly as possible. Of course, it's not right that people are paying their taxes and national insurance for these health services, and yet, they're having to wait such a long time to be seen, and during that time waiting to be seen, they are, of course, having a difficult time and sadly are suffering. So, the first area is around the data and reporting the data and those statistics being readily available so they can be analysed quickly and easily.

The second area when looking at the impact of waiting times, and that the report highlights as a long-standing issue, is around the recruitment and retention of staff. As we know, the retention of existing staff is a huge problem for health services at the moment, meaning that the sector continues to struggle and maintain current staffing levels, let alone increase them, and it's certainly an issue in the region I represent in north Wales. Of course, if we want to attract more nurses and doctors and other healthcare workers to come in and work in the NHS, we certainly need to see some action to make the service more appealing and highlight the opportunities that come with it. And I certainly want to see our health boards performing well so we can see more people coming into the health service and taking those important jobs and we can retain them in those positions as well.

Finally, the third area, which has already been outlined in today's report and mentioned by the Chairman a little earlier on, is the need for really clear leadership and a clear plan to effectively deal with the waiting times backlog in Wales. Because, as we know, the problem, yes, was certainly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but was certainly there before COVID-19 was upon us. And regretfully, whenever we see any waiting list statistics, it's the people of north Wales who continue to suffer the most. So, we urgently need clear leadership to take responsibility for a plan of action to rectify this and ensure that the people I represent are not forgotten about. And in this plan, there need to be effective measures to modernise the health service—again, as has already been mentioned by previous Members—with a renewed focus on innovation and digital, and moving forward with these innovative ideas, which will make the work of our front-line workers so much easier.

So, in closing, I would again like to thank the committee for their efforts and this piece of work. Also, I appreciate that the Welsh Government and the Minister have accepted 26 of the committee's recommendations in full and the other in principle, of course. Because the current situation is simply not good enough and it cannot continue; we can't afford for it to continue, for the sake of our people here in Wales. So, putting into action the committee's report could see real improvements to tackle this extremely concerning waiting list backlog in Wales, which we so desperately need. Diolch yn fawr iawn.