Thank you to members of the Health and Social Care Committee for your report and for the opportunity to discuss waiting times on the Senedd floor today.

We know that the pandemic has had a profound effect on our health service, with waiting times proving a real problem. I welcome the announcement made by the health Minister earlier this year, ensuring that by 2025 no-one will be waiting more than a year for treatment in most specialities. And I agree wholeheartedly with the recommendations in the report to raise awareness of cancer symptoms, but we need to see more urgent action on cancer waiting times. A constituent contacted my office this month. They were told they had an urgent cancer referral following a visit to their GP, only to find out that urgent referrals are now 16 weeks or more. The worry and angst caused over these four months has an astronomically detrimental effect, not only to the individuals but their families and friends too. In your response to this debate, will the Minister please commit to making a statement on how Welsh Government will reduce the number of weeks and months people are waiting for cancer referrals?