The adverse effects of the pandemic on the delivery of health services in Wales are still being felt, and it's particularly concerning when it comes to cancer services. I'd like to reiterate what my colleague Russell George said earlier, in that vital cancer screening services had to be paused for four months in 2020, and the imposition of restrictions on movement and face-to-face meetings have resulted in attendance for cervical screening falling to their lowest levels in over a decade, which is a real shame, but we also understand why. Each year, around 1,200 people are diagnosed with gynaecological cancer here in Wales. The incidence rate for gynaecological cancer is significantly higher in Wales, with 72 cases per 100,000 women, compared to the UK average of 68 cases. Sadly, the mortality rate is also significantly higher here, with 26 deaths per 100,000, compared to 24 in the UK—some 470 deaths in Wales each year.

The suspected cancer pathway sets a target of 62 days for people to start treatment from a point of suspicion. In Wales, in July this year, only 34 per cent of gynaecological cancer patients met this target. It is clear that urgent action needs to be taken, not just to recover cancer services to pre-pandemic levels, but also to improve cancer outcomes and survival in the future. Without this action aimed at delivering timely diagnosis and effective treatment, outcomes for cancer patients in Wales will not improve.

The Welsh Government cancer quality statement remains vague. It does not specify a target and lacks detail on how it will reduce waiting times and how it plans to increase the NHS cancer workforce. Even before the pandemic, Wales was experiencing significant gaps in the diagnostic and cancer workforce, such as imaging, endoscopy, pathology and non-surgical oncology. These gaps have severely affected the ability of the Welsh NHS to diagnose cancers early, provide the most effective cancer treatment and improve cancer survival rates.

The clinical oncology consultant workforce in England and Wales has only grown by an average of 3 per cent a year over the past five years, compared with 5 per cent in Northern Ireland and 6 per cent in Scotland. Spending on agency staff for NHS Wales has increased from £50 million in 2011 to £143 million in 2019. This equates to more than half of Health Education and Improvement Wales’s annual spend on healthcare education training. This significant resource is spent on outsourcing rather than investment in the long-term growth of the NHS workforce here in Wales. Without this investment, we will not have the front-line staff and specialists we need to address the cancer backlog. Minister, the time has come for a detailed cancer action plan. This plan must include robust reporting mechanisms to report on progress regularly and transparently.