The experiences of the pandemic did perhaps reinforce something that we were all very aware of, namely that the nursing workforce within the health service was suffering in terms of lack of numbers, low pay, and even lower morale. We then of course see ambulance workers going on strike. We are likely to see doctors in Wales following suit by also going on strike, and it's clear that the current situation is unsustainable. Leaders within the health service are warning that the service is at a precipice, and are asking the Government to do everything it can to move away from that cliff edge, because we all know there would be serious implications to what might happen because of that.

As a party, we've always been on the side of health and care workers, advocating for fairer pay and sustainability within the profession. I'm sure many of you will recall how Plaid Cymru was a very lonely voice for many years, arguing for a medical school in Bangor—something that the Government has now, of course, supported. I, and many Members on these benches and other benches, have regularly raised over the past decade the need for better workforce planning within the health workforce, but here we are today, with one in eight nursing roles in north Wales being vacant. The upshot of that, of course, is a reliance on agency nurses and expenditure across Wales of hundreds of millions of pounds over recent years.