Part of 4. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 3:32 pm on 31 January 2023.
Thank you for that question, James, and it's probably helpful if I clarify that neurodevelopmental services sit with my colleague Julie Morgan, although we do work very closely together as there are, clearly, strong links with mental health services, particularly for children and young people. What I can say is that Julie Morgan has taken decisive action in this area. You'll be aware that £12 million was announced in the summer to deal with the backlog around ND waiting times, and also to support the improvement of ND services. In addition to that, Julie Morgan has also set up an ND advisory group and has been engaging with stakeholders, including people with lived experience, and there is an action plan to improve those waiting times.
For my part, I also recognise that our NEST/NYTH framework is also a key mechanism to support those children and young people, because we want those wraparound services to be available, and children and young people should not need the label of a diagnosis in order to access the support. So, NYTH is also a key area for us in that regard, and something that we work closely on.