Well, the motion before us today is, in my opinion, a very unnecessary and, I have to say, a vindicative distraction. Yet another manifestation of an opposition whose only interest is unfortunately in grabbing a cheap headline. In the process, what they do is actually let down our public services and the people who rely on them by their failure to engage with the very real challenges that we do know we are facing. For example, we know in Wales that our population is older; we know that our industrial heritage brings with it a legacy of sickness and ill health. We know that responding to the coronavirus pandemic and 13 years of failed UK Government policies, which have increased poverty and have increased health inequalities, have therefore put unprecedented pressures on our Welsh NHS.

We know that this is leading to people having to wait longer than any of us are comfortable with to access treatment. But we also know that the Minister for health and the Welsh Government, working with those bodies responsible for the delivery of healthcare, are doing all they can to reduce waiting times. We know that this is paying off: waiting lists in Wales have gone down for the second successive month.

New ambitious interventions are planned to further encourage this direction of travel, such as the new diagnostics and treatment centre announced by the Minister just last month. Funded by Welsh Government, developed by three health boards working together and based in Llantrisant in Rhondda Cynon Taf, with an approach hingeing on clinician and patient involvement, that centre has the capacity to deliver innovative services to thousands of patients each year, and this could not just reduce, but actually eliminate backlogs in accessing treatment for people in the Cynon Valley and neighbouring areas. And if it's successful in doing that, it's a model that can be rolled out across Wales.

I was fortunate enough to visit another project in my constituency at the start of the year to see another groundbreaking initiative implemented by the Minister. I went to Gwynns Opticians in Aberdare to find out about changes to the services that they deliver. Local opticians are being trained to become independent prescribers, able to diagnose and treat really serious conditions, like glaucoma and macular degeneration, and this eliminates the need for patients to be added to hospital waiting lists and instead allows for treatment in a local setting. This reform of the NHS, relieving pressure on services, empowering practitioners and ensuring that patients can access swift, safe and specialist care is a priority for this health Minister, as is valuing the professionals responsible for the delivery of these services.

I'm proud that, proportionately, we have more doctors and nurses in Wales than they do in England; that we are training more doctors and nurses; that we pay the real living wage to all NHS workers. And lest we forget, the health Minister is also responsible for social services. With her team, the Minister has delivered on our 2021 Senedd election manifesto pledge to pay the real living wage to all care workers in Wales. And this is a tremendous achievement, substantively changing our perception of what is a vital role with our ageing population, ensuring social care work and social care workers receive the just reward they should be able to expect. So, on behalf of my constituents who work in social care, on behalf of all of the women in Wales who work in social care, and on behalf of my constituents who rely on social care, I would like to say, 'Thank you, Minister.'

For the remainder of my time, I just want to change focus and offer an alternative perspective. Our Minister for Health and Social Services has been in post since the May 2021 election. In that time, in contrast, four different people have served as health Secretary in the UK Cabinet.

First there was, of course, Matt Hancock, dropped for arrogantly ignoring the coronavirus regulations, for which he was responsible; presiding over a regime that gave billions to cronies in dodgy PPE contracts; then trading public service for a stab as a reality TV star; and further notoriety via his shameful leaked WhatsApp messages. Then we have Sajid Javid. Probably the best thing that he did as health Secretary was to contribute to bringing down Boris Johnson—bringing Boris Johnson down for arrogantly ignoring the coronavirus regulations for which he was responsible. Then we had Therese Coffey, whose contribution was to put on record her commitment to illegally sharing prescription medication. And now we have Stephen Barclay, described in a health service journal as:

'A real nightmare, vindictive, arrogant, a bully, hostile to the NHS and all its works, a micro-manager of the wrong things'.

That is what this opposition has to offer. That’s why the people of Wales will never trust them to run the NHS, and that is why I will be voting against this motion today.