24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
And on your last point, about young carers, it's obviously crucial that we do help them, and we have been working with young carers to provide opportunities for respite, and I think I've already mentioned that we had this £3 million that we've put in to…
24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
Yes, thanks very much, Joyce, for those three crucial questions. Now, direct payments, I'd support anything that would improve—. Because it does take some time to set them up, but that question is quite timely actually at the moment, because, in early April…
24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
Well, in this financial year, we've provided a £48 million recovery fund for social care, to support the appropriate recovery of social care services in local authority areas across Wales, aligning with the social care recovery framework. And of this funding…
24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
Thanks very much, Joyce, for that question. I suppose I'll have to start by saying that these are exceptional times and that we do acknowledge the stress that people who care are under, and also the stress that local authorities are under, and we're…
24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
Thanks very much, Gareth. Yes, I did mention earlier on that we were aware of the difficulties in recruiting social workers, and it has been increasingly challenging. So, Social Care Wales is currently, as Albert has mentioned, developing a social workforce…
24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
Albert can perhaps come in on this, yes.
24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
Yes, we're aware of calls for national pay structures for social care. We know that this is something that we have asked the fair work forum to look at. So, I would certainly recognise that, that we do need—. I think we do need to move towards a national pay…
24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
We were very anxious to support social care workers and recognise the professionalism of what they do. I think, Gareth, you're absolutely right in describing the complexity of the work they do, and I think we all recognise it and praise it. But, they are not…
24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
We obviously are very concerned about recipients of care not being able to go back to their own home, because that's where the vast majority of people want to be, and that is our policy, to support people in their own homes. But, obviously, it has been a very…
24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
Diolch, Gareth. Thank you very much for that question. Obviously, we're very aware of the long-standing problems, particularly with recruitment and retention in the social care sector, as you know, and specifically, really, in domiciliary care and in the care…
24 March 2022 , Health and Social Care Committee
Hospital discharge and its impact on patient flow through hospitals: evidence session with the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
Well, the Minister is absolutely right, the care system is very fragile. It was fragile before the pandemic, and it's more fragile since then, and, obviously, to improve the flow, we've got to have all parts working effectively together. And as the Minister…
23 March 2022 , Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
Thank you very much for that question, and thank you for your recognition of the importance of the £500 payment to the carers who will be eligible for it. I think that the point you raised is very important, because we know that unpaid carers did manage, in…
23 March 2022 , Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services
Today I announced a £500 payment for over 57,000 unpaid carers across Wales who are in receipt of carers allowance. Also, unpaid carers in north Wales continue to benefit from the additional £10 million we allocated for a range of carer support services in…
22 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children (Wales) Act
Thank you very much, Joyce, for your support for this legislation. I absolutely agree with your introduction, where you say it is right for the state to intervene, and the importance of the state protecting its citizens, I think, is absolutely crucial, and…
22 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children (Wales) Act
Diolch, and thank you very much for that heartfelt support for this Act, and also for recognising that this is a historic moment. In terms of the points that you made, I think it's important to stress that everyone's ability to protect children will be…
22 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children (Wales) Act
Yes. There was a YouGov survey yesterday that showed that 68 per cent of the public in England thought that this legislation should be introduced in England, and I think that you'll find that this is the way the mood is going. There was a time when physical…
22 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children (Wales) Act
I think this is a fantastic move by the Welsh Government. It has committed itself to children, and we're also in tune with the public. There was a survey—[Interruption.]
22 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children (Wales) Act
Well, I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for that contribution. I really wonder who she thinks that she is speaking for when you're continuing your opposition to this Act, and I'd like to remind her that when this law went through this Chamber we had very strong…
22 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children (Wales) Act
The past two years since the Act was passed have been exceptionally challenging. Despite the pandemic, a phenomenal response from stakeholders has enabled us to achieve a huge amount since the first meeting of our strategic implementation group in May 2019…
22 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children (Wales) Act
I'm absolutely delighted that the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 came into force yesterday. The Government has a long-standing commitment to children’s rights, based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of…
22 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children (Wales) Act
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm delighted to be here today on a historic day for children and their rights.
1 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children and Young People’s Plan
Thank you very much, Sam Rowlands, for that important point, and, absolutely, we want to give support to parents. As I said in my response to Jane Dodds, we want to move to a system where we give as much support as we possibly can to parents in order for…
1 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children and Young People’s Plan
Okay, thank you very much, and thank you very much, Jane, for welcoming this plan with such wholeheartedness. Advocacy for children in care I think is absolutely crucial. As you know, one of our main aims in the Government is to improve the lot of children in…
1 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children and Young People’s Plan
Thank you, Heledd, for those very important points, and I absolutely agree with her that there are inequalities in Wales that we have to address. And it was very touching to hear your comments about your son listening to the television, and a lot of people…
1 March 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children and Young People’s Plan
I thank Gareth Davies for those comments. I'm glad that he agrees with me that Wales is a wonderful place to live, to grow up. I belive that this plan is ambitious. I do belive that if we're able to succeed in doing the things we are putting in this plan…
