Julie Morgan: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I move the motions. The Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Bill was passed unanimously three years ago. Through phased implementation of the Act, we're establishing a new system of regulation and inspection of social care providers that is robust, streamlined and citizen-focused. The new system better enables Care Inspectorate Wales to...
Julie Morgan: Thank you very much. And thank you very much to Helen Mary Jones for her contribution to the debate. She's absolutely right—the reason we use the words 'foster parent' is because that is the wording used in the legislation, and so that's why we have to use it in these regulations. But she makes a very important point, and, of course, for young people in particular, they do not see their...
Julie Morgan: I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for that welcome and very kind words. In response to her comments about young carers, we're absolutely committed to supporting carers of all ages, including young carers and young adult carers. We do think that education in the school setting is one of the key areas to identify and help young carers and I'm aware that the financial situation of young carers is...
Julie Morgan: I absolutely agree with the Member that there is a lack of awareness of the issues of young carers and it's really important, particularly in schools that there is a much wider awareness, and that is something that the Government certainly wants to work on. The proposal for a young carers ID card is actually being worked on at the moment by officials here in the Government and they're...
Julie Morgan: It is absolutely vital, as the Member says, that correct assessments are made for young carers, and the social services and well-being Act does require that, but I am aware that many young carers have not had assessments and I know that there is variability of how the assessments actually apply. So, the Government is looking at this—looking at how to improve this and is looking at it...
Julie Morgan: Formally.
Julie Morgan: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, and thank you to everybody who has contributed to this debate. Everyone in Wales deserves support to live independently when they require that support. The independent living fund was established over 30 years ago across the UK to support disabled people with complex needs to live independently. The UK Government closed this scheme to new entrants in...
Julie Morgan: There is no need for anyone to be reassessed if they don't want to be. Everybody will be offered the opportunity, but there is absolutely no need, and as the carers survey does show that many are satisfied with what they've got, we don't anticipate everybody wanting to be reassessed. It's only people who want to be reassessed, who are unhappy with the arrangement, who will have the...
Julie Morgan: 'A Healthier Wales' sets out our vision for a seamless health and social care system. We've put a strong legal framework in place to make that happen, including the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, and new approaches to joint working and staff development will help make that vision a reality.
Julie Morgan: I thank Mike Hedges for that very important question. I have begun initial discussions with local government, with the third sector and the independent sector providers about how to improve the stability of care and support provision in Wales. These discussions are at a very early stage, but I will keep Members updated on progress. But, just to give one example, the Welsh Government has been...
Julie Morgan: Well, I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for that question. Obviously, private foster parents need to be covered by these regulations that she has described, but, obviously, it's very important that they know what they have to do. So, I think it is incumbent on the local authority to ensure that private foster parents are made aware, that they make publicly available the information about what...
Julie Morgan: I think I'd have to have some more details about this particular case that you're describing before I could comment on it. It obviously sounds a very unfortunate incident to have happened, but I'd be grateful if you could let me know the details of that case and I can respond.
Julie Morgan: Thank you, Llywydd. It’s a huge pleasure for me to introduce this Bill to the National Assembly for Wales.
Julie Morgan: It gives me great pleasure to introduce the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill to the National Assembly today. This Bill has been long awaited and long campaigned for, including by myself. And, in fact, Christine Chapman, the former Assembly Member for Cynon Valley, who I believe is in the gallery today, led a debate in the Assembly Chamber in January 2002...
Julie Morgan: This legislation will not only remove the defence but it will support a wider cultural change in Wales and make it absolutely clear to everyone—to children, parents and professionals—that the physical punishment of children is unacceptable in all circumstances. The Welsh Government is not advocating letting children do whatever they like. Every child needs some discipline and to have...
Julie Morgan: Thank you, Janet Finch-Saunders, for your contribution to the debate. You raised a lot of points in what you said; I'll just make a few comments in response. First of all, I think it's important to remember that we are not the first country to be doing this, that, I think, 54 countries have now introduced the legislation to remove the defence of reasonable punishment. We have actually got...
Julie Morgan: Thank you very much, Siân, and I really do appreciate the support you're giving to this legislation, because I know that your party has been very supportive—and Jocelyn and Lindsay were tremendous—and I believe Helen Mary Jones was very supportive in the previous Assembly. And I think we are united in wanting to improve the lives of children. So, thank you very much for your support. Of...
Julie Morgan: Well, I thank Jenny Rathbone very much for her support and the support she has given to this as well in the past. I certainly agree that becoming a parent doesn't come easily and you're not given something that tells you how you should be a parent. Obviously, there are many stresses on parents, and she refers to the changes in welfare benefits, which, of course, does bring additional stress....
Julie Morgan: Thank you, Gareth Bennett, for your contribution. You mentioned closing the loophole. It's not just closing the loophole in terms of physical punishment in the home; it's closing the loophole about physical punishment in Sunday schools, in leisure facilities, in quite a wide range of non-educational settings. Anybody who is looking after a child in those settings, at the moment, is able to...
Julie Morgan: I thank Vikki for her contribution and also for her mention of Christine Chapman and all the work that she did. I would agree with her that many parents do actually think that you're not legally able to use physical punishment against your child now, because lots of people have said to me, 'Oh, I didn't think we could do that'—they have already thought—. So, there is this mood, a change...
