Julie Morgan: I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for all those points. In terms of why the real living wage rather than the £10 that he mentioned, I think I did respond to that, to the Conservative spokesperson. The real living wage provides certainty to workers that their rates of pay will be independently and fairly reviewed each year. Rather than a one-off figure, such as £10, workers can be assured it will be...
Julie Morgan: I thank Vikki Howells for those questions. The issue about who has had the recognition payment has obviously caused some issues, particularly with the people she has mentioned—advocates and business support. But the purpose of giving the bonus to social care workers was to give it to those who actually do deliver the service. And we really wish we could deliver it much wider, but of course,...
Julie Morgan: Diolch. Thank you, Gareth, for bringing the first legislative proposal to this new Senedd. The Welsh Government is committed to upholding and protecting the rights of all older people in Wales. I am clear that age does not diminish an individual's right to be treated with dignity and respect. The pandemic, as speakers here today have already referred to, has sharpened society's awareness of...
Julie Morgan: Diolch. I updated Members of the Senedd on our 'Rebalancing Care and Support' White Paper consultation on 9 February. The White Paper set out proposals for improving social care arrangements to better enable the sector to achieve the vision set out in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. The 12-week consultation closed on 6 April. A summary of the consultation responses has...
Julie Morgan: I thank you very much for those questions and I very much appreciate the fact that you think we can all get behind changes to the system. The principles of the 2014 Act are reiterated in everything that we plan to do, with person-centred social care working to bring social care and health together. What the statement is doing today is as a result of the publication of the consultation that we...
Julie Morgan: I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for those comments, and I repeat, really, that the words of co-production and partnership are the absolute key words in most of the statements that we make, and working co-productively and working in partnership is not easy to do, it takes some time, and we are committed to taking this forward in a co-productive way. So, we will continue to build on what these...
Julie Morgan: I thank Jenny Rathbone for those very important points. Taking forward a national office is something that there is a mixed reaction to in the consultation responses, but there is probably more support than not. And the purpose of having a national office is actually to simplify the whole system, because, at the moment, we've got hundreds of providers employing thousands of people, and each...
Julie Morgan: Thank you, Sam, very much, for that question—a very important question. We do intend local authorities to continue to deliver and commission social care services, because it's absolutely crucial that these services are as close to the public and close to the local area as possible. So, we certainly don't see any diminishing of the role of local authorities in this field. We think that we...
Julie Morgan: I thank Joyce Watson very much for that important point and for emphasising the crucial nature of the workforce in this field, because, as she said, the workforce are delivering the most intimate services to very vulnerable people. It couldn't be a more important job, and I think our role in Government is to do all that we can to boost that workforce, to give it confidence and to show that we...
Julie Morgan: I thank Jane Dodds for that very important question. Yes, I've had many discussions with the children's commissioner about this particular issue and I know she feels very passionately about it. I've talked to young people and children about this issue, and I've been struck by how deeply they feel that the circumstances of their lives have enabled some people to make a profit from it, and they...
Julie Morgan: The Welsh Government published a summary of the consultation responses to our White Paper, 'Rebalancing care and support', on 29 June. The White Paper set out proposals to reform social care and to improve well-being. Our programme for government includes commitments to take forward these proposals, in partnership with the sector.
Julie Morgan: Diolch. And I thank Rhys ab Owen for that very heartfelt question. To start with his opening comments about not waiting for the UK Government, we would prefer a solution for England and Wales, but I absolutely agree we can't wait forever. We'd like a joint solution because of the interface with the benefits system and the taxation system. So, that's why we'd like that. But we have been...
Julie Morgan: Diolch. I think the pandemic has really highlighted the importance of social care workers, and I think many of the public were not aware of the value of the work that they do. So, I think we have to use this opportunity to make sure that we do use every opportunity to upskill them, as the Member said, and also to ensure that they get a better reward for what they're doing. That is why, of...
Julie Morgan: I am pleased the council is moving toward commissioning services that have person-centred care as the focus. I am also pleased to note the consideration of staff remuneration, in line with my recent oral statement setting out our Welsh Government's commitment to the introduction of the real living wage.
Julie Morgan: I'd like to thank Huw Irranca-Davies very much for that question. I am aware and have received the letter from Bridgend, and I was very interested to read about their proposed pilot to pay domiciliary care workers at the level of the real living wage and also to introduce more flexibility into the provision. I think he's described how flexibility can be of great advantage to users of the...
Julie Morgan: I thank you very much for that question. Obviously, community pharmacy is absolutely crucial in terms of delivering services and delivering services to those who are in receipt of domiciliary care as well. I think community pharmacies have got a very good record in terms of providing services, and I'm personally aware of many individuals and families who have depended on community pharmacies...
Julie Morgan: Diolch, Llywydd. I formally move the motion. The draft Coronavirus Act 2020 (Early Expiry: Local Authority Care and Support) (Wales) Regulations 2021 before you today will provide for the early expiry of the operation of the social care provisions contained within that 2020 Act. These draft regulations specifically relate to Part 2 of Schedule 12 to the 2020 Act, and section 15 of the 2020...
Julie Morgan: Diolch. I'd like to start by thanking Jane for her legislative proposal, and to thank all those who've contributed to the debate today. I think we can proud as a Parliament that we take our responsibilities to children looked after by our social services departments so seriously and with such compassion, and I think that's been illustrated by the contributions today. The Bill proposal that...
Julie Morgan: In relation to commissioning, our social services and well-being Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to source and make placements for looked-after children. To this end, all of our local authorities are members of the Children's Commissioning Consortium Cymru, known as the 4Cs. This centralised function, developed by local authorities, simplifies and streamlines the commissioning...
Julie Morgan: Our current priorities for social care are set out in the social care recovery framework. There is much good practice in the Cynon Valley to learn from, including the Back to Community Life programme, which started in the Cynon Valley.
