Rebecca Evans: Thank you. I am pleased to open this debate on the annual impact and reach report from the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales. I’d like to take this opportunity to put on record my thanks to Sarah Rochira and her team for the invaluable work that they do to improve the lives of older people across Wales. It’s clear from the report that the commissioner has continued her impressive...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. I thank all Members who’ve contributed to what I think has been a really helpful and constructive debate this afternoon, and in concluding I’d like to set out our continued commitment to and support for older people. I think this is reinforced in the specific actions that we’ve set out in our programme for government, ‘Taking Wales Forward’. We’ve discussed some of...
Rebecca Evans: Well, it’s very difficult to give a particular answer in terms of pounds and pence as to what we spend on this agenda, because it is so wide ranging. Our approach to it takes in active travel, for example, so there’s all the work that we’re doing through the department that Ken Skates leads, but also work that we’re doing in terms of our support for public health more generally—our...
Rebecca Evans: Well, I’m pleased that you have recognised the success that we have made in terms of driving down smoking levels, which are at their lowest level since records began. And we’re making really good progress towards our target of 16 per cent by 2020. You’re absolutely correct that tackling obesity is a very complex issue, and it does involve things such as taxation and advertising. We’re...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for that question and I’m very pleased that Members have chosen to have a debate on public health with regard to the individual Members’ debate this afternoon. I’m really looking forward to hearing the ideas that Members from all parties will come forward with, because we are interested in what works and we’re interested in innovative ideas, so I look forward to the debate...
Rebecca Evans: I’m very grateful to Jenny Rathbone, Rhun ap Iorwerth, Vikki Howells, Angela Burns and Dai Lloyd for choosing to focus on important public health issues in the individual Members’ debate they’ve tabled this afternoon, the spirit of which is consistent with our commitment to support people to be healthy and active. I really welcome all of the thoughtful contributions that have been made....
Rebecca Evans: I am pleased to speak to this legislative consent motion today. I’d like to begin by thanking members of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee for their scrutiny of the memorandum, and I’m pleased that the committee has not raised any objection to the agreement of the motion. The UK Government introduced the Children and Social Work Bill into Parliament on 19 May 2016. Having...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Llywydd. I move the motion. The two sets of regulations before the Assembly were consulted upon over the summer and support the first phase of implementing the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016. They relate to the new system of workforce registration required under the Act. The Social Care Wales (Extension of Meaning of ‘Social Care Worker’) Regulations...
Rebecca Evans: Formally.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Also, thank you for dealing with that point so I didn’t have to. I’d like to thank Members for what I think has, on the whole, been a really interesting and useful debate. ‘Taking Wales Forward’ commits us to developing and delivering four cross-cutting, Government-wide strategies, including our healthy and active strategy. So, this approach will...
Rebecca Evans: The initiative that you describe in Newport—I haven’t had the opportunity yet to come and visit, but I’d be really keen to do so because I do know that that is a really good example of partners all coming together in order to address physical activity and well-being and health more widely. In terms of the well-being bond, this project is very much at its infancy in terms of the concept...
Rebecca Evans: The budget this year gave extra allocations to social services. We gave an initial £25 million to social services, £4.5 million to reflect the uplift that we’ve given in terms of the capital limit, and a further £10 million that was specifically in grant form this year to address the challenges that local authorities and the sector are facing with regard to implementing the new national...
Rebecca Evans: The decision to invest further in social care this year is a direct reflection of the discussions that we have had with experts in the field. We held three round tables with local government, with providers and others, in order to listen to the challenges of the social care sector, and work out a way we can collaboratively respond to them. So, Welsh Government is providing extra...
Rebecca Evans: I think the intermediate care fund is providing us with just that evidence. We have a £60 million intermediate care fund, which is really transforming the way that local authorities and health boards work together, including meeting people’s needs. Just this morning, I was in Ystradgynlais, seeing the good work that they’re doing there in terms of bringing together health and social...
Rebecca Evans: Yes, I absolutely agree that social care has a role to play in preventing unnecessary hospital admissions and ensuring that people can have a step-down service to return home as quickly as possible. We know that staying in hospital for too long is obviously bad for the individual in terms of their health and their well-being, which is exactly what the intermediate care fund is doing in terms...
Rebecca Evans: You’re absolutely right to say that we do take a very different approach to the one that we see in England in terms of our support for social services because, of course, the UK Government has abdicated its responsibility for social services in putting the burden on councils to raise council tax to pay for social care locally, which I think is an unfair approach and one that we wouldn’t...
Rebecca Evans: Well, just to pick up on the comment you made on aids and adaptations, I think that we should be looking at whether people’s needs are being met, not whether or not there has been an increase or a decrease in the percentage of certain aids and adaptations that are being installed. If you have specific examples locally as to where people haven’t had their needs met through aids and...
Rebecca Evans: We’re investing almost £50 million a year in our substance misuse agenda, which includes taking a range of actions to help reduce alcohol misuse in Wales. Details are set out in our latest substance misuse delivery plan for 2016 to 2018.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for the question. We do currently, under our existing settlement, have the power to legislate, but, unfortunately, despite numerous arguments made to the UK Government, this is one of the powers that they have sought to remove from the Assembly for the future—but we do still very much support the introduction of minimum unit pricing as an additional lever in order to reduce...
Rebecca Evans: Well, partnership working, as you describe, is absolutely essential, because there are so many parties involved in terms of helping people who already have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol stop drinking, but also to promote responsible drinking as well. The community alcohol partnership, which I’ve just described to Joyce Watson, is one example of how we’re doing that. In December,...
