Carl Sargeant: Thank you, Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to respond to this debate today. Turning to the amendments first, if I may, we will be supporting amendment 1. The Welsh Government has already outlined its three-phase approach to evaluating the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, which will include assessments of eligibility of individuals requiring care and support. The...
Carl Sargeant: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m pleased to open this debate on promoting greater equality, focusing in particular on the progress made in partnership with other public bodies and that of the third sector. We recently published the annual report on equality for 2015-2016, which provides an update on how the Welsh Government has met its equality duties. This year, the annual report...
Carl Sargeant: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Firstly, I’d like to thank Julie Morgan for leading this debate today. While the comments I can make on these specific allegations are necessarily limited, it is always important for us to learn from the past and acknowledge the lifelong consequences of abuse for survivors. As Julie set out the specific issues concerning historical allegations relating...
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for her question. I am hoping that my team will give some recommendations on the future of NSA and the programme, to me, by the end of this week. My team has already started discussions with NSA Afan, and also with the local authority in terms of any potential future consequences.
Carl Sargeant: Again, I’m grateful for the Member’s contribution. I thank him and others for raising this issue with me at an earlier point in time. This is being investigated by Welsh Government and the police and I’m unable to give any further details on this to the Chamber today, but when and if we raise the ban on support for NSA Afan, or otherwise, I will inform the Chamber.
Carl Sargeant: Llywydd, I thank the Member for her contribution. The Member makes many assumptions during her contribution, some not factually correct. NSA Afan is subject to an ongoing Welsh Government investigation, and we are working with other authorities, including the police, at this time.
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for her question. NSA Afan is subject to an ongoing Welsh Government investigation into allegations of possible misuse of funds. We’re working with relevant authorities, including the police, at this time. It would inappropriate for me to comment any further.
Carl Sargeant: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Deputy Presiding Officer, I’m happy to support the motion, which reflects the work already being done by Welsh Government and councils and our shared commitment to take this further. Preventing homelessness and addressing its root cause remains a priority for this Government. This is particularly important where there are children in the household....
Carl Sargeant: The Member is right; the consultation currently under way is intended to inform the next state aid application to allow the Government to continue to fund the uneconomic elements of the Post Office network, which I think they should look at very carefully. The Welsh Government will be making a representation and I would urge the Member to do the same.
Carl Sargeant: I think it would be difficult if we were to start having urgent questions by ‘The Telegraph’ every week—because it’s in ‘The Telegraph’. I would suggest that wasn’t the case in this case, but I did also see the article in that publication. I will be happy to share with Members the Government’s response and the response back from the UK Ministers.
Carl Sargeant: I’m certainly supportive of the principle of supporting post offices in our communities, and rightly so, but the Member is right that this decision matter lies with the UK Government. I am not aware of the plans to close rural post offices. I think the Member may have picked up this story from ‘The Telegraph’—[Interruption.]—and other information sources. My understanding is that...
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for his question. We recognise the importance of post offices and the important services they provide to local communities. As the Member will know, this is not a devolved matter, however I understand that the UK Government are currently consulting on the post office network. This consultation contains no specific proposals for rural post offices.
Carl Sargeant: Indeed. The Member raises a strong question there in terms of the difficult job of changing some of our more disconnected communities outside the Vibrant and Viable Places programme. The Vibrant and Viable Places programme has delivered many successful programmes, but I do recognise the issue that the Member has raised, and Alun Davies, in particular, has raised these issues with me. I am...
Carl Sargeant: I’m grateful for the Member’s question. The Welsh Government has supported successive regeneration programmes in the Valleys, including the current capital programme, Vibrant and Viable Places. I have explored with the Minister how all parts of my portfolio can support the work that he does running alongside the emerging priorities of the taskforce.
Carl Sargeant: The Member is right to raise this very important issue, and we made a statement yesterday and I’ve had, I think, three questions today on child poverty. So, it is on everybody’s agenda, and rightly so. What I did say in the statement yesterday is that we don’t hold all the levers and drivers to achieve the ambitious target by 2020, and I will be very open about that, but there are...
Carl Sargeant: This is the whole purpose of the well-being Act. The well-being of a community is based upon looking at what the community needs, what the community has and what we can develop with them. Again, I’m not familiar with the very specific question the Member raises, but it seems to me that this could have been planned through in the first place. I would urge the Member to take it up with the...
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for her question. Our priorities for tackling child poverty include building a strong economy, increasing employability and supporting parents into work, and improving outcomes in the early years.
Carl Sargeant: Of course, I recognise the impact that bank closures can have on constituencies, and other Members have raised that too. It seems to have all gone downhill since the Member left, perhaps, in terms of his former role. Specifically in Pembrokeshire, we are supporting Pembrokeshire County Council with £1.25 million through the Vibrant and Viable Places town-centre loans scheme to reduce the...
Carl Sargeant: The Member’s right and, again, it’s an excellent programme where research came from not within the community safety sector but from the medical sector, which was really interesting. When we measured the impact in Cardiff, violence fell by 42 per cent, which is a huge, huge amount. We must continue to roll this programme out and, as I said to the previous question, we will update Members...
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for his question. The regeneration priorities for Pembrokeshire are to support town centres and to help sustain resilient communities. This is being delivered through support from the town-centre loan fund and the town-centre partnership initiative.
