11. Will the Minister make a statement on Families First funding? OAQ(5)0007(CC)[W]

I thank the Member for his question. Forty-two million, five hundred and seventy-eight thousand has been allocated for the delivery of the Families First programme during 2016-17, which includes £3 million, ring-fenced for funding the delivery of services for families affected by disabilities.

Thank you. The team around the family is one of the five main elements of the Families First programme. A constituent came to see me to share her concern that this service in Anglesey was to cease from March 2017. She was high in her praise for the support that she received from the team locally because of the mental health problems suffered by her daughter and the impact that had on the family, and she said quite clearly that she couldn’t have coped without that assistance. What intention does the Minister have to review the future of the team around the family and ensure that it is continued for the future for the sake of my constituent and many like her after March of next year?

Well, I’m not familiar with that instruction from any Minister or from my department in terms of that ending in 2017. There was certainly a financial, one-year proposal for the scheme, but we are reconsidering that as we move forward. So, your constituent, perhaps, isn’t accurate about the fact that it’s going to close. We haven’t said that.