3. 2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:23 pm on 11 October 2016.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mark Isherwood Mark Isherwood Conservative 2:23, 11 October 2016

Could I call for two statements? Firstly on fragile X. Yesterday, in fact, was fragile X awareness day, and, last week, I joined families living with fragile X, a fragile X researcher and the chief officer of the Fragile X Society to walk a mile around Cardiff Bay as part of the ‘fragileXpedition’ of 8,026 miles around the whole of the UK to raise awareness of one of the most common, yet unknown, genetic conditions in the United Kingdom. It is, in fact, one of the most common inherited causes of learning difficulties and is understood to be the underlying cause of up to one in 20 cases of autism. It affects about 600 people in Wales, as well as a further 8,000 who are carriers, yet many people have never heard of it. This has a highly detrimental impact on diagnosis, support and treatment for people with the condition and their families. Given that yesterday was the national awareness day, I hope that my request for a statement will receive an encouraging response.

Secondly and finally, could I call for clarification on the responsibility for issues affecting poverty within the Welsh Government? I had a question tabled—‘How is the Welsh Government tackling poverty in Wales?’—on the order paper tomorrow, accepted by the Table Office, but we received a response from the Welsh Government that this falls within the portfolio of the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, and I’ll therefore receive instead a written answer from him. Clearly, poverty has traditionally been considered by the Welsh Government as a social justice matter, falling in the communities portfolio, with contributory factors including family breakdown, substance misuse, childcare, worklessness as an economic matter, and much more. Many of the aspects around poverty such as the tackling poverty programmes and Communities First still remain in the portfolio of the Minister, and in fact, the question I was going to raise was specifically around child poverty, on behalf of the Children’s Society. I would therefore seek clarity on this. For example, where should we in future direct questions on child poverty? Should it be to the Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, the Secretary for Communities, or otherwise? Thank you.