4. 3. Statement: Resilient Communities

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:14 pm on 11 October 2016.

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Photo of Dawn Bowden Dawn Bowden Labour 3:14, 11 October 2016

I’m going to do that. What I wanted to say, however, is that I think that we do need to recognise that anti-poverty strategies have been at the forefront of Welsh Government policy for many years. In my own constituency, in common with many other constituencies whose representatives have spoken today, we’ve seen incredible work done on a daily basis—on a daily basis—around social community, digital inclusion, dealing with ex-offenders, tackling isolation, developing parenting skills, assisting with long-term unemployment. We could probably go on and on. So, an incredible amount of work is done. Therefore, I do welcome, Cabinet Secretary, the statement that you have made today, because I think that the initiatives that you have announced today, particularly the focus on ensuring positive outcomes, do take us into that direction that continues the work that we’ve already seen, and ensures that the measures that we’ve got to tackle poverty should underpin all of the work that the Welsh Government does going forward.

However, my question is around whether the Minister can tell us whether the anti-poverty priorities and programmes in many of our most deprived areas, most of which, or a lot of which, are delivered by Communities First, will be followed through with the new strategy, and, if so, how those transitional arrangements will apply, and whether he has given some thought to how we can retain the skills of the people that have so successfully delivered Communities First in some of our most deprived areas—an asset that I’m sure he wouldn’t want to lose any more than I would.