The following amendments have been selected: amendments 1 and 2 in the name of Paul Davies, and amendment 3 in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth.

We now move on to item 5, which is a debate on the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales’ annual report 2015-16, and I call on the Minister for Social Services and Public Health to move the motion—Rebecca Evans.

Motion NDM6174 Jane Hutt

To propose that the National Assembly of Wales:

Notes the Annual Report for 2015-16 by the Older People's Commissioner for Wales.

Motion moved.

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 record of activity. The breadth and depth of her work touches on so many aspects of older people’s lives: their rights, their health, their housing and their safety. She’s been an influential figure, ensuring that the voice of older people is always heard and that action is taken to address the issues that are important to them. And, importantly, the commissioner has never forgotten the importance of authenticity when speaking on behalf of older people. This year, she and her team have met with 218 groups and more than 5,600 older people across the country, speaking to them directly to ensure that they’re focusing on the issues that matter to older people today.

Taking the first amendment tabled in the name of Paul Davies, we recognise the impact that loneliness and isolation can have on health and well-being. This is why we’ve committed to developing a nationwide and cross-Government strategy to address loneliness and isolation. This will build on the work that’s been taken forward through our strategy for older people and the Ageing Well in Wales programme. As such, we support this amendment.

We also support the second amendment tabled by the Welsh Conservatives. Indeed, we’ve already taken steps to strengthen rights for older people through the declaration of rights for older people and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act. In her report, the commissioner has been clear about her ambition to further protect and promote the rights of older people through legislation. The First Minister and I have already had discussions with the older people’s commissioner in relation to potential future legislation, and the written statement I issued on the international day for older people at the end of September confirms our support for the principle of a Bill.

Turning to the final amendment tabled in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth, again, we support it. We recognise the importance of local government in the health and well-being of older people, and this is why we’ve provided additional funding in the revenue support grant to recognise the pressures on social services. There’s also been further money made available through the intermediate care fund. The draft budget for 2017-18 will also deliver the best local government funding settlement in years.

I’d like to turn my focus to some of the key themes that underpin the commissioner’s report. However, I think it’s important to set the debate within the context of the changing landscape of social care in Wales. Taken together, the social services and well-being Act and the regulation and inspection of social care Act are transforming the way that social services are delivered. People now have a strong voice and more say in relation to the care and support they receive to ensure that it focuses on what’s important to them and to best meet their well-being outcomes. The commissioner has been involved in the development of both Acts, and I appreciate the positive contribution that she has made and continues to make.

Dementia is one of the biggest healthcare challenges we face as a society, and it’s a key theme in the commissioner’s report. Only recently, the news headlines highlighted that Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias were recorded in almost one in eight recorded deaths in 2015. These figures are attributed to our ageing population as well as improved detection and diagnosis.

In March this year, the commissioner published her report, ‘Dementia: more than just memory loss’. She drew a number of key conclusions following her review, including a lack of knowledge and understanding of dementia amongst professionals and the public, a lack of flexibility and co-operation within dementia services, and a significant variation in the experiences of people living with dementia and their carers. I’m pleased to confirm that the Welsh Government recognises the importance of dealing with the challenges of dementia and tackling the issues that the commissioner has raised. ‘Taking Wales Forward’ sets out our commitment to take further action to make Wales a dementia-friendly nation by developing and implementing a new national dementia strategic action plan. This plan will, of course, take into consideration the commissioner’s findings, in addition to working with key third sector partners, such as the Alzheimer’s Society, Age Alliance Wales and the Wales Carers Alliance.

Over the last two years, the Welsh Government has provided more than £8 million of additional funding to develop dementia services across Wales. So, we do have a firm foundation on which to build. We’ll use the plan to strengthen work already under way in a number of key areas, including awareness raising and working with the Alzheimer’s Society and others to maintain the momentum of the Dementia Friends and Dementia Supportive Communities campaigns. It will also focus on improving diagnosis rates, providing practical and emotional help, and embedding a culture that puts the dignity and safety of patients first. The plan will be issued for formal public consultation before the end of this year, with the final version to be published in the spring of 2017.

As a Government, we’re opposed to all forms of discriminations, and ageism is no exception. But while sexism, racism and homophobia, for example, are generally recognised and understood, the commissioner makes the point that ageism is often overlooked and is rarely talked about. This was the driving force behind her Say No to Ageism campaign, launched in October last year. The campaign’s aim was to challenge the stereotypes associated with growing older and older people, outlining the huge contribution older people make to our society, including more than £1 billion to the economy every year. The commissioner’s used her impressive reach to spread the message across Wales through film, social media and training courses. As part of the campaign, the commissioner highlights ageism and discrimination in the workplace, and this remains a significant issue for many older people. This is often founded on preconceived notions of poor health, lower productivity and unwillingness to adapt to change. These prejudices, which bear no validity, are part of the reason why older jobseekers are more than twice as likely to be long-term unemployed compared to younger jobseekers, and why more than one in three people in Wales between the age of 50 and state pension age are jobless.

I’m proud to say that this Government recognises the value that older people bring to the labour market. Learning and training opportunities shouldn’t be just for young people. We’re committed to creating a minimum of 100,000 high-quality apprenticeships for people of all ages. We will work with employers to ensure that they value the skills and experience that older people bring to the workforce. If older people want to remain in work or want to retrain and learn new skills to apply for new jobs, we will support them in that decision.

I now turn to the final theme I’d like to highlight from the commissioner’s report—safeguarding and protecting older people here in Wales. The commissioner’s work has focused on ensuring a systemic approach to identifying the older people at risk and securing full support from the criminal justice system to help people regain their safety and their well-being. When older people need care and support, we will ensure that those caring for older people have the knowledge, skills and competencies to deliver high-quality, compassionate care.

We are committed to improving the quality of care that people receive, whether it's in their own home, or in hospital, or in a care home, and to ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect. Action is being taken to respond to the recommendations of the Flynn review, and this includes the appointment of a senior quality improvement lead who is working with care home providers and regulators across Wales to reduce avoidable pressure ulcers.

The social services and well-being Act has put the protection of adults on a firm statutory footing. The Act has introduced a definition of ‘adult at risk’, and a new duty for the local authority to make enquiries to determine whether any action is required to safeguard vulnerable people. The Act has introduced a number of key safeguards for adults at risk, including new duties to report to the local authority someone suspected to be an adult at risk of abuse or neglect, and for the local authority to make enquiries or cause enquiries to be made to determine whether any action is required to safeguard those vulnerable people. This duty to enquire is supplemented by a power to apply to the courts for an adult support and protection order. The order will enable an authorised officer with the requisite skills and experience to securely enter the premises in order to speak with an adult in private, to determine what, if any, action should be taken.

One of the issues the commissioner features in her report is the devastating impact that scams, fraud or criminal deception can have on the lives of older people, and these crimes, deliberately targeted at some of the most vulnerable people in our society, have a detrimental effect on mental and physical well-being. Research has highlighted that there is also a direct cost to local authorities, as victims lose their confidence and independence, suffer depression, and require intervention from the state to provide protections such as sheltered accommodation and social services support. Whilst good practice does exist across Wales to tackle scams in all their forms, the Welsh Government, the commissioner and others recognised that there was a need to better co-ordinate efforts and ensure that there’s a collaborative approach across the public, private and third sectors. As a result, the commissioner and Age Cymru formally launched the Wales Against Scams Partnership in March of this year, and this works to make Wales a hostile place for criminals who often deliberately target older and vulnerable people. The partnership has also developed the UK's first anti-scammers charter.

As a Government, we’re committed to ensuring that older people are safe and able to live fear free. The tackling hate crime framework, which sets out the Welsh Government’s aim to challenge hostility and prejudice, includes age as a protected characteristic. This issue is being explored at a strategic level by the hate crime criminal justice board, established to ensure a partnership approach across devolved and non-devolved areas, including the four Welsh police forces, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.

The Welsh Government's support for older people and the issues they face is clear: the groundbreaking decision taken in 2008 to appoint a commissioner for older people has no doubt made a huge difference to the lives of older people in Wales. I don't believe that any of us here would doubt the drive, dedication and determination of the commissioner and her team in fulfilling their purpose as an independent voice for older people, helping to keep those who are vulnerable safe and working to ensure that they have the services and support that they need. I look forward to the debate.

Thank you very much. I have selected the three amendments to the motion. I call on Janet Finch-Saunders to move amendments 1 and 2 tabled in the name of Paul Davies. Janet.

Amendment 1—Paul Davies

Add as new point at end of motion:

Notes the work of the Older People's Commissioner to tackle the impact of loneliness and isolation on older people living in Wales and calls on the Welsh Government to do more to address this matter.

Amendment 2—Paul Davies

Add as new point at end of motion:

Notes that, to ensure that older people have a strong voice in line with the Older People Commissioner's recommendations, the Welsh Government should consider introducing an Older People's Rights Bill to extend and promote the rights of Wales's older people.

Amendments 1 and 2 moved.

Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. I move amendments 1 and 2 in the name of Paul Davies.

There are some 800,000 older people in Wales who deserve every opportunity to be empowered to have their rights strengthened and their needs fulfilled, and I would like to start my contribution today by paying tribute to our Older People's Commissioner for Wales, Miss Sarah Rochira, for campaigning so tirelessly to achieve that. I am not alone in recognising the professionalism that Miss Rochira has brought to this role—she’s certainly a real champion for our elderly here in Wales. Her work on scams and swindles, care homes, ageing well in Wales, domestic abuse and ageism demonstrates the wide range of issues impacting older people, which we recognise today. The commissioner opens this report by referring to older people in Wales as ‘a phenomenal asset’ and ‘everyday heroes’. With a contribution of £1 billion each year to our economy through childcare, volunteering, care and community work, it is fair to say that this is a great description. Yet, all too often, the value of these ‘everyday heroes’ goes unnoticed or unrecognised. It is completely unacceptable that too many older people, particularly those who may be more vulnerable, see their rights diminish as they get older, and as they really need that support most.

A year ago next week, on Human Rights Day, the commissioner called for legislation to protect and promote the rights of our older people here in Wales. Our amendments today seek to strengthen the commissioner’s calls through the introduction of an older people’s rights Bill. We want to see a single piece of legislation to clearly enshrine the rights of older people within Welsh law. We want to see a duty of due regard on all public bodies; to place a duty on the Welsh Government to promote knowledge and understanding of the rights of older people across Wales; and to introduce measures to tackle ageism, promote ageing well and embed older people’s well-being within public service delivery.

The fact that the commissioner’s casework team provided assistance and support for 413 older people across Wales last year shows that we still have progress to be made, particularly in the areas of care and residential care that, combined, made up a considerable amount of such casework. The commissioner identified the key themes that came across in her casework as accessing continuing healthcare funding, the impact of care home closures, and the overall cost of care. These are themes that I, too, have picked up on in much of my own casework, and are part of the reasons why Welsh Conservatives want to see a cap on care costs, much improved joined-up working between the health and social care sector, and much better bed provision, to prevent those terrible delayed transfers of care that we all in our constituencies know about, and to ensure choice, suitability and the right location for those who need care.

We have used our amendments to highlight the issue of isolation among older people. This is a concern that the commissioner has focused on previously, and we want to ensure that this Chamber does not forget the impact that loneliness can have on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing, particularly around this time of year. Loneliness can have an effect on mortality similar in size to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. New research has found that people with early signs of Alzheimer’s were 7. 5 times more likely to be very lonely. So, let’s use this report to commit ourselves towards making Wales the first dementia-friendly nation in the United Kingdom. Dirprwy Lywydd, we are fortunate to have such a dedicated and committed commissioner working on behalf of older people across Wales, and I will say this: I would like to see that role, where people are doing a really good job—I know it’s time-related, but I would like to see some people actually staying in the role and continuing the good work that they’re doing. That is one role that I particularly believe should continue, and that person.

Let us ensure that we are working in tandem to create an age-friendly Wales, ensuring that older people are able to access the services, the support and the care they need and deserve, and that they are empowered to continue to lead rewarding and fulfilling lives, enriching our social fabric as only those with their own life experiences can do. Diolch.

Thank you. I call on Sian Gwenllian to move amendment 3, tabled in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth. Sian.

Amendment 3—Rhun ap Iorwerth

Add as new point at end of motion:

Notes the importance of public services provided by local government to the health and well-being of older people, and regrets that continued financial challenges as a result of austerity are hindering the provision of these services.

Amendment 3 moved.

Thank you. I move amendment 3 in the Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Even though this debate is about services that are provided for older people, it is of interest to us all, of course, and for the sort of country that we want to create in Wales. What sort of country would we like to grow old in? Well, that’s the question that we all need to be considering.

The report underlines the value of having an older people’s commissioner, and the casework shows that services are quite often too complex and difficult to access. The quality of care in particular is an issue that is highlighted time after time.

We support the idea of rights-based approaches to public services that the commissioner advocates, and we are happy to see these rights strengthened in whatever way possible. But there is one elephant in the room here, and that is austerity and the cuts in particular to local government. While local government in Wales is being hit less severely in Wales this year, thanks to the Plaid and Labour agreement over the budget, the general settlement, and the situation in general, creates many challenges. Inevitably, the rights of older people to have services such as public transport, libraries and public toilets, and the range of services that are essential to the quality of life of older people, are under threat. Continuous and prolonged financial austerity in the long term goes against the rights of older people, and legislation that is being passed in this place will not be as effective without the fiscal powers that are needed to ensure that public services can be appropriately funded. Unfortunately, it appears that these challenges will continue. How we respond to them will determine whether old age will be a good experience—the sort of experience that all of us here would like to have. Or will we, through austerity and through this situation, create poverty among pensioners—the type of thing that was seen decades ago?

I would like to outline three issues in terms of approach that could assist in this. First of all, the UK Government has to be much more honest with their core voters about the economic need to have a larger workforce paying taxes at a level that is needed to maintain essential public services of quality. Secondly, the Welsh Government has to find ways where public services and departments within the same services work together more effectively. This means a much better understanding about this and about the fact that failing to maintain one service means additional costs for other services, and that an obsession with the baseline creates problems in years to come. Eventually, it is cheaper to provide public services that are good than leaving people to become ill long term, to leave them too reliant on public services or to become continued users of public services.

That leads us to the third point, which also relates to attitude and approach. We have to get rid of this attitude that people who use public services are a burden on taxpayers’ money. They are not. People over 65 years of age make a massive economic and social contribution to Wales. It is worth £259 million in childcare—free childcare—for our grandchildren; and £496 million through volunteering. Those are only two examples. Think how it would be for public services without these and much more. Therefore, the attitude to be adopted is this: if we spend money on keeping people who are healthy, active and living independently, then we will have great benefit from that investment. And, in turn, this will enable more of us to age well. That is the name of the innovative project in Gwynedd, which has that exact intention at its core, which enables the people from the county to age well. I would like to thank the commissioner and her team for their work, and for this report today. Thank you.

I welcome this debate today, and thank you for the opportunity to speak. I’d like to reiterate the fact of how proud I am that Wales was home to the world’s first older person’s commissioner. I think that was a great achievement and I think it was very forward-looking of the Welsh Government to establish this role. I think what it’s done has shown that it was the right decision.

I think the important developments that the current older people’s commissioner has brought about is really because, as the Minister said when she did her introduction, she is deeply rooted in listening to what older people are saying. She’s certainly been to my constituency to speak at meetings on two occasions, and when she described where she’d been in Wales—I mean, she is going across, back and forwards across Wales all the time, so I think she really does have a knowledge about what older people are feeling.

I do agree with a rights-based approach for older people, in the same way as we’ve developed it for children, and I am very pleased that there have been discussions with the Minister and with the First Minister about enshrining the rights of older people in law, because I do feel that, if older people’s rights are firmly enshrined in law, it will make public bodies think much more carefully when they make decisions that do affect older people, and there are a series of benchmarks to measure the lives that older people are living.

I want to talk briefly about the participation of older people in everyday life and the contributions they have to give. One of the United Nations principles for older persons, which were adopted in 1991, covers participation by older people in society and says:

‘Older persons should remain integrated in society, participate actively in the formulation and implementation of policies that directly affect their well-being and share their knowledge and skills with younger generations. ’

It’s already been mentioned here in the Chamber today about childcare, because the contribution of older people to childcare for their grandchildren, I think, cannot really be costed because we know it is so enormous. We know, in Wales, there is a huge amount of informal childcare, and that is to be absolutely applauded. I think there are other great experiences that older people are able to share with children in schools when they go into schools and try to help children learn to read. There are several examples of that happening in my constituency.

I do think society’s attitude is changing slowly. There have been, in the past, many arbitrary break-offs that mean that older people can’t go on working, whereas we know now there are many older people working past the age of 65—myself included. I think we also know that Government policy is changing. I’m sure you will have heard the call recently from the Justice Select Committee in Westminster to allow magistrates to carry on working past the current retirement age of 70. I think this call was made because of the shortage of magistrates, but extending magistrates’ time to 75 is absolutely sensible because of the contribution that they have to give. Personally, I would extend it even further. I know that, under the coalition Government, the plan was to raise jury service up to 75 as well.

So, I think that there are many areas where we are seeing a move towards not having these arbitrary cut-off points where people are forced to retire or forced to end something that they may be making a great contribution to. Of course, older people can make and do make a huge contribution to school governing bodies. Certainly, in my constituency, we have many older people who are on school governing bodies, contributing as they are on numerous public bodies in Wales and on health boards. I think it is very important that we do encourage older people to apply for these posts. I know we do make great efforts to ensure that we try to get people from minority and ethnic backgrounds to apply and also younger people, but the main bulk of people are usually in the ages up to 65 and I think we should make efforts to get older people to apply as well.

I want to finish by just talking very briefly about some of the older volunteers in my constituency who’ve made a huge impression on me because of their energy. When we were threatened with having a post office closure, who was on the streets campaigning? It was the older people. And we managed to keep a post office in Whitchurch through all this effort. I think I’ve mentioned in this Chamber already the 92-year-old great grandmother who’s leading the campaign for public toilets in Whitchurch. The last few Saturdays, she’s been with me on Whitchurch high street getting the signatures and no-one has refused. I think, when she asks them, nobody dares say no. So, that’s happening as well. And of course, I read in the press today about an 89-year-old person, a man, seeking employment. So, I think we’ve got to recognise the huge contribution that older people are making.

Could I also thank the older people’s commissioner for her work? I’d much rather, as you all know, have her be directly accountable to this Assembly rather than the Welsh Government, but her report is really, really valuable and I thank her for that, as well as the others referred to within it. I also thank her for—and Julie mentioned this—the very visible and direct contact that Sarah Rochira has with older people and, in particular, for making us look very hard at what we mean by ‘outcomes’.

Key to this is a strong voice, as referred to in our second amendment, and older people being empowered to secure what they need, as referred to in the report itself. And I think this is quite a tricky job for the commissioner, because older people, of course, aren’t a homogenous group: older people fighting, shall we say, covert discrimination in the workplace have very different challenges from those designing their own domiciliary care, and there’s a different type of advocacy needed for people who are elderly, frail individuals who find themselves in that revolving door between hospital and their care home, or maybe even someone with dementia or sensory impairment having to negotiate public transport. I think if we are to embrace the rights-based approach to policy making, which might be able to deal with a lot of these issues—an approach that’s actually encouraged by the commissioner—then I think we also have to recognise that every right gives rise to a responsibility. And an older people’s rights Bill would help clarify where that responsibility might lie.

For as many people as possible and for as long as possible, that responsibility for deciding on how they live should lie with an older individual themselves—or anybody, regardless of how old they are. There’s more than one way of meeting needs, and if an older person isn’t at the centre of those pertinent decisions, then the chances are that those needs won’t be met as well as they could be, whether they’re carers or cared-for people, or anyone, really. While the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 provides parity for carers and those they care for in terms of assessment, we’re yet to see the evidence that assessment leads to meeting need in the best possible way. I hope that the commissioner will be able to guide us to evidence to help us see how that Act works in practice over time. I suspect that the same evidence will also help us, and older people, find a more individualised, co-productive way to balance rights and responsibility for care to be safeguarded in some new legislation, so that no-one is stuck with services that don’t fit, no-one is left in that purgatory where no-one takes responsibility, and so that competing rights and responsibilities are worked through by those affected by them.

That leads me to the commissioner’s work on understanding the integration of health and social care. Absolutely, qualitative outcomes are what matter to an older person needing services. Inevitably, though, I think there is going to be a great deal of focus on the logistics of integration and how to accommodate local difference. Wales, of course, may be small but its geography and demographics don’t allow for a single, centralised response. So, I’m very keen to see how the commissioner can help Welsh Government and existing managers of services in this period to keep the focus on outcomes and what ongoing engagement with older people about their experiences, to quote the report, will actually look like.

I have some real concerns about whether social care will be able to shout loud enough in this process. Twenty-one per cent of local authorities in Wales don’t even know whether they already have enough social care. And just by way of a contrasting example, really, Salford, in England, is going through their process of integration now, and their social workers have already been transferred from the local authority into the NHS. So, they’re already competing with a range of NHS priorities for status and funding. What chance will issues like social isolation, carer support and respite, care worker terms and conditions, dementia awareness and homecare provision get to rise to the surface in this integration agenda? More importantly, how will the qualitative way of measuring success—the ‘How do I feel?’ criteria—promoted, quite rightly, by the commissioner, hold up in a world of process and numbers-driven evaluation? I see from the report that health boards are doing some work on that now, and I hope that the next report by the commissioner might be able to comment on the success of this. I certainly expect the Welsh Government’s parliamentary review of health and social care to give full weight to any evidence provided by the commissioner to avoid being defective in meeting its essential aim.

Finally, I look forward to the follow-up on the review of care homes that was mentioned in the report, and I hope that there’ll be evidence available by then that changes to the inspectorates will be clearly visible and that there’ll be good news, especially regarding the use of medication. I certainly hope that the extension of dementia training will provide a better experience for older people in care homes who have dementia, but also for those caring for them. It would also, I think, be quite interesting to hear whether those with dementia who are not living in a home are having a better experience generally in communities because of the growth in dementia-awareness training. Thank you.

Firstly, can I join others in thanking the older person’s commissioner for Wales and her staff for presenting us with such a comprehensive report? The report rightly identifies that older people are, to many of us, our everyday heroes, but are sometimes made to feel that they’re excluded from society and the victims of false assumptions around frailty, decline and dependence. What is undeniable is the reality that there are far too many pensioners living in poverty in Wales. The commissioner has estimated that there are over 100,000, with approximately 20 per cent of older people living below the poverty line.

A Joseph Rowntree Foundation report in 2011 did identify a drop in pensioner poverty in Wales over the last decade, but this drop was half the rate of the drop in Scotland. Whilst poverty is unwelcome whatever your age, for older people it restricts their ability to do so many things, and this often leads to them becoming isolated and lonely.

The detailed report from the commissioner covers many areas, far too many to cover in the time available. So, I’d like to focus on one particular area, and that is the social care workforce. The recruitment and retention of a well-trained and committed workforce will be vital to efforts to provide the highest possible standards of care for our older people. Whilst this workforce clearly delivers care across a whole range of needs, a large section of its work relates directly to the care of older people in both residential and domiciliary care settings.

I’ll talk about residential care in a moment, but firstly I want to commend the statement from the Minister for Social Services and Public Health yesterday, following the recent consultation on the domiciliary care workforce. The responses to the consultation covered a variety of issues impacting on the recruitment and retention of domiciliary care workers, including zero-hours contracts, qualifications and registration of the workforce, pay for travel and core time, and career pathways. I welcome the commitment from the Welsh Government to provide for greater transparency over the use of zero-hours contracts.

I’m also pleased that the statement sets out a clear intention to extend the workforce registration regime to domiciliary care workers by 2020. Even at an early stage, I think in Wales we are seeing the benefits of the Welsh Government’s decision to introduce registration across the education workforce, and I’ve no doubt that similar benefits will accrue from the registration of domiciliary care staff.

In relation to residential care, I’m pleased to note that the commissioner has received the appropriate assurances that the Welsh Government and Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales will carry out action identified in the commissioner’s report, ‘A Place to Call Home?’, and that the progress is being regularly monitored. When visiting residential care homes in my constituency, I’m struck by the extent of great care and good practice being delivered. However, I sometimes wonder whether we do enough to promote that good practice, and I therefore welcome the commissioner’s undertaking to hold further seminars in 2016-17, at which care home providers can come together and share good practice.

Earlier, I touched on the loneliness and isolation felt by many older people, and in concluding I therefore thank the Conservatives for their constructive amendments recognising the need to tackle this, and for their support for the consideration of an older people’s rights Bill. I also welcome and support the amendment from Plaid Cymru recognising the key role of our public services, and the challenges they face after years of the Westminster Government’s failed austerity policies.

Thank you very much. I call on the Minister for Social Services and Public Health to reply to the debate. Rebecca.

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 these actions during the course of the debate today, and they include developing a nationwide and cross-Government strategy to address loneliness and isolation, as well as our commitment to making Wales a dementia-friendly country. We’ve also discussed the work that’s being taken forward through the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, and the outcome framework for that was developed by working with the commissioner for older people, who’s also working with us on the integration agenda as well.

Members will be aware of the work that’s being taken forward through the intermediate care fund, and that’s to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and to deliver step-down care or quicker returns home for people. I’m really pleased that we’re committed to continuing funding this as one of our key programme for government commitments.

We’ve also been actively taking forward work to address the recommendations set out in the commissioner’s review of care homes. The care homes steering group, established in July 2014, meets bimonthly to provide strategic leadership and direction in relation to the care home sector in Wales.

One of the issues that was identified by the commissioner was access to primary care services for people living in care homes, and a new enhanced service has been agreed, which will apply to all nursing homes and residential care homes in Wales, subject to final approval.

This new, enhanced service seeks to address variations in how older people living in care homes are able to access GP services. This includes access to preventative healthcare, such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, oral health, falls prevention and mental health support.

Work’s also been undertaken through the care home steering group to develop good practice guidance, and this includes a welcome pack, which provides a framework for care homes as to the information that they should be making available to people and their families to make them aware of what they should be able to expect from the care home. There’s also been a good practice guide developed to improve the dining experience for people and these were both issues that were highlighted in the commissioner’s review.

So, I’d like to close by once again thanking the commissioner and her team for all that they’ve achieved in 2015-16 and I know that the pace has continued ever since the report was published in June, with an equally challenging programme of work under way for the coming year. While potential legislation can be a key intervention in strengthening the rights of older people across Wales, we mustn’t forget the difference that we can all make now, both as a Government, as politicians, and as individuals. We need to challenge instances of ageism wherever they exist, be alert to cases of abuse, and increase our own understanding of the impact of living with dementia.

So, as the commissioner concludes in her report, we should never forget that we are fortunate to be a nation of older people and that they are, through what they’ve done and what they continue to do for us, a group that should be admired, respected and seen as a national asset.

Thank you very much. The proposal is to agree amendment 1. Does any Member object? No. Therefore amendment 1 is agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12. 36.

Amendment 1 agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12. 36.

Again, the proposal is to agree amendment 2. Does any Member object? No. Therefore, amendment 2 is agreed.

Amendment 2 agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12. 36.

The proposal is to agree amendment 3. Does any Member object? [Objection. ] Object. Therefore, we will defer voting on amendment 3 until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.