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.