6. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline how the Welsh Government assists voluntary organisations that help support health services? OAQ(5)0099(CC)

I thank the Newport West Member for her question. I have provided £4.4 million of funding this year for county voluntary councils across Wales and to the Wales Council for Voluntary Action to ensure support is available to third sector organisations. This includes support with fundraising, good governance and placing volunteers.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Like many Members, I’ve had the privilege of meeting voluntary groups and seeing the amazing work that they do. One fine example in my constituency are the Robins, who are volunteers from Age Cymru, working with Aneurin Bevan Local Health Board, who provide support for vulnerable patients at the Royal Gwent and St Woolos hospitals. They take time to talk and read to patients, do their hair and nails, and provide assistance at meal times, make visits to shops and many other things that can make a really big difference. Both staff at the hospital and the patients describe the Robins as invaluable. Will the Cabinet Secretary commend the work of the Robins, who are making a difference for the better in Newport, and commend the efforts of all those who give up their time to volunteer?

Thank you for your question. Almost 1 million people in Wales volunteer in some way every year, and their contribution to society is invaluable. I want to say a big thank you to them. I also want to give a big thumbs up to the Robins in your constituency. I’m sure if we could do three cheers, they’d have them here, but, indeed, Jayne, I’m grateful for your raising this with me today, recognising the good work that they do, and please pass on my congratulations to that organisation.

There are almost 80 charitable and voluntary groups working with patients and healthcare staff in north Wales alone, and if there are 80 organisations, then there are hundreds upon hundreds of volunteers and therefore thousands of voluntary hours donated to support their work. The return on quite a small investment is very substantial indeed. Can I ask you, therefore, given that you say that funding has been allocated to support much of this work, do you recognise that the statutory services in place at present are under more pressure than ever and that, as a result of that, the voluntary organisations and volunteers are also under pressure to meet the additional needs that fall on them? Can you tell us what more you as a Government hope to do to support them?

The conversations I have with the Wales Council for Voluntary Action and CVCs are important ones on the basis that I know that if we didn’t have volunteers in our communities, statutory services would collapse; we wouldn’t be able to deliver the things that we want to do together. That’s why I value the work that these organisations do. But I’m under no illusion that what we have to do is take out some of the duplication and make sure we’ve got good, efficient services, and that accounts for both the voluntary sector and the third sector, and also the public sector response as well. Working together, we can get through this. But, as I’ve said in the past, I’ve made £4.4 million of funding available this year, and I will look carefully at how that develops over the next coming years.

Cabinet Secretary, the Red Cross offers regular support to ambulance services in Wales during routine work and major incidents. What assistance does the Welsh Government provide to the Red Cross to enable them to continue providing the most valuable support to Welsh ambulance services?

Indeed. I thank the Member for his question. The Red Cross and St John Ambulance both do some terrific work across Wales, and I would say—I don’t have the details of numbers for the Red Cross, specifically, in Wales—a big thank you to them. And the UK Government should be saying a big thank you to the Red Cross too. During the crisis that appeared over the border in a health setting, the Red Cross stepped in to help the statutory services in the delivery of services. So, we shouldn’t ever take away from the fact that these worthy volunteers are doing a great job in all of our communities.

Cabinet Secretary, having attended the recent AGM of the Swansea Council for Voluntary Service, I was amazed by the sheer number of voluntary organisations offering health-related support operating in my region. I was already aware of the excellent work undertaken by the likes of Tŷ Elis in Porthcawl and the Sandville Self Help Centre in Ton Kenfig, but, at the SCVS meeting, I met people from the Interact scheme, Caer Las and the mental health and well-being volunteer project to name but a few. All of these projects offer vital support to our NHS, yet very few receive any direct financial support from the Welsh Government. Cabinet Secretary, given that these voluntary organisations save the health and social care sector many millions of pounds, what additional support can the Welsh Government offer to them?

I can offer warm words; I can’t offer finances, unfortunately. It would be dishonest of me to say that, but I thank all of these organisations that step into the void sometimes where people are in need, and the third sector organisations are in the right place to deliver that; they understand communities very well. So, as much as I’d like to support all of the organisations in Wales, it would just be fiscally impossible. But I do recognise the work that goes on in all of our communities.