Thank you, Presiding Officer. Today’s debate provides me with an opportunity to confirm the Welsh Government’s commitment to supporting disabled children and their families, and to talk about the significant investment we’re making to ensure that they receive the services and support they need.

The Family Fund is one element of the support that we have put in place, and it must be seen in the wider context. I wrote to all Assembly Members last November setting out the background and the context to the robust and rigorous approach that was taken in relation to the funding decisions for the sustainable social services third sector grants scheme, which were taken in 2014. This scheme brought together four separate grant schemes, including the Family Fund grant, bringing together some £22 million into a single grant in order to support the delivery and implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and to take forward our priorities of enabling all citizens in Wales to achieve their well-being outcomes and to live fulfilling lives.

We want to make sure that people have the control and are involved in the decisions that are made about the services that they receive. We are evaluating the impact of the Act to ensure that it’s delivering what we set out to achieve. This includes monitoring policies to ensure that they’re being implemented and are supporting improvement. This new grant scheme firmly enables third sector organisations as important partners to support our transformational approach to the delivery of sustainable social services in Wales. It’s an approach that is based on ensuring equity and fairness for all of those who are in need of care and support.

It’s neither accurate nor fair to suggest that there has been a cut in support for disabled families through our grants for the third sector. I want to emphasise that the Welsh Government has maintained the overall grant funding levels for the third sector in this area. We’ve created a fairer approach by supporting the widest range of third sector organisations possible, making sure that every part of the community can benefit from funding available—for example, our approach has allowed us to fund Carers Wales with £670,000 to provide support to disabled children and their families. The project raises awareness of caring, and supports families to manage their caring roles and to be involved in service improvement and delivery.

It’s also allowed us to fund Learning Disability Wales with £930,000 for a project that supports families to understand their rights and entitlements, to have their voices heard, to control decisions about their care, and to co-design the support that they receive.

Similarly, the All Wales Forum of Parents and Carers of People with Learning Disabilities receives over £400,000 to support families of people with learning disabilities to understand their entitlements and to control decisions about their care. It aims to improve early intervention and prevention and to support the co-design and delivery of services.

There were 84 applications to the new grants scheme, amounting to funding requests of £69 million. We’re funding 32 organisations, and the Family Fund was successful in being awarded the maximum grant available, £1.5 million. The Family Fund was also in the unique position of being awarded an additional £400,000 as a transition grant this year, including £30,000 to help them refocus their funding model to become sustainable in the future.

Disabled families tell us that the thing they value most is respite care. So, we’ve asked the Family Fund to focus on the provision of respite, and we expect them to use at least 70 per cent of their grant providing this. They do, however, maintain the flexibility to fund other things where there’s an exceptional need. Where a child has a statement of special educational needs and the provision of ICT equipment is identified as a need then the local authority must ensure that this is provided to support the child’s education.

It’s clear from today’s debate that there is agreement that we need to ensure that families can maximise their household income, with money going direct to the family. The most high impact and sustainable way of doing this is not through small, individual grants, but by supporting families to ensure that they’re receiving all of the benefits to which they are entitled. Since 2012, we have been providing over £2 million a year to Citizens Advice for their Better Advice, Better Lives scheme, which is unique to Wales. It’s not happening in England, it’s not happening in Scotland, and it’s not happening in Northern Ireland. But in Wales it operates in every local authority, offering face-to-face advice. And this is the most important thing. In 2015-16 alone, the project supported over 1,800 families with disabled children, overall generating over £3.5 million in additional benefits for these families. In the first nine months of the current financial year, the service has supported 1,400 families, generating a further £3,300,000 in benefits: money that these families are entitled to and now are receiving week after week, and not as a one-off payment. So, our Wales-only approach is high impact and it’s sustainable.

Families in the greatest need can access the Families First programme, and we’re providing over £42 million this year and the same amount next year. This includes £3 million ring-fenced for services for families affected by disability. Through the intermediate care fund this year we’ve provided regions in Wales with an additional £4 million to develop integrated services for people with learning disabilities and children with complex needs. We will continue to support this fund in future years. Also, through our new autism strategic action plan, we have committed £6 million to put in place a national all-age integrated autism service, which will create local teams in all areas, providing support across the age range, including for families. This is in addition to the £2 million we’re making available each year through the Together for Children and Young People programme to improve neuro-developmental assessment services.

We know that there’s more to do and that we need to be innovative in the way that we use financial resources. We’re currently refreshing the carers strategy, and, in a written statement I made last year, I made a commitment to examine a national approach to respite care, which we know is so valuable to families. We will review current provision with a view to strengthening the range and availability of respite services.

In terms of the Conservatives’ amendment, let me be clear, again, that the Welsh Government has not reduced the overall funding available. We have sought to distribute the funding that we have to promote fairness, equity, and to achieve long-lasting, sustainable improvements. I have demonstrated the significant support we are providing for disabled children and their families through the wider delivery of our programme for government.

So, to conclude, the funding of one organisation must be seen within the context of the wider strategic approach to delivering improvements to services and support for disabled children and their families. We must also recognise that it’s vital that we maximise the impact of all the funding that we provide to support long-term, sustainable benefits for families.