6. Will the First Minister make a statement on social care in Mid and West Wales? OAQ(5)0690(FM)

Well, social care is a sector of strategic importance. We provided an extra £55 million of recurring funding for social services. The regional partnership boards have completed their population needs assessment and continue to deliver integrated care, funded through the integrated care fund.

I thank the First Minister for that reply. We all appreciate the financial challenge that social care will pose for us in the future. We have a situation in north Ceredigion now where the council has announced the closure of a care home called Bodlondeb. This has come as a bolt from the blue. Nobody knows where the residents will be sent to. There is no social care plan for north Ceredigion, yet there is a consultation going on over the closure of this home. Is it not unfair upon those who are placed in this position that there is this uncertainty and the council has spent, apparently, £2 million on Pricewaterhouse Coopers’s advice on £12 million to £14 million-worth of council cuts? Does this not seem a bizzare priority, when the real needs of real people are going by the board?

I understand there will be a consultation on the closure of Bodlondeb until the—well, it will carry on until 25 September. It is a very difficult time, obviously, for all of those who are concerned. Can I say to the Member that the safety and well-being of residents is my main concern, and the care and social services inspectorate will be working closely with the council to ensure this is carried out throughout the process?

First Minister, the recent Mid and West Wales Health and Social Care Regional Collaborative statement on services for older people makes for concerning reading. The population of the Hywel Dda university health board area already has a higher proportion of older people than the Wales average, and that already higher proportion is predicted to increase dramatically in the coming years. And yet the number of people in the HDU area under the age of 65 years who provide unpaid care is predicted to decrease significantly in the next 10 to 15 years, and it is already proving very difficult to recruit paid carers. It is a job not well paid, with enormous time pressures, very often they’re not paid for the distance of travel that they do, and it is not often regarded well by other people within society. What are you as the Welsh Government going to do to raise and improve the caring status so that we can get more carers, and what do you think your Government could do to encourage and reward those people who do provide unpaid care selflessly, day-in and day-out, for their loved ones?

The Member will know that unfair employment practices—she’s identified them—are bad for individuals. That’s why we’re taking action on zero-hours contracts through guidance, through procurement, and through our consultation on proposed regulations for social care. It’s hugely important, of course, that the caring profession is valued, hugely important that they are rewarded appropriately, and that, of course, is what the regulations intend to do.