6. Welsh Conservatives Debate: Carers

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:14 pm on 13 June 2018.

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Photo of Mark Isherwood Mark Isherwood Conservative 5:14, 13 June 2018

Thank you to everybody for their contribution in this, Carers Week 2018. As Suzy Davies said at the beginning, we have to improve the lives of the 11 per cent of the population that we're talking about today. And she said for the Welsh Government to refuse to be scrutinised is shameful, following their failure in practice to guide councils on what the statutory guidelines in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 actually mean. No surprise, she said, that the Welsh Conservatives' proposal to support young adult carers has gone down better with young adult carers than the Welsh Government, although I do note the Minister's comments at the end. And, of course, she thanked those who care for carers.

Bethan Sayed raised a number of very relevant points. She referred to young carers and zero-hours contracts—and it is a deep concern that Wales has the highest level of non-permanent contracts, including zero-hour contracts, which are appropriate for some, but too many are forced into them when it's the wrong route for them—the guidance, training and access to respite services being ad hoc; the importance of transport to young carers; barriers to young carers' access to medication to help their own loved ones; and the need to hold the Welsh Government to account.