The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, our long-term plan for health and social care and 'Prosperity for All' have embedded within them the need to centre our services around the person and to build the capacity of our communities to support better health and well-being. As a Government, we need to do all that we can to support people to be more included in their communities and I believe that the improving lives programme provides us with the route-map to achieve this for people with a learning disability and for their families.

The recommendations are extensive, however, I believe that the three immediate priorities are: the reduction of health inequalities, increasing community integration and improving planning and funding systems.

Evidence from a number of reports shows that the life expectancy of people with a learning disability is considerably lower than others in our population. The improving lives programme aims to reduce this inequality and prevent premature deaths. Reasonable adjustments in all healthcare settings will enable people to access appropriate services in a timely fashion. Annual health checks for people with a learning disability are important and work is currently being undertaken to explore ways in which we can increase the uptake of these. This includes developing a standardised, all-Wales, easy-read invitation letter, promoting joint working between colleagues in primary care and learning disability services to ensure that all those eligible for health checks are known to services.

In our general hospitals, we aim to increase the use of the care bundles, originally launched in 2014, following a coroner's report into the death of Paul Ridd, whose family now run the Paul Ridd Foundation—a key partner in supporting our work on health inequalities. The Paul Ridd Foundation has a full programme of hospital learning disability champions training and has ensured that wards across Wales have a resource folder to support the use of care bundles.

Our second priority is that of increasing community integration. Two weeks ago, I visited a Mencap Cymru friendship project and I was struck by the personal experiences of stigma and isolation that the children and young people told me about. They also told me how they felt that there was a difference in the aspirations society had for them and for young people as a whole. I am sure that all Members would agree that tackling the stigma that people with a learning disability and their families face must be a key priority. We need to push for the same attitudinal change we are beginning to see around mental health, by celebrating the contribution that people with a learning disability make to our communities, and using our funding streams to ensure that people achieve their aspirations.

So, some of the things we will look to do will include: working with the Minister for Housing and Regeneration to increase housing options and ensure people live closer to home, through the targeted 20,000 new homes agenda; using the £105 million, three-year integrated care fund capital programme announced last week by the Minister for Housing and Regeneration to support people with a learning disability to lead independent and successful lives—I look forward to working with the regional partnership boards to achieve the best results for people with a learning disability from this boost in investment; and supporting projects for people with a learning disability through the revenue arm of the integrated care fund, to which we have again allocated £50 million in 2018-19. The scope of the fund has expanded to include regional partnership boards' priority areas for integration, including people with a leaning disability, resulting in financial backing for a wide range of projects that increase the community integration of people with a learning disability.

Finally, we all will recognise that one of the most powerful ways of ensuring that people feel integrated into their communities is ensuring that people have a route into work. With only 6 per cent of people with a learning disability in paid employment, I recognise the enormity of the challenge we face. So, I will work with the Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning to explore options for people with a learning disability to access employability support, including the possibility of introducing supported paid-work placements.

Our final priority is the need to look at improving data and access to funding. Social services registers indicate that there are 15,000 people with a learning disability in Wales, but it is thought that there are many more not currently in receipt of services. As the needs of these people change, they may well require greater support. So, it is therefore proposed that we conduct research and gather data on the population of people with a learning disability in Wales to better understand their needs going forward.

We also need to make better use of existing funding through looking at how direct payments are used and reallocating health and social care funding to enable swift packages of care to be agreed, combined with the joint commissioning of services.

So, I am indebted to the support of the learning disability ministerial advisory group in delivering this report and the recommendations. I very much look forward to working with them and the chair, Mrs Gwenda Thomas, and the co-chair, Miss Sophie Hinksman, to deliver services that will indeed improve the lives of people with a learning disability in Wales. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.