5. Statement by the Minister for Children, Older People and Social Care: The Learning Disability: Improving Lives Programme

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:39 pm on 3 July 2018.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 4:39, 3 July 2018

Some important points there. First of all, thanks to you and others who do work with organisations that represent people with learning disabilities—your role with Swansea People First. But there are many others throughout the land, actually, that do tremendous work as well, and you rightly paid credit there to all the volunteers and the charitable sector, the third sector, who make this possible.

You raised the important point there about how we make this sustainable. I don't think it's looking for individual pots of funding so much, although there has been some good work done under the ICF funding. So, for example, when you mentioned there the issue of nursing, one of the things that the ICF funding—. One good example—and, in fact, the report draws out some of these good examples—is in north Wales, where there was ICF revenue funding that went to what was called the Diana service in Wrexham. This provided additional nursing support for children with complex medical conditions, keeping them at home in their community. Twenty-one children received this service in 2017-18. There were others in Gwent and west Wales that I can draw attention to.

But, actually, the ICF funding, of course, is there to pilot and innovate, and then to say to those areas, in line with our statutory commitments, 'If it works, if it looks good, then take them up there and make them part of your core business.' That should be whether or not it's in the statutory sector, quite frankly. So, if there is support that is needed to make the right interventions that change the lives of people with learning disabilities and it's proven, then we would be looking, in the wider taking forward of the long-term plan on health and social care as well, to make sure that that works, that we draw in those sorts of avenues of funding as well.

Dai, you mentioned the issue of careers, as I referred to in my statement as well. There are a couple of things here. One is actually challenging the stigma and the misconceptions around here. Because people with learning disabilities have much to contribute, actually, in the workplace, and that's what we need to say right up front. But then, I think there are ways—and I mentioned one of them, possibly, here, the discussions that I can have with the Minister for Welsh language and skills, exploring things such as paid supported placements. I think the evidence shows that, once an individual has their foot in the door, it leads then to long-term paid employment. So, we do need to deal with that.

But it is the right challenge, and I think, on all these matters—the ones that have been raised here today but also in going forward—the ministerial advisory group and I would be keen to hear suggestions of the way forward, whether it is in terms of sustainability or actual work streams that build on the 27 actions identified within this report. Because this is going to be not an overnight fix—this is a journey of improvement, improvement, improvement.