7. Plaid Cymru Debate: Welsh Independent Living Grant

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:16 pm on 13 February 2019.

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Photo of Helen Mary Jones Helen Mary Jones Plaid Cymru 5:16, 13 February 2019

Well, I am worried about that and I am very glad that the step's been taken, but an awful lot of sadness, distress and upset could have been prevented had it been taken further. Now, of course, it is the function of an opposition to put the Government on the spot and, hopefully, we have done this in this case. But I would reiterate that we need to understand why this really poor set of decisions happened, because, otherwise, it may happen again.

I wish to turn, briefly, Llywydd, to the Deputy Minister's statement yesterday where she refers to independent social work assessments. Now, while I share some of the concerns about people being endlessly reassessed, if the purpose of these reassessments is to enable people to get support restored where it's been taken away from them, that has to be welcome. But I think the key word there is 'independent', and I would like to ask the Deputy Minister today how she sees those assessments being undertaken. If the staff undertaking those assessments are directly employed by the local authorities who have already withdrawn support from those disabled people and their families, those people will be left with concerns about whether or not those assessments are truly independent. Those people who have had their support cut will, I'm sure the Deputy Minister understands, be sceptical. So, I hope that she can tell us today how she will ensure that not only those assessments are independent, but they are perceived to be independent by those on the receiving end. I'm sure she will not be surprised—and it's clear in her statement that she has dealt directly with the campaigners—if they have lost faith in the system and need a lot of convincing to have that faith restored.

Finally, Llywydd, if I can beg your indulgence having taken some interventions, I want to ask the Deputy Minister today, in her contribution to this debate, to recommit the Welsh Government clearly and unequivocally to the social model of disability. That model being, of course, that the disability consists, not in an individual's impairment, but in the barriers society puts in the way of that person with that impairment participating fully. I was under the impression that we were unanimous in this place in that regard—absolutely unanimous, I think, across all benches. The actions around this have demonstrated that perhaps we are better at words than we are at deeds. The purpose of this particular support is specifically to enable our disabled fellow citizens to live independently and fully participate. So, I hope that the Deputy Minister today will commit to ensuring that this support continues, to support that independence, that it does so equitably across Wales, and that it's done in the context of a meaningful commitment to the social model of disability. Our disabled fellow citizens deserve no less, and they deserve an apology.