Part of Questions to the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip – in the Senedd at 2:45 pm on 26 March 2019.
Thank you, Deputy Minister. One of the clear themes that has emerged for me in recent committee inquiries has been that local authorities and health boards are increasingly relying on third sector organisations to deliver services but are often not providing sustainable funding for those services. This has been the case in the children's committee's inquiries on perinatal mental health, on the emotional and mental health of children and young people, and in the health committee's recent inquiry on suicide prevention. Given that relatively little funding is distributed centrally by Welsh Government to the third sector, what more can the Welsh Government do to ensure that regional partnership boards and public services boards work fully in partnership with the third sector, but crucially provide them with the essential funding that they need?