Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:20 pm on 8 May 2019.
We also recognise that too few disabled people are in work. The commitments in our employability plan are aimed at tackling this. We will work with our partners to address the issues behind this, including employer attitudes, job design and working practices. We reaffirm our commitment to the social model of disability and to overcome the many and varied barriers that society can put in the way of disabled people in order for them to pursue their career aspirations. We know that there is no quick fix and action is indeed needed to overcome barriers such as transport, the attitudes of employers and, in some cases, employment practices, which can either directly or inadvertently discriminate against people with disabilities. We also know, though, that there are many employers who are exemplars and others can learn a lot about their good practice.
Within the Welsh Government, officials have set up an equalities working group for our employability plan. The first priority of that group is to look at disability and employment and to oversee activities supporting our commitments to reduce the disability employment gap. We recognise that the broader structures and culture of workplaces will have a direct impact on the employability of disabled people, and in the employability plan we commit to increasing the number of employers who place emphasis on creating workplaces that are inclusive and supportive environments, or 'disability confident', as we like to call them.
We are challenging employers to think creatively about how they design jobs and recruit the people to fill them, and if I might say also, that encompasses, actually, many of the views that we've heard here today. What we want to see is employers who are empowered to look at the output of their employees and not where they work or the hours that they work. So, an employee who is capable of producing the outputs necessary, can do the job well, and if they do that job from home or in work or a combination of both of those, that should make absolutely no difference.
We continue to work closely with the UK Government through its work and health unit and the Department for Work and Pensions to link up with the delivery of their UK-wide target to get more than 1 million more disabled people into work by 2027. We definitely want to see more positive results being delivered for more disabled people and for those with limiting health conditions across Wales. Welsh Government, to that end, is exploring the potential for a disability employment champion network. The role will be to work with employers across Wales to help recognise the talents of disabled people and to encourage inclusive recruitment practices. In doing so, we will work with the disability sector, employers and stakeholders to ensure we establish an inclusive approach in the recruitment and employment process. But we should also remember, as various people have pointed out, that not everyone wants to work from home and there is a need to develop fully inclusive workplaces for those who wish to work at a workplace.
Turning to the Superfast Cymru successor project and the broadband issue, I quite agree that where it's possible and desirable we should ensure the technology is in place to enable this. Superfast Cymru—I'll just remind everyone—fundamentally altered the broadband landscape in Wales, bringing superfast broadband to areas of Wales that simply would not ever have been connected without the project. We need to recognise the significant achievement that this large-scale engineering project represented, and as a result of it, homes and businesses the length and breadth of Wales enjoy the benefits of the investment and the access to digital services. The vast majority of premises in Wales can now access the Superfast broadband service compared to barely half five years ago. And in those areas, both businesses and individuals are now enjoying the benefits that fast broadband brings, including the ability to work from home or more flexibly or on an output basis. However, Members will also be aware that there's more to do to reach the remaining premises that are not yet able to benefit from fast broadband. Given the scale of the task in providing fast, reliable broadband to those premises currently unable to access it, we will need a range of interventions in future, and that's why our amendment specifically deletes one line, only because we want a range of interventions, not just the successor programme. Because there is no one-size-fits-all solution, we need to make sure that these interventions are complementary, address the remaining need for fast broadband, and reflect local demand for services. There are three elements to our approach: individual support through our voucher schemes, support for communities through our voucher schemes and community-led interventions, and publicly funded roll-outs through the successor project to Superfast Cymru. Therefore, the successor project fills one part of that suite of interventions, as I said.
An initial 26,000 premises will be provided by access to fast, reliable broadband by March 2021, at a cost of nearly £22.5 million to the public purse, but we are also investigating with BT whether future premises can be added to that project. We're also committed to providing individual support to those premises unable to access fast broadband by continuing the Access Broadband Cymru scheme. We also announced earlier this year that agreement had been reached with the UK Government to provide additional funding for premises in Wales through the UK Government's gigabit broadband voucher scheme, and for group projects, the Welsh Government will pay up to an additional £3,000 per small to medium-sized business and an additional £300 per residential property. This means that for group projects in Wales, up to £5,500 is available per business and up to £800 is available per residential property.
In addition to our interventions, the UK Government are also devising a new programme to tackle rural and very rural premises. And given the significant challenges posed by the geography as Wales, it is vital that Wales benefits from those new opportunities.
So, Deputy Presiding Officer, we are committed to creating a better working future for everyone in Wales. We agree with the motion in large, but there's a small, minor amendment for a technical reason, but other than that, I'm pleased to say that there seems to be a consensus that everyone here is committed to creating a better working future for everyone in Wales. Diolch.