2. Will the Deputy Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government’s support for the voluntary sector in Pembrokeshire? OAQ54467

Welsh Government provides core funding for the Wales Council for Voluntary Action and county voluntary councils to deliver third sector support infrastructure across Wales, and £154,134 of this funding is provided to Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services, who help support the third sector in Pembrokeshire.

I'm grateful to the Deputy Minister for that response. I recently had the privilege of attending the open day of a local charity called HOPE, based in Neyland in my constituency, which supports people living with multiple sclerosis and other neurological conditions. The viability of this particular centre is largely down to the support it receives from local people, both in terms of donations, and in terms of voluntary support to patients and their families. Deputy Minister, this centre is a lifeline to a lot of local patients with complex conditions, and given its huge impact locally, can you tell us what specific support the Welsh Government can offer to smaller charities like this to protect their sustainability for the future?

Well, thank you, Paul Davies, for that question. HOPE in Neyland sounds a very inspiring, local project. I'm not sure whether it's constituted as a local charity, but it's clearly going to be eligible for a range of funding sources. I think Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services are local county voluntary councils who we fund to help those organisations access funding, and also through the local authority, and indeed even town and community councils also have funds for these sort of projects. Anything to do with capital, then, obviously, I've already been referring to the community facilities programme in terms of opportunities, but it is very much local organisations linking up with, whether it's health, local government. It's possible that this could be a third sector organisation that might be eligible for the integrated care fund, so I would suggest that that could be discussed with the local Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services.