The 'Track the Act' Report

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:55 pm on 23 October 2019.

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Photo of Julie Morgan Julie Morgan Labour 2:55, 23 October 2019

I thank David Melding very much for that question. The information that has come from 'Track the Act' is, obviously, absolutely crucial in taking forward our policies. Some of the recommendations that 'Track the Act' has made we are already carrying out or are committed to. For example, they're very concerned that we do make people more aware of their rights as carers, and we are planning a campaign on awareness this autumn. We're also improving the way that we are able to get data. There's going to be a new performance and improvement framework, which will improve the collection of data from April 2020. We consulted on that in the summer. So, we are taking up many of the recommendations.

Obviously, the reality of how carers experience their day-to-day life is absolutely vital for us, because we want to, as a Government, acknowledge our huge indebtedness to the love and care of carers who, of course, make a huge contribution to Wales. So, all that is in 'Track the Act', and it's the third time we've funded this survey, and of course the other measurements that we're taking, for example, Measuring the Mountain, which again reveals the day-to-day experience of carers. All of that has got to inform our policies.

Of course, some of the figures and some of the issues are very disappointing, really, I think. We're obviously taking that into account. There are other, better figures that have emerged from other reports, for example, the Wales Audit Office report, which did show that, I think, 70 per cent of those who were looking for information, advice and assistance felt that it was an easy thing to do to approach the local authority. So, there are other statistics as well, but I think there's absolutely no doubt that we've got to take into account the views of carers.