Other responses from RCT council include the use of technology. The RCT assistive technology lifeline will be enhanced to provide a 24-hour, mobile, rapid-response service for 365 days a year to people using an RCT lifeline pendant. And of course, the council is also committed to invest in extra care facilities across Rhondda Cynon Taf, and I've been very impressed by those when I've gone to visit them. They're part of the council's commitment to modernise older people's residential and day services, and I'm proud that both Aberaman and Mountain Ash in my constituency will soon host extra care facilities.

The foundational economy model also enables us to approach the issue of social care from a fresh perspective. I hope the arguments around the foundational economy are now well rehearsed. This is recognition of the economic importance of those everyday essential items and services that have, until recently, been sidelined within economic policy making. Alongside utilities, food production and manufactured necessities are those universal welfare services that citizens expect and access on a daily basis, and a key strand here is the provision of social care.

As the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change found, failure to properly nurture this part of the foundational economy may have particularly far-reaching consequences. For example, well-resourced private enterprise has displaced smaller, family-run care homes with larger, purpose-based accommodation. These prioritise shareholder return and lead to an underpaid workforce, high public spend, and poor care outcomes. So, I welcome the new commitment to the foundational economy at the heart of Welsh Government. Moreover, resources are being allied to rhetoric here, and it's good to see funding being allocated to a range of social care projects under the foundational economy challenge fund. Twelve social care projects were successful under that strand of the FE challenge fund, such as the £100,000 given to PeoplePlus Cymru to develop upskilling projects with social care employers to deliver quality training for staff. I look forward to the spreading and scaling of best practice, and the renewed focus to grow the missing middle.

Co-operative models of social care provision could also provide an additional solution. Social care co-ops build up people-centred approaches to service delivery. Instead of remote head offices and the prioritisation of shareholders, they lead to truly community-anchored businesses, local economic investment and social benefits. Organisations can be built in this way around workers who are motivated by having a direct say in the running of the care provider, its ethics, operation and strategic generation. Revenue that would otherwise be frittered away in dividends and other distributions is actually invested in the service, and relationships with service users are key. Moreover, people who use well-being and personal care services have more say in how those services are run, and what is on offer. They firmly place people using services at the heart of the service design and delivery. In doing so, they provide responsive services that are citizen-directed, giving a stronger voice and greater control to people in need of services and those who care for them. This often results in better quality, well-targeted services.

I'm grateful to the Wales Co-operative Centre for highlighting several excellent examples of this delivery model. Time prevents me from listing all of these, but I just want to mention the Cartrefi Cymru Co-operative. This supports people with learning disabilities in Wales to lead fulfilled lives, both at home and in the community. They became a co-operative a little over three years ago. Membership is voluntary and open for people they support, employees, and community supporters to work together on two co-operative goals.

I want to explore the vitally important matter next of the social care workforce as another key challenge. I'm grateful to conversations with a number of organisations and individuals about this, not least a lovely lady, Mrs Bishop, with whom I spent a very valuable afternoon, where she described the positive impact that carers from RCT council and the council's services made to her life. I also want to put on record my thanks to my trade union, the GMB, for a discussion on how they support members who work within the care sector.