5. Statement by the Minister for Housing and Local Government: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:43 pm on 17 March 2020.

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Photo of Alun Davies Alun Davies Labour 5:43, 17 March 2020

I think your statement, Minister, will be welcomed across the country, and certainly the commitment to working together and leading the response from local authorities is something that will be greatly appreciated by people across Wales. I'd be grateful if you could outline whether you are looking at providing additional support for local authorities in terms of the resources available to them. I think many people will be looking to the local council to provide support for their communities in the coming weeks and months. We know that local authorities themselves will be under immense pressures, both in terms of social services and in terms of issues with their workforces, who will also be suffering from this virus. But I'd be interested to understand how you intend to approach that issue.

But also support for social enterprises. I've been approached in the last day or so by the Sofrydd Institute, the Llanhilleth Institute and Kidz R Us in Tredegar, who are all social enterprises, and who are facing real issues with their ability to maintain services over the coming weeks and months. There are some really frightened people in communities across the country, and it's important, therefore, that the sort of support that we're putting in place to support businesses is also in place to support social enterprises so that the social infrastructure of our communities isn't lost as a consequence of this.

At the same time, of course, it's fantastic to see the way in which people are responding to this crisis, about support being mobilised through social media and through other means by which people are seeking to help the vulnerable in different communities. It would be a very useful role for this Government to see how it can help and support that, share best practice, provide resources, if possible, to different community groups who will be supporting and sustaining vulnerable people through this time.

Finally, many people have suggested to me that it would be very useful if a helpline was created whereby people, particularly older people who will be at home for long periods of time in the coming months, would be able to phone a single number across Wales, answered locally, for help or support. We spoke earlier about issues around mental health around this issue, but people who feel lonely, people who feel frightened, people who don't have the access to help and support that others may have—a point of contact where they will be able to contact somebody and ask for that help and support. Thank you.