9. Debate on the Equality and Local Government and Communities Committee Report — 'Into sharp relief: inequality and the pandemic'

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:22 pm on 7 October 2020.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 5:22, 7 October 2020

Diolch yn fawr. Well, I'd like to thank everybody, obviously, for their contributions, which were very wide ranging, as is the report, but also, I think, showed a real passion for these concerns that we all have, and a real force to the arguments and the points made to find better ways of addressing the inequalities and the vulnerabilities that we have in Wales, which, as so many Members said, were brought into stark relief, as we say in the title of the report, by the pandemic.

Yes, the recovery must be targeted at those who have lost the most, and when we talk about building back better, it must be about rectifying these existing inequalities. So, it was very good to hear from the Minister, Jane Hutt, just how engaged the whole of the Welsh Government is in these matters and in making sure that the response to the challenges is everything that it needs to be. I think that commitment and, again, that passion came through very clearly.

Yes, it is wide ranging in terms of the issues, and it is very challenging, but we know that some things have already been done, because, obviously, it's about the short term during the pandemic as well as the medium and longer term. I think one example of Welsh Government action, which was very welcome, was the way that the issues around rough-sleepers were dealt with, with additional funding, but also clear thinking and strong partnerships that meant that that funding was used to best effect. Then, to follow it up with further funding so that we don't slip back from the progress made was just what all of those who were delivering the services to rough-sleepers and homeless people were calling for and wanted. So, that's one good example, I think, where, difficult though the challenges are, we can, here in Wales, take effective action and make necessary progress, and it's good to have those examples to draw on.

People rightly mentioned the issues around our black and ethnic minority communities and, again, I think we have examples here where Welsh Government acted quickly in setting up the working group with Professor Ogbonna. That group produced some practical ways forward, including the toolkit to assess risk, and then act on that assessed risk, again showing that it is perfectly possible, with the right sort of commitment and organisation, to act quickly and meaningfully. So, daunting though the challenges are, it's another example of how they can be effectively addressed and dealt with. We do need those examples because I think we need to take heart ourselves and make sure that all of those out there delivering the services understand that it's perfectly possible to deal with the scale of the challenge in working together.