4. Statement by the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip: Marking the International Day of People with Disabilities

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:23 pm on 1 December 2020.

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Photo of Jane Hutt Jane Hutt Labour 3:23, 1 December 2020

Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood. As I said, I thank the cross-party group for the work you've done. I've appeared before you and it's been such an important contribution, again from a cross-party perspective. But also I very much welcomed the report from the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, which covered the whole range of inequalities exposed as a result of the pandemic. But in a sense, I suppose that's one of the messages of the UN day, and what will be discussed on Thursday is not just how lessons can be learned; it's actually how we can now address—. We have the legislation, as you say, we have the Equality Act; it's about implementation—I think this is the key point—of legislation to address those barriers.

I think in my statement I mentioned—well, I know I mentioned—the 'Action on Disability' framework, which I launched in 2019 and which, in fact, was co-produced with disabled people's organisations covering every aspect of Government policy. I think it's crucial—and I know you recognise this, Mark—that this is not just about health and social care; it's about transport, it's about culture, it's about housing, it's about education. And of course that then has to be delivered through the public sector equality duties by public bodies. I also think that, when we pass, as I'm sure and hope we will, the socioeconomic duty that will be coming before the Senedd very shortly, this will also be important in terms of impacts on disabled people.

I hope you will welcome the work that's being undertaken by Professor Debbie Foster of Cardiff University. She's doing the work now with disabled people on the impacts of COVID. This will help us to learn the lessons, but also find a way forward in terms of addressing these issues so that disabled people are truly influencing public policy from their own lives' perspective, from the evidence that we've got, the data we understand, and that that will influence not just the Welsh Government, but every public body in Wales.