Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:24 pm on 3 February 2021.
Thank you for that, Minister, and I echo your comment about the tremendous achievements of local authority staff during this pandemic. But, obviously, we also have non-COVID issues as well, of a chronic nature, and speaking now as the chair of the cross-party group on vision, obviously we recognise that local authorities have a key role to play in continuing to provide support services, and one of those roles is the rehabilitation officers for the vision impaired—or ROVIs, as they're called. Now, it's particularly disappointing to note that the number of local authorities meeting the minimum standards for the number of rehabilitation officers per population has fallen from 12 to eight out of the 22. In our area of Swansea, Minister, the local authority only has 0.5 full-time equivalent ROVIs, where it should have a minimum of 3.5 full-time equivalents, making it the worst-performing local authority area in Wales. So, following all that, what assurance can you give to people living with visual impairment that you are working with the health Minister to address this chronic lack of support?