Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:31 pm on 8 June 2021.
I thank Jenny Rathbone very much for those questions, and I know she has raised with me on many occasions the difficulties that her constituents have experienced, particularly older parents or parents or the spouses of somebody who is suffering from dementia, and I'm very aware of how difficult this situation is.
Obviously, when the pandemic started, the services had to close down for health and safety reasons, and this was a huge blow, I know, to many people who had managed to get a routine going, that, with their loved one being able to go out on a regular basis and come back, they managed to cope, basically, and all this was thrown up in the air when the pandemic struck. So, what we obviously have to do is try to encourage the day services in particular to reopen. So, in order to do that, I have met with the directors of social services to encourage them to reopen the day services. They are beginning to open up all over Wales, but it is patchy, so I am encouraging them and indeed saying that we absolutely must open these services so that people can get a break. I've also discussed it with the Welsh Local Government Association, and I think we're all very aware that this is absolutely crucial that we do offer this provision, so that the parents who have struggled for so long can actually have a break.