Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:45 pm on 15 June 2021.
Minister, as has already been mentioned, this is Learning Disability Week. Many of us are pleased to mark this and celebrate, I have to say, the contribution of children and adults with learning disabilities to our lives and at work, but we also note the continuing challenges faced and the social and economic barriers that make life far more difficult.
Minister, this is also the dark anniversary of 10 years since the Winterbourne View scandal, so could I echo the call of others here today to have a statement or a debate on the way in which Welsh Government will work with the asks of the learning disability advisory group in Wales: to reduce the numbers of people with learning disabilities being placed out of county and out of Wales and a long way from home and family and friends, if it is contrary to their wishes; assess the quality and the universality of discharge plans; assess the adequacy of advocacy services and the consistency of those services; and commit to employing people with a learning disability and their carers in regular care setting reviews, which are Welsh led whether the residential setting is in Wales or not? That would be a tremendous step forward, if we could have a statement or a debate on how we can match those six asks.